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This is the Madison at Reynoldstown, as seen from the Beltline (just north of Memorial Drive). When it's completed this summer it will offer 116 rental apartments for families earning 80 percent of the area median income or less, with those affordable rents guaranteed for 30 years.

Additionally, 46 units of the apartments are reserved families earning up to 30 percent of area median income, providing some deep affordability for people in the lowest income group.

The $43.6-million project is a joint effort by Atlanta Housing, the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, and Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

The photo is mine but the info above was sourced from a recent Urbanize Atlanta post titled "All-affordable BeltLine housing tops out along Eastside Trail."

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Today we walked in the section of Krog Street between Edgewood and Irwin. Seeing all the housing that's here now, I had to look up a Google street-view pic of what it looked like back in 2014 before any of this was built. It's quite a difference.

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The all-way crossing phase for pedestrians and cyclists at Krog Street and DeKalb Avenue is an encouraging sight on busy weekends -- you get to see how many people enjoy getting around without a car. You can't help but feel sorry for anyone trapped behind a windshield here.

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Eastside Beltline

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Pedestrians and cyclists in the Krog Street tunnel

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As I was reminded while walking here earlier today, the sidewalk on Edgewood Avenue is way too narrow. Folks regularly have to step into the roadway to pass others.

It shouldn't be like this anywhere, but especially not on the streetcar route. We're missing an opportunity to match transit investment with great pedestrian conditions.

Please look into redesigning this as a shared street, Atlanta! This is an incredible success story waiting to happen.

Some people complain that the streetcar "doesn't go anywhere people want to go," but I see the problem as being that we have 2.7 miles in the middle of the city that can be described by too many as a place they don't want to go.

What we should be asking is: how many people are we delivering to the streetcar by way of a combination of rail-supportive land use that puts an appropriate density near the stations -- and excellent pedestrian conditions that help alternatives to driving be competitive.

We're failing on all those fronts, but we can turn this ship around. We're capable of succeeding in Atlanta and becoming a city that truly supports alternatives to driving (like the streetcar) through our urban design and policies.

Every little piece of that puzzle matters, including the design of every block of street on the streetcar route.

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The pedestrian/bike phase on the traffic light at Memorial Drive & Bill Kennedy Way is a wonderful thing to see, especially on a lovely & vibrant Saturday afternoon.

I stepped off the 107 bus and was able to immediately use the signal due to how long it lasts. Also my new camera has a feature for fixing wobbly movements and that's neat (I have neurological issues that affect my balance & I walk with a cane).

This is a state road, y'all. Never let it be said that improvements on a GDOT route are impossible. Good things can happen.

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My happy place: sitting on a bus and making my way to a coffee shop that stays open past 3pm. 🚌 ☕

For me, one of the great little joys of warm weather in Atlanta is stepping onto an air conditioned MARTA bus after a hot walk.

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Hooray for colorful storefronts on the sidewalk! Little's in Cabbagetown.

The Little family opened this store in 1929 when Cabbagetown was operating as a mill town. Workers at the nearby Fulton Mills factory lived in shotgun houses & apartments & shopped at Little's.

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I think it's safe to assume we aren't going to tear down any Georgia Tech buildings to increase road capacity on North Avenue.

Instead, we should be planning for reduced capacity for cars here -- and increased capacity for alternatives to driving. Maybe a light rail or BRT line. Or maybe better conditions for cycling. Or dedicated bus lanes. Or all the above.

Even the much ballyhoo'd Holy Grail of "synchronized traffic lights" won't accommodate this car traffic amid those street redesigns. We have to reduce car trips.

That means not only adding better conditions for alternatives to driving, but also ADDING MORE HOMES near those alternatives. With affordability & anti-displacement components included.

If anyone takes anything away from my 15 years of posting as ATL Urbanist (and as of this month it's exactly 15), please let it be this: adding new transit & bike lanes is important but it's not enough; we have to also make better use of the total built environment of the city by increasing the number of people who can live in proximity to great ped/bike/transit service here -- with an emphasis on lower income groups who are too often displaced to the suburbs and exurbs amid urban transformations.

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Pershing Point Park in Midtown, seen this evening while on a walk. I always enjoy passing by this lovely space.

John Ruch wrote about the park last year in a Saporta Report article, 'City Council approves landmarking of Midtown’s World War I memorial'.

From that article:

"A group of residents bought the land in 1918 and gave it to the City on the condition that it remain open space. Originally named Goldsboro Park, the space was renamed later in 1918 for Gen. John J. Pershing, the famed commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in the war. Shortly thereafter, the City approved a plan by a group of “War Mothers” to raise funds and erect a memorial in the park to locals killed in WWI, which was dedicated in 1920."

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1.) Thank goodness for Cafe Lucia in the Healey Building! As far as I could tell from my walk today, it's the only place open in the Woodruff Park area (Moe's might be open but I wanted local stuff).

2.) Broad Street is a sad ghost town on Sunday. All the sadder given how gorgeous it is in the spring! I'm going to die on this hill: Downtown needs thousands more permanent residents in order to fix this problem of hot-and-cold vibrancy, where many streets are active Mon-Fri during the day (when GSU is in session) and during huge events, and largely empty at other times. And no I don't think the streetcar extension will fix it. I can't believe that an economically significant number of people will want to travel from the vibrant Eastside Beltline into a problematic Downtown.

3.) Anyone know the status of the beautiful Grant Building? I read it was potentially getting converted to residential (versus the original plan of converting to a long term stay hotel). It appears to have new windows installed, so something good is happening. It's a lovely structure, completed in 1898.

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It was nice to see Little Five Points packed today for a festival! What a beautiful day to be outside and under the shade of these tall street trees.

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The police report tells us that a 34-year-old woman was struck by a vehicle while walking here, at Freedom Pkwy & N Highland Ave, on March 29 a 8:30pm. She later died in the hospital.

But there is much more to these tragic stories than the soulless police log: a life lost, friends and family left to grieve, and a vehicle driver who has to live with their own grief.

Slowing traffic is crucial for city streets with pedestrians. Through our urban design and policies, we have to get to a place where all drivers are travelling slow enough that they can brake to a stop before killing someone.

The result of failing to do so is a trail of tragedies that society has become perversely comfortable with.

Let's stop being comfortable with this violence and start being open to street designs and policies that slow cars down.

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The view from King Memorial MARTA Station this evening.

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Small homes usually don't have space for largely decorative pieces of furniture that seldom get used for practical purposes. Everything gets used, which is beautiful in its own way, especially if you have the ability to acquire practical items that are both efficient and attractive.

It's the same with compact urban spaces -- ones that are designed primarily for walking instead of driving. It's beautiful when we don't waste our urban footprint on wide highways and parking lots and unused landscaping, and instead use land efficiently with attractive practical items.

Poplar Street, Downtown Atlanta.

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Bricks and tiles on Auburn Avenue. Seen from the window of the Atlanta streetcar.