Transportation Planning

Community Transportation Plan

Transportation planning in the City of Decatur focuses on opportunities to promote a safe, integrated transportation system that encourages bicycling and walking as viable alternatives to vehicular travel, increased connectivity between neighborhoods and destinations, and transportation equity for users of all ages and abilities. Citywide transportation initiatives are guided by the 2018 Community Transportation Plan, which provides recommended policies, programs, and projects that emphasize a healthy and active community and can be found on DecaturNext.com. 

Citywide Transportation Projects
Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national program that empowers communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity. Each school has designated safe routes, crossing guard locations, and monthly Walk and Roll days. The city is actively looking to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities along each of the SRTS routes.

Citywide Sidewalk Assessment

The citywide sidewalk assessment helps fulfill the community goal within Decatur’s 2010 Strategic Plan to enhance mobility in and through Decatur. The sidewalk assessment is a volunteer-led project in which potential hazards in Decatur’s existing pedestrian infrastructure have been identified. More than 50 volunteers dedicated their time to inventory every sidewalk, crosswalk, and curb ramp in the city. Staff members are currently analyzing each of the existing sidewalks for maintenance and repairs.  With assistance from the volunteers and city boards, a prioritization list was compiled, which prioritizes repairs to sidewalks along Safe Routes to School, within the downtown special pedestrian area, within ¼ mile of a city school, and within ¼ mile of a senior living center.  

Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning

Decatur PATH Connectivity & Implementation Plan
The city recently worked with the PATH Foundation and Kaizen Collaborative to prepare a connectivity and implementation plan. The plan suggests seven new trail segments, which once complete, will provide a better bicycle and pedestrian connection to the downtown core, neighborhoods, schools, and parks. The seven new trail segments include:

Commerce Drive Cycle Track
Agnes Scott College Connector
Oakview Road Connector
East Decatur Connector
Glennwood Elementary Connector
Westchester Elementary Connector
East Lake MARTA Connector

Complete Streets & Traffic Calming

The Complete Streets team is an interdepartmental committee that looks for improvements to the existing infrastructure to provide a safer environment for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. The team accepts traffic calming petitions and provides staff recommendations to the city commission.

Downtown Parking Study

Beginning in 2017, the City of Decatur updated its 2009 parking inventory and survey with assistance from the Atlanta Regional Commission's Community Choices grant program.  The study an analyzed existing parking in downtown Decatur to recommend strategies for maximizing usage while maintaining commitment to businesses and alternate modes of transportation. The survey studied the total number of spaces, the
type of spaces available, the price of parking, and generate GIS data to ultimately be used for smart parking technology. To reduce confusion, implement advanced technologies, and improve air quality, the city hopes to implement a downtown‐wide smart parking technology system. In pursuit of smart parking technology, the city of Decatur hopes to aggregate current data on the street parking, surface parking and decks. This report covers the results of the updated survey in addition to some example best practices for smart parking technology utilized in
other cities. The final Downtown Parking Inventory report, originally published in January 2018, can be found here.

Transit & Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

Decatur is unique in that aside from the City of Atlanta, it has the most number of transit stations within its boundaries. Three MARTA rail stations are located along the east-west Blue Line. Because the stations are centrally located between the northern and southern ends of the city, there is great opportunity for successful transit ridership and transit oriented development.

Decatur MARTA Station

The city envisions the downtown area and the Decatur MARTA station to become a mobility hub. Mobility hubs are areas where various modes of travel - walking, biking, transit, ridesharing, and personal driving intersect. Mobility hubs not only allow for an assortment of transportation services, amenities, and design elements to enhance the transportation experience and network, but they also bring together destinations where people live, work and play. Common services provided at a mobility hub include:

Bike sharing services
Car sharing services
Electric vehicle charging stations
Smart parking technology
Bicycle repair stations and improved bicycle facilities
Improved pedestrian facilities and street furniture
Package delivery

Avondale MARTA Station

In 2002 a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) study prepared for Avondale station to address the underutilized parking lot on the southern side of the station and to promote development within and surrounding the station. The adopted 2002 LCI Study can be found on DecaturNext.com.Groundbreaking for the Avondale TOD was held in November 2016. The TOD includes market rate apartments, affordable senior living, commercial space, and a connection to the East Decatur Greenway. In 2018, the remainder of the surrounding commercial area was rezoned from light industrial to mixed-use in support of transit-oriented development. A regulating master site plan that shows future circulation, greenspaces, and connectivity was developed at the time of rezoning. 

East Lake MARTA Station

The East Lake station is vastly underutilized and is the perfect location for future development within the city as it has two large, nearly empty parking lots and experiences the lowest daily ridership. Daily entries average 1,101 riders and parking utilization is only 39%. With assistance from the Atlanta Regional Commission, the city partnered with MARTA and the City of Atlanta to prepare an East Lake MARTA Station LCI Study, a master plan for contextually appropriate development of the station and surrounding area.  The final adopted LCI Study can be found on DecaturNext.com.

Signalization

A long term goal for the city is to have fully upgraded traffic signals. The timeline for the signal upgrade is estimated to begin in 2019, funded by GDOT. The signal upgrade would not only involve the most modern traffic signals, but would also incorporate an entire network of fiber connecting signals for improved signal synchronization and timing.

Capital Improvements Transportation Projects
Railroad Crossing Improvements at Atlanta Avenue

The City of Decatur plans to provide an at-grade railroad crossing at Atlanta that improves safety at the intersection for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Improvements at the railroad crossing can include realignment of streets, new sidewalks, signalization, and greenspace. Follow the project news here.

Commerce Drive Cycle Track

The City of Decatur will be expanding the North McDonough Cycle Track onto Commerce Drive, between West Trinity Place and Church Street.  A cycle track connection along West Trinity Place will be installed upon completion of the new mixed use development of the former site of the Callaway Building.  The Cycle Track will also connect to the planned Church Street Cycle Track that will lead bicyclists northward to the city limits.  The cycle tracks will provide improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities, on-street parking, reconfigured travel lanes for safer speeds, and new landscaping.