Year: 2019

By Carolyn Baar – Georgia Commute Options

Eleven months of the year, Georgia Commute Options (GCO) focuses on reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles on the road in the Atlanta region. In October, we focus on biking.

Georgia Commute Options’ sixth annual bike challenge, Biketober, exceeded all expectations. This year’s challenge saw the highest rates of participation in its history with 4,477 registrants, a 79% increase from last year’s 2,500. Of those registered, 2,811, including 500 new riders, logged trips during the month of October – compared to 1,900 in 2018.

Biketober, also known as The Atlanta Bike Challenge, is all about getting people on bikes and sharing in the fun of cycling. We heard stories from all over the region about people who experienced the benefits of incorporating cycling into their daily routine and plan to continue to ride. We strive to help bike advocates find their voices through this challenge and make biking safer and more fun for everyone by increasing the number of bikers on roads and trails in our area.

The Cumberland CID (CCID) and its members played a big role in the challenge’s success this year. The residents, commuters and visitors of CCID took advantage of all the new CID two-wheel amenities by riding the new trails and visiting the new bike share stations.

Georgia Commute Options hosted promotional activities across the district at locations including Randstad, The Galleria Atlanta, America’s Capital Partners and The Battery Atlanta. We distributed information directly to more than 5,000 commuters in the district and had personal conversations with more than 500 individuals. Fifteen companies in the district participated this year including Randstad, who awarded their participating employees wellness points.

A big draw for bikers to participate in Biketober was the chance to win one of the many prizes up for grabs. We gave away two Edison Electric Bicycles, a KHS Flite road bike from Aztec Cycles and weekly gifts including hats, T-shirts and restaurant gift certificates. In addition to promoting these prizes, our outreach activities allowed us to highlight a comprehensive list of “Where to Ride.”  We used this resource to position the Cumberland CID trails as a gateway to the Silver Comet Trail, the trails in the National Parks and the ever-increasing connectivity these trails offer. We helped map trips between transit service, residential and employment centers, restaurants, retail and recreational assets in Cumberland.

With the increasing amenities for cycling, including new Zagster stations and nearly 40 miles of trails, Cumberland is the perfect place to bike. Our neighbors in Downtown and Midtown have great bike trails and amenities too, but imagine if the Cumberland CID members took this event to a new level in 2020. What if members of the CID form teams to mount corporate challenges, sponsor bike-in-movies, participate in bike-to-work days or host a Zagster-to-Lunch event? Our team at GCO stands ready to partner with you to make next years’ event bigger and better. We challenge you to incorporate Biketober into your calendar next year. Let’s raise awareness of the CID’s beautiful, walkable, bikeable district by encouraging our community to get out and ride next October.

Check out all of the results of the challenge at the Atlanta Bike Challenge and get your gears turning for next Fall. Are you in?

by Mason Zimmerman, Senior Development Partner – Pope and Land Real Estate

For most of the past 50 years, Atlanta grew from the inside out then commuted from the outside in. “In” became known as inside the perimeter (ITP) and “Out” as OTP. Over the past 10 years or so, the predominant trend has been the move back “in.” Whether to avoid long commutes, pursue a better job or seek a more walkable, unique or diverse quality of life, the pull ITP has been remarkable.  And what about OTP? Well, to be successful today, suburban communities have had to learn how to adapt, attract and connect to stay competitive and avoid decline.

This “OTP urbanization” is evident from Lawrenceville to Marietta and Alpharetta to Sandy Springs. However, few areas have evolved and adapted better than the Cumberland region.

I have seen many changes in Cobb’s I-75 suburban corridor during my nearly 15 years as a CCID board member and as a founder and former chairman of the neighboring Town Center CID. Both CIDs used to focus mostly on infrastructure improvements but now their initiatives include beautification, sidewalks, transportation, trails and more. The Cumberland area used to be a prime example of a commuter community — mostly office and retail where people drove in to work or shop then drove back to their homes in the suburbs. Those days are gone for good. Cumberland is now a thriving, young and diverse community anchored by an accessible National Park, a variety of housing options, a vibrant office community and a new epicenter, The Battery and SunTrust Park.

The Battery gave Cumberland what it was missing. Now our submarket is synonymous with the vibrancy, boldness and quality of The Battery. The Braves’ branding has given the district a tremendous boost which will allow us to continue to attract, connect and stay competitive.

Currently, our district is very accessible by car and bus. And, the truth is that it’s likely to stay that way for a long time. While rubber tire vehicle accessibility is our strength, we will continue to work to make it even better while we pursue alternatives. The new I-75 Managed Express Lanes and Akers Mill Ramp project are perfect examples of making a good thing even better. Driving on the express lanes is like riding a magic carpet. It has taken 30,000 cars per day off of I-75 and cut commute times by 33 percent. The Akers Mill Ramp will greatly improve the traffic flow in and out of the core of the Cumberland area.  Once parked, the commuter has access to restaurants, entertainment, nature and virtually everything else in the district through an ever-expanding network of sidewalks, trails and bike-sharing.

The Bob Callan Trail, Akers Mill Trail and Stillhouse Trails have been a point of pride for CCID. The Silver Comet Trail already runs through the CID and when these trails eventually connect to it and the Atlanta BeltLine trail, access to and from the district will be even more extraordinary.

The CCID will continue to do what it does best, identify current problems and work hard to solve them while anticipating future needs and collaborating with others to find solutions. We love Cumberland’s position at the intersection of ITP and OTP and we are inspired to do all we can to continue to make it even better.