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Atlanta drivers, relief is in sight: One-way streets changed to two-ways in new proposal

ATLANTA — A new street plan could improve traffic for tens of thousands of people who drive in Atlanta.

The proposal would change parts of four streets in midtown from one-way streets to two-way streets.

"It's exciting to see a lot of the changes that they're making," said driver Michael Midgette.

The Midtown Alliance is behind a $1.3 million plan to convert parts of Third, Fourth, 13 streets and Peachtree Place from one-way to two-way streets.

"It took me 25 minutes to go four blocks from here to 85, and I think just making more of these streets two-ways, I think it would alleviate a lot of that," Midgette said.

"That's (going to) allow more people access via car, via bicycle, walking, (a) better kind of relationship, if you will, to the new buildings that are getting built around these streets," Brian Carr, with Midtown Alliance, told Channel 2 Action News.

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Third Street would change to two-way from Spring Street to West Peachtree Street and from Peachtree Street to Juniper Street.

Fourth Street would be two-way from Spring Street to Myrtle Street.

"That can actually help to streamline this by getting them all the way through from Piedmont Park all the way over to the connector to be consistent in the way people can use those streets instead of having to dodge around and go some blocks where you have two-way and some blocks where you don't have two-way," Carr said.

Supporters told Channel 2 Action News the changes will help traffic keep pace with all the expansion in midtown.

"There's a lot of different ways that this is (going to) become more useful for more people as midtown continues to grow," Carr said.

The Midtown Alliance said businesses will benefit also. The company said there will be more potential customers seeing the businesses when the streets go both ways.

The plan is currently in the design phase.

Construction will begin when the city approves the proposal.