atlantalarry

Exploring the Internet Archive -- Atlanta's own Spaghetti Junction in video

This morning I decided to do a search on the word "Atlanta" in the Internet Archive, that massive, glorious repository of assorted stuff.  The first thing that caught my eye was a video called simply "Atlanta Traffic".  It was part of the OurMedia series on the Archive,  described as "an initiative devoted to creating and sharing works of personal media."

I couldn't find out who had uploaded the video, but it is a 3 minute 26 second scene of a drive approaching the Tom Moreland interchange, also known as spaghetti junction.  Spaghetti Junction is the interchange of I-85 and I-285 in north Dekalb County, near its border with Gwinnett County.  It was created to solve congestion problems associated with an earlier cloverleaf road design.

I'm not  fond of Atlanta's automobile culture, and I view the very existence of that interchange as evidence of how insane our dependence on automobiles has become.   It is a hideously ugly structure.  There are many roadways, including interstate highways, that could be retrofitted and given design elements to make them seem as though they were built by a culture that values beauty and dignity.  It is hard to image any makeover of spaghetti junction that would be anything more than the proverbial activity of "putting lipstick on a pig."

It's a short, clever video, and I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

Cycling to the MARTA Station from south Cobb (and from there to the Dekalb Farmer's Market)

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been exploring bicycle routes to various destinations from our house in south Cobb.  This is a description of today's errands by bicycle.

I had a bit of uncertainty about titling this post, since today was quite an adventure for me.  I not only cycled in Cobb County, but in Fulton and Dekalb Counties as well.  My objective was to familiarize myself with the route from Oakdale Road to the Hamilton Holmes MARTA station, but I needed an errand to justify the trip.  Monday is my day for shopping at the Dekalb Farmer's Market, and the Avondale station on the East line is very close to that market, so I decided it would be an excellent time to check out the route.

Google Maps came up with the following simple route, which was the route I'd have guessed would be most efficient.  I simply took Oakdale Road to Veterans Memorial, which becomes Donald Hollwell Parkway after crossing the Chattahoochee River, turned right on Hamilton Holmes, took a right alongside I-20, and entered the station.  Here's the map:
View Larger Map

All in all it was a pleasant ride.  Traffic moves pretty fast along Veteran's Memorial, but there are two lanes of ample width, so cars and trucks were passing me with plenty of clearance room.  Hollowell Parkway narrows inside I-285, but it isn't far from there to Hamilton Holmes.

The trip from the Avondale Station to the Farmer's Market was even more straightforward.  One of the exits from the station empties onto Ponce De Leon, and the Farmer's Market is about a mile from the station.

After shopping I rode back to the station, and discovered that a medical emergency at the Georgia State station had stopped train service between Candler Park and the Georgia World Congress Center.  MARTA was providing emergency bus service, but rather than hope that a bike rack was available on one of those buses, I decided to cycle to the GWCC station.  This added quite a few overall cycling miles to my day.

After I put away the groceries from the Farmer's Market, I had one more errand.  I rode to the Lewis Ray branch of the Cobb Public Library on Oakdale Road.

My final cycling mileage for the day was 48 miles.  I'm feeling it at the moment, too.

Cycling in south Cobb County

I've been living full time in south Cobb, near the Chattahoochee River, since I sold my East Atlanta house about a year and a half ago.  One thing which has been on my todo list for the entire time I've been here is exploring the area by bicycle.  Despite the reputation of "Outside the Perimeter" (OTP) areas of Atlanta as unfriendly to cyclists, I see cyclists on the roads regularly here, and the Silver Comet trail, which starts near South Cobb Drive, has encouraged cycling in this area considerably.

I've finally gotten my gear in order and began exploring my immediate environment, which includes Oakdale Road, Veteran's Memorial Highway (the old Bankhead Highway), South Cobb Drive, the East-West Connector, and Atlanta Road.

My goal over the next few weeks is to map out good routes to the grocery stores in the area (there are three viable Publix stores and two Krogers), the post office on Floyd Road, the public libraries on Oakdale and Floyd roads, the Hamilton Holmes MARTA station, and the various CCT and MARTA bus stops in the area.  I'll post maps here as I explore them,

Today I made my first utility trip in the area, riding from our house on Brookside Drive to the intersection of South Cobb Drive and River View Road.  It was a pleasant ride, on Brookside, Roberts Drive, Oakdale Road, Dickerson Road, River View Road, and South Cobb.

Here's the Google map of the route I took.

 

View Larger Map

Proposal for a New Park in south Cobb

Recently my fiance Sue (who lives in Mableton, just past the perimeter in south Cobb) mentioned that Cobb County was accepting proposals for new parks.  I'm the sort of person who explores every area I encounter pretty thoroughly, so the first thing which came to mind was an area along the west side of the Chattahoochee between the sites where Proctor Creek and Nickajack Creek feed into the river.  The part of this section I've explored most thoroughly is along Riverview Road between I-285 and 78 (the old Bankhead Highway, which is called Veteran's Memorial in Cobb County).

There are a half dozen reasons that I think this would be an excellent site for a linear park, but the three main ones are historical, ecological, and local quality of life. 

The historical reason is that a number of the Shoupades, which were ingenious Civil War fortifications, are near that stretch of river spanning present day Smyrna and Mableton. Roberta (Bobby) Cook has been leading an impressive effort to preserve the remaining Shoupades.

Click here for a description and explanation of the shoupades.

Click here for the blog of the Cobb Parks Coalition, which mentions Ms. Cooks work to preserve the Shoupades.

The ecological reason should be pretty obvious to anyone who knows the area.  It's become somewhat of a dump.  Everything from refrigerators, to tires, to Styrofoam cups wind up either on the banks, or in the river itself, in addition to all the activities related to water usage and sewage.  Cleaning up the area surrounding the river along that stretch would be a benefit not only to Cobb County, but to all the areas south of the park.

As for quality of life, it's a rapidly developing area, and having a beautiful stretch of trails along the river for walking, jogging, or cycling would be a wonderful enhancement to the south Smyrna and Mableton area.

Assuming a concept this ambitious were accepted, I think the primary goal should be the health of the river, so ecological and preservation considerations should take precedence over the recreational aspect, but I see no reason the two things couldn't go hand in hand.

I've created a photo album with some shots of the stretch of river along Riverview Road.  I haven't quite figured out the topography yet.  Some of these shots are of what seems to be an inlet to the west of the river, and some of the shots are of the river itself.  Click here to enter the photo album.