Editor’s note: Following two weeks of email back-and-forth for a Q&A-style report, the following source asked to remain anonymous just prior to publishing. With such a hot take on such an important Atlanta topic, that would normally be grounds to dismiss a potential story. But this topic, as of last week, suddenly became more timely than ever, per this homeowner.
We’ll call her Emily.
Emily feels a section of the Atlanta BeltLine—Southside Trail Segment 6, completed in an interim state in May 2021—is not a boon to her Glenwood Park neighborhood, but a scourge. She says she’s not alone. Case in point came last week, according to her, in what she describes as the “worst [vehicle] crash we’ve had since the BeltLine came through,” but not the only one.
A vehicle exiting Interstate 20 eastbound on Jan. 31 failed to stop at Bill Kennedy Way and blasted through barriers meant to protect BeltLine patrons on a bridge over the interstate, scattering the area in debris and rendering the interim BeltLine section all but unusable. It happened a few feet from a large encampment, positioned between the BeltLine and interstate, that’s largely tucked away from public view but is very much on the minds of neighbors, according to Emily.
Below is a brief compendium of correspondences sent from Emily asking for news coverage to shine a light on issues she says are plaguing her neighborhood. It paints a contrast to the more typical narrative of the BeltLine being a welcome boon for Atlanta’s urban connectivity and intown economy, despite it being an agent of substantial cost-of-living increases.
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Dear Urbanize Atlanta:
I hope this story may be of interest as a juxtaposition of a community deeply affected by the BeltLine development.
I have lived in East Atlanta—the Glenwood Park neighborhood—since 2019, right before the BeltLine came through.
Since the Beltline came through, we’ve had multiple vehicles slam into the BeltLine…
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