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Atlanta Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Atlanta. Written by Emma Hurt, Kristal Dixon and Thomas Wheatley.

Axios Atlanta Thought Bubble

Axios Atlanta

People driving fast — and on roads designed to move cars as quickly and efficiently as possible — killed an increasing number of pedestrians and bicyclists in Atlanta last year, according to a new analysis profiling the victims.

31 people were struck and killed by people driving cars in Atlanta in 2021 — compared to 14 the year before, says Propel ATL, a bicyclist and pedestrian advocacy organization.

Why it matters: Deaths involving pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists are often viewed as statistics. But behind every statistic is a person with a story.

By the numbers: 24 of the people who died were Black; 17 victims were men, the report says.

42% of the deaths occurred on Atlanta's "high-injury network" — streets where a disproportionate number of traffic fatalities take place.

Of note: No deaths were reported on streets with speed limits under 35 mph, Propel ATL noted.

Zoom in: In December 2021, Brittany Flournoy and her family gathered at Grady Memorial Hospital after their sister Jasmine "Jasi Badu" Gaither was struck by a driver who fled the scene. Gaither later died from her injuries.

Weeks earlier, their mother, Tomika Ivery, was struck and killed by a driver on Campbellton Road. Both of their deaths are recorded in Propel's report.

"People need to pay attention and slow down," Flournoy told Axios. "Everyone's lives matter. Everyone, whether you're walking, running, biking, in your car — everyone's trying to get somewhere."

Zoom out: Metro Atlanta was the 27th most dangerous region for pedestrians from 2016 to 2020, according to Smart Growth America. Georgia and California had the ninth highest fatality rate.

State of play: In May, Atlantans approved more than $300 million in spending on new sidewalks, safer streets and bike lanes. 

What they're saying: Propel is urging the city to make safety improvements, including giving pedestrians a head start when crossing the street, creating a safe street design that addresses transportation inequities and making protected bike lanes the norm rather than the exception.

Pedestrian and cyclist deaths are on the rise

31 people were struck and killed by people driving cars in Atlanta in 2021.

Illustration of a car moving into a crosswalk.

People driving fast — and on roads designed to move cars as quickly and efficiently as possible — killed an increasing number of pedestrians and bicyclists in Atlanta last year, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.letspropelatl.org/31-reasons-why" data-vars-content-id="0a6aae71-bfff-422e-8dc7-c5cdab6046da" data-vars-headline="Pedestrian and cyclist deaths are on the rise" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.letspropelatl.org/31-reasons-why" target="_blank">new analysis</a> profiling the victims.<ul><li>31 people were struck and killed by people driving cars in Atlanta in 2021 — compared to 14 the year before, says Propel ATL, a bicyclist and pedestrian advocacy organization.</li></ul>

News

MARTA's Five Points station will shake off its hulking canopy — the one with the  sign that seemingly hasn't worked for years — as part of a $200 million facelift.

Why it matters: After over 40 years, the Downtown hub — the only station where all rail lines converge — needs an update to serve riders and take advantage of a wave of development interest washing over the neighborhood. 

Driving the news: Yesterday, MARTA received a $25 million boost from the federal government to fund the station’s makeover. 

Details: MARTA's hired architectural firm SOM to draw up potential designs. 

The same firm is behind the Moynihan Train Hall at New York's Penn Station.

All potential designs call for removing the Brutalist canopy. The mini-soccer pitch and community gardens, however, will remain a part of Five Points' next chapter.

Meanwhile, work will start on a $40 million upgrade of the platforms, escalators and lighting inside the station next month.

By the numbers: Most of the cash to build the project comes from the More MARTA sales tax, a yet-to-be-determined amount from state's Georgia Transit Trust Fund and the federal grant secured by Rep. Nikema Williams and Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

The big picture: More than $6 billion in public and private cash will flood the area around Five Points over the next five years. 

MARTA officials want the footprint of the revived Five Points station to include space for future buildings and other developments.

Plans under review by the transit agency and city officials call for reconnecting Broad Street for pedestrians but not for cars and other personal vehicles, a MARTA spokesperson tells Axios.

Intrigue: When Five Points was built in the mid-1970s, construction blasted a hole in Downtown and divided Broad Street. 

