At last, Piedmont Avenue Complete Street overhaul moves forward

Josh Green

Mon, 11/04/2024 – 08:02

Nearly a decade in the making, another Midtown Complete Street project is moving forward that’s designed to more safely move non-drivers near Piedmont Park.

Midtown Alliance has officially opened the bidding process for the Piedmont Avenue Complete Street Project, a 1.1-mile remake of an important, northbound intown thoroughfare.

A pre-bid conference for the project’s prospective builders is scheduled for Nov. 14.

The section of Piedmont Avenue in question stretches from Ponce de Leon Avenue up to 15th Street, where the roadway separates Ansley Park and the Piedmont Driving Club.

The reworked corridor is designed to better accommodate walkers, bicyclists, and those with limited mobility, while providing a new gateway for non-motorists to the western side of Piedmont Park.

Most of it would replace the easternmost parking and travel lane on Piedmont Avenue with a northbound bike lane. On-street parking would be designated for the other side of the street.

via Midtown Alliance

Scope of the 1.1-mile project. via Midtown Alliance

Like the under-construction, southbound bike lane at the Juniper Complete Street Project a block away, the protected Piedmont Avenue bike lane will travel in just one direction.

One short stretch of Piedmont Avenue—from a popular park entrance at 14th Street up to 15th Street—will see its sidewalk replaced with a multi-use path on the east side of the street, according to Midtown Alliance.

The project first came to light as part of the Renew Atlanta Bond program and Midtown Transportation Plan back in 2015. The engineering and design process began three years later, and the city approved the project’s final construction documents in 2021.

Funding sources include City of Atlanta TSPLOST 1.0 and Midtown Improvement District funds. Project officials estimated in 2022 the Complete Street would cost $5.2 million.

Now, all bids for the project are due Dec. 5.

Breakdown of a typical Piedmont Avenue Complete Street Project section. via Midtown Alliance

Whichever bidder is picked will have 545 days (or roughly a year and 1/2) to complete the work on Piedmont Avenue from the date of selection, per bidding documentation.

Below is a before/after look at what complete-streets implementation will mean for the intersection of Piedmont Avenue and 6th Street, as one example: