The small but mighty redo of the pocket park outside the Krog Tunnel aims to reduce clutter and beautify the neighborhood's major gateway. Photo: Courtesy of the Cabbagetown Initiative
A Cabbagetown pocket park outside Atlanta's most famous graffiti tunnel has been transformed from what neighborhood leaders call a "dust bowl" into a "little oasis" for pedestrians — and a place to neatly park scooters.
Why it matters: The roughly $60,000 Krog pocket park project shows how small, smart community investments can make an outsized impact on a neighborhood's look and feel.
Catch up quick: John Dirga, the executive director of the Cabbagetown Initiative, the nonprofit that led the project, said the neighborhood saw an exponential increase in e-scooters and e-bikes parked in and around the Krog Tunnel around 2022.
"While we understand the importance of micromobility, Cabbagetown wanted to reclaim some space for gathering, focus on pedestrian comfort, and provide some bike racks," Dirga told Axios.
Zoom in: Work performed by small businesses and artists included raising the tree canopy, installing resting boulders and stonework for the micro-mobility corral, reconfiguring an iron sculpture and planting new landscaping.
Fun fact: A new mural by Peter Ferrari, the founder of the neighborhood's Forward Warrior wall art festival, features native wildlife including "our Wylie Coyote often seen scavenging alleys at night," Dirga said.