When the demolition dust clears, MARTA has an opportunity to create a better place for riders, pedestrians and bicyclists and the community. 

What's next: Construction work will begin in 2024, transit officials say, and won’t interrupt bus and rail service. 

They hope to wrap up in 2028 — which means the 2026 World Cup matches in Atlanta will be exciting.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to remove a reference to a state funding amount for the project. MARTA says the amount has not been finalized.

Five Points' extreme makeover

The transformative project is getting some funding from the federal government.

An aerial rendering of MARTA's Five Points station with a greener plaza and no large concrete canopy

One of more than a dozen concepts MARTA is considering to replace the Five Points station. Rendering: Courtesy of MARTA

Public transport

MARTA&#x27;s Five Points station will shake off its hulking canopy — the one with the sign that seemingly hasn&#x27;t worked for years — as part of a $200 million facelift.Why it matters: After over 40 years, the Downtown hub — the only station where all rail lines converge — needs an update to serve riders and take advantage of a wave of development interest washing over the neighborhood.

Developers of a project along Auburn Avenue have reversed course and say they now intend to preserve the building where Georgia’s first Black banking company was established.

Driving the news: Joel Reed of Gorman & Company, a partner on the Sweet Auburn Grande Project, told the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association on Tuesday that the team would explore how to incorporate the three-story building at 229 Auburn Avenue into the project.

Why it matters: The announcement provides a glimmer of hope for preservationists who advocate for maintaining Atlanta's dwindling stock of historic structures.

Catch up quick: The project would transform most of Auburn Avenue between Jesse Hill Jr. Drive and Bell Street into a massive mixed-use structure. 

That would have included demolishing the building in the Sweet Auburn Historic District, which was once celebrated as the "richest Negro street in the world."

Alfonza Marshall, chairman of the Butler Street Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit entity that owns the property and is spearheading the redevelopment, previously told Saporta Report it was "too expensive" to save the building. 

What they're saying: Reed said Tuesday that the team "got off on the wrong foot" by saying the building needed to be demolished.

He also said the team is considering reducing the amount of parking in its plans to make room for additional housing units, a potential win for urbanists.

Yes, and: David Y. Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, said the organization applauds any attempt to retain part "of our history that is critical to our collective experience." 

He also said the structure is an example of how a building "can be the reason we remember our identity."

The 229 Auburn building was constructed around 1908 and was home to Atlanta State Savings Bank, the first chartered bank for Black people in Georgia. In 1926, it became home to an Atlanta Life Insurance Company branch office.

The side of the building at one point had a mural that featured the Gold Dust Twins, an advertisement that used racist stereotypes of Black people to sell soap made by the company N.K. Fairbank.

Sweet Auburn building saved from demolition, for now

Georgia’s first Black banking company was established in the historic building.

The vacant building at 229 Auburn Avenue once housed the Atlanta State Savings Bank and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Credit: Atlanta Preservation Center

Developers of a project along Auburn Avenue have reversed course and say they now intend to preserve the building where Georgia’s first Black banking company was established.Driving the news: Joel Reed of Gorman &amp; Company, a partner on the Sweet Auburn Grande Project, told the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association on Tuesday that the team would explore how to incorporate the three-story building at 229 Auburn Avenue into the project.

Atlanta Police have responded to at least 15 reported shootings so far this month — two of which resulted in the hospitalization of children.

A driving factor, say Atlanta Police and city officials, is residents' and out-of-towners' tendencies to pick up a firearm to settle a conflict.

What's happening: The latest high-profile incident took place Sunday night when six people were shot during a softball game in a city park. Two adults died and a six-year-old girl is in critical condition after an argument devolved into gunfire, police say.

Around 7pm, police responded to Rosa L. Burney Park in southwest Atlanta's Mechanicsville neighborhood and found two victims, police say. Other people had already been transported by private vehicles to Grady Memorial Hospital.

Four days earlier, police investigated an apparent murder-suicide in the Old Fourth Ward. Though police have not confirmed the two people knew each other, interim police chief Darin Schierbaum took the opportunity to urge people to not pick up a gun in a moment of anger. 

Atlanta Police say roughly 40% of homicide cases this year stemmed from escalating disputes, per the AJC.

State of play: Since 2021 — the last full year of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' administration — city officials and police leaders have tried to reduce the complex factors that contribute to violence. 

