Northside Drive as a Multimodal Developmental Corridor: Transformation from Utilitarian Auto Route to Grand Transit Boulevard

Abstract

The studio explored ways to transform Northside Drive from a dismal, disorganized underperforming corridor that frames the west side of the Atlanta core into a grand transit boulevard. Picture a tree-lined, well-lit boulevard, wide and grand, with medians, and ample accommodation of all travel modes, lined with mid-rise mixed income residential buildings with as much retail and other ground floor activities as the market will support. With the proper transportation and zoning design, over time this now dismal traffic corridor will transform all the way from I-75 to West End. Increasing mixed use development densities will support a growing share of transit, pedestrian and bicycle uses as distances shorten between residential and jobs concentrations. Planned and developed properly, the transformation will break down Northside’s historic race and class divide to become a great urban street whose assets and attractions provide a common ground for sharing the strengths of diverse populations.