Contact:
Jeremy Craig, 404-413-1357
University Relations
ATLANTA — The Georgia State University campus, faculty, staff and students will take part in Atlanta Streets Alive, an event that will open downtown streets to bicyclists and pedestrians June 11 and June 25.
The event, sponsored by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 11 and 4 to 8 p.m. on June 25. Officials will close off traffic along a 2.3 mile route that will run through the Fairlie Poplar district, along Auburn and Edgewood avenues through downtown, the Georgia State campus and into the Old Fourth Ward.
The event will kickoff at Woodruff Park on both days. Atlanta Streets Alive will also include activities from other organizations and businesses, including dance, visual arts, health education, food and live music.
“Atlanta Streets Alive gives Georgia State a chance to shine as the place in Atlanta for healthy, fun activity,” said John Steward, program manager for the Partnership for Urban Health Research at GSU’s Institute of Public Health. “It’s great for the students, staff, faculty and the entire community to come out and enjoy the streets filled with people instead of vehicles.”
GSU Bikes, an initiative to increase bicycling to and around Georgia State, and Touch the Earth will be on hand to provide loaner bikes for short-term use to GSU students, faculty and staff.
GSU Bikes is an effort of the Institute of Public Health, the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design, the Department of Sociology and the Department of Recreational Services in partnership with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and Central Atlanta Progress.
Atlanta Streets Alive is modeled on the “ciclovia” in Bogota, Colombia, where city streets are closed to car traffic to allow people to participate in free health and community-oriented events. Similar events are held worldwide, including New York’s “Summer Streets” and Paris’ “Plage.”
“Our goal is to create opportunities for Atlantans to beat the obesity epidemic by getting active, having fun, socializing with their neighbors, and exploring parts of the city by bike and foot they normally experience from the interior of a car,” said Rebecca Serna of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.
The first Atlanta Streets Alive event in May 2010 brought about 6,000 participants on bikes as well as pedestrians.
“People were so happy and there were so many smiles,” said Katie Sobush, a 2010 participant and GSU alumna. “Atlanta Streets Alive was like a huge present. In reality, the streets already belong to the people, but the event was that concept realized.”
More information about Atlanta Streets Alive, including a map route, is available at www.atlantastreetsalive.com. For more about GSU Bikes, including the bike-sharing program, a bike shop, a map of bicycle racks around the GSU campus and other information, visit www.gsubikes.com.
June 8, 2011