Creating a Safer Decatur Street

Liz Babiarz

By next fall, Georgia State University will have a safer, more beautiful connection through its downtown campus.

The university’s long-awaited Decatur Street Pedestrian Improvements Project will begin April 2 and conclude in September.

The $1.5 million project will take the four-lane Decatur Street and introduce new landscaped islands – reducing the roadway at some places to single lanes going east and west from Peachtree Street to Jesse Hill Jr. Drive. This work will also provide dedicated turning lanes, wider sidewalks and improved pedestrian crossings.

“This project will make Decatur Street a much more pedestrian-friendly boulevard and will reduce the speed and traffic volume, creating a safer corridor for the Georgia State campus,” said Russ Seagren, director of facilities planning at Georgia State.

Construction will progress one block at a time, starting at the intersection of Decatur and Peachtree Streets. Crews will work eastward on the north side of Decatur Street until Jesse Hill Jr. Dr., at which point they will switch to the south side of Decatur Street and work westward until Peachtree Street.

During the project, one lane will remain open at all times, except during work on Decatur Street between Park Place and Peachtree Center Avenue. This work will require closing both westbound lanes. Signs will be posted to detour traffic to Edgewood Avenue and returning to Decatur Street at Park Place.

“It’s a great project for all of us in downtown because it raises the importance of Decatur Street,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress. “We know new infrastructure always improves the environment – not only for Georgia State students but for all of us.”

The Decatur Street project is part of Georgia State’s Main Street Master Plan, the creation of former GSU President Carl Patton who wanted a more pedestrian-friendly campus.

The project is funded through Transportation Enhancement funds, the Livable Centers Initiative and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Georgia State officials hope to soon secure funding for a similar project to improve Piedmont Avenue.

“The campus is moving very quickly from what was a commuter campus to a residential campus,” Seagren said. “As more people are living on campus, pedestrian movement and safety are going to be even more important.”

For more information, including a timeline on construction, please visit www.gsu.edu/decaturst.