Bottoms' administration tapped COVID-19 stimulus funding to create the Office of Violence Reduction. 

Since taking office, Mayor Andre Dickens has beefed up investment in summer youth programs and supported creating an ordinance that would crack down on so-called "nuisance" bars, nightclubs, shopping malls and other properties where some violent crime occurs.

Atlanta-based nonprofit CHRIS 180 is also leading a program to teach people street-level conflict resolution skills in southwest and west Atlanta.

What they're saying: "As we've said countless times, we're just asking the citizens to find a way to resolve conflict without weapons," deputy chief Charles Hampton Jr. told reporters outside Rosa L. Burney Park. 

"We're just asking people to step away. We're asking people to let bygones be bygones. This is not a place for gunplay... We're asking everyone to leave the guns at home."

Atlanta leaders call for nonviolent conflict resolution

Police have responded to 15 shootings so far in August.

police officers standing next to park entry sign with crime tape wrapped around it

Photo: Ben Hendren for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gun violence

Atlanta Police have responded to at least 15 reported shootings so far this month — two of which resulted in the hospitalization of children.<ul><li>A driving factor, say Atlanta Police and city officials, is residents&#x27; and out-of-towners&#x27; tendencies to pick up a firearm to settle a conflict.</li></ul>

Gwinnett Place Mall, a decades-old shopping center near Duluth that most recently served as a set for "Stranger Things" and other shows, could enjoy a second act as a diverse, mixed-use development. 

What's happening: This week, a team of area leaders, government officials, and planners proposed replacing the dying mall with a 90-acre megadevelopment named Global Villages.

By the numbers: Under the plan, Global Villages would comprise seven residential villages centered on a 4.5-acre park. 

The project could have 2,700 housing units, 25,000 square feet of office space and up to 100,000 square feet of retail.

Plus: a 40,000 square foot cultural center, international library and eight additional acres of greenspace mixed among the villages.   

Macy's, Mega Mart and Beauty Master own their property and plan to remain, the AJC reports.

Yes, but: Exactly how many affordable housing units are part of the plan has yet to be decided.

Catch up quick: Opened in 1984, the mall was a popular draw in the fast-growing county but faded in the early 2000s as newer malls upped the competition for shoppers and businesses.

The county bought most of the property in April 2021 for $23 million. 

What they’re saying: The development aims to support and celebrate international cultures and blend in with the existing communities — not serve as a stand-alone attraction, says Joe Allen, the executive director of the Gwinnett Place Commercial Improvement District.

Of note: "Stranger Things" production crews 1980s-fied the shopping complex into Starcourt Mall for the show’s third season. Other shoots have included "Ozark," "Greenleaf" and "I, Tonya."

Zoom out: Developers see opportunities in aging enclosed shopping malls, most of which enjoy prime locations and are well-served with utilities and other infrastructure.

Earlier this year, developer Edens announced plans to build 300,000 square feet of retail, 200,000 square feet of office space, a hotel and nearly 2,000 apartments and townhomes at North DeKalb Mall. 

"Stranger Things" to bigger things

The 39-acre megadevelopment will be called Global Villages.

A rendering of a large mixed-use development featuring several mid-rise buildings centered on a park

Rendering: Courtesy of Gwinett Place Community Improvement District

Shopping malls

Gwinnett Place Mall, a decades-old shopping center near Duluth that most recently served as a set for &quot;Stranger Things&quot; and other shows, could enjoy a second act as a diverse, mixed-use development. What&#x27;s happening: This week, a team of area leaders, government officials, and planners <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="proposed replacing the dying mall" data-vars-click-url="https://gwinnettplacetobe.com/home/our-work/" data-vars-content-id="f898abf8-acae-4f2a-8547-a1c7d9c45bb6" data-vars-headline="&quot;Stranger Things&quot; to bigger things" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://gwinnettplacetobe.com/home/our-work/" target="_blank">proposed replacing the dying mall</a> with a 90-acre megadevelopment named Global Villages.

Thomas Wheatley

Featured stories

Five Points' extreme makeover

Sweet Auburn building saved from demolition, for now

Atlanta leaders call for nonviolent conflict resolution

Pedestrian and cyclist deaths are on the rise

"Stranger Things" to bigger things