The Atlanta BeltLine and Atlanta Department of Transportation have spearheaded construction at the 10th Street and Monroe Drive intersection for three months, in aims to better connect the Beltline across the street and improve pedestrian safety.

The intersection, adjacent to Midtown, first came under construction in June. The BeltLine hopes to achieve these goals through a series of improvements. One improvement already implemented is the creation of a raised intersection.

Kimberley Wilson, a Midtown parent and the BeltLine’s vice president of design and construction, said this change will make crossing the intersection more secure for pedestrians.

“The entire intersection is going to be raised,” Wilson said. “That makes the trail users and pedestrians crossing more physical to cars,” Wilson said. “It also slows cars down when they come to the intersection because you have to go up. It’s like a huge speed bump. We are also going to have new pedestrian signals that are timed better for the safer use of people coming off of the trail.”

The BeltLine is also adding additional crosswalks, one connecting the BeltLine across Monroe Drive, and another for cyclists to get to the bike lane along 10th Street, in addition to the existing crosswalk that connects to the corner of 10th Street.

“There will actually be three connections,” Wilson said. “We’ll have a dedicated crosswalk connecting the current BeltLine trail to the new BeltLine trail … Then there’ll be a crosswalk for pedestrians to cross from the BeltLine to the corner of 10th, and then there’ll be a crossing area for just bicyclers to connect to the bike lane on 10th Street … Right now pedestrians and bicyclers are mixed together in the crosswalk.”

Another key development is the removal of a left turning lane on 10th Street. Wilson believes that, while the development will cost drivers a turning lane, the benefits to pedestrian safety will outweigh the potential worsening of traffic.

“The other thing that the design has done is we narrowed the crosswalk,” Wilson said. “That little bulb out of the sidewalk on the stadium side and then the bulb out on the Park Tavern side are more pedestrian-friendly now. I think it’s going to be a much safer crossing. [Before], there was an additional lane of traffic that you had to go across before, but one of the turn lanes has since been removed. So, the more you can shorten the distance that the pedestrians have to cross and lessen the number of lanes that they’re crossing, the safer it is for pedestrians.”

These changes have prompted frustration among some drivers going through the intersection. History teacher Jason Slaven has heard negative feedback from student drivers about the raised intersection, but points out that the redesign is aimed to improve conditions for pedestrians.

“I understand from a driver’s perspective because I have to drive on that intersection every day; it might be inconvenient, especially while it’s under construction because it’s not as smooth,” Slavensaid. “But it is accomplishing the goal of forcing drivers to go slower through that intersection and be more aware of their surroundings … [This means] you’re going to get pushback from car drivers that want to get to their destination as fast as possible. But we shouldn’t be prioritizing one group’s [convenience] over another’s safety.”

Wilson agrees with Slaven’s sentiments. She thinks that the location near Piedmont Park, the BeltLine and Midtown makes the intersection one of the busiest in Atlanta and heightens the importance of pedestrian safety.

“The volume of pedestrians at this intersection probably surpasses the volume of pedestrians at almost any other intersection in the city,” Wilson said. “So, at some point, pedestrian and bicycle traffic has got to take priority.”

Over the years, Meghan Injaychock, Senior Project Manager for the BeltLine, has experienced the development of the BeltLine as a way for Midtown and Grady students to get to school or hang out.

“When I started at the BeltLine [around] a decade ago there were so many people that lived in Midtown that would tell us ‘I used to walk down the rails’, like when [the BeltLine] was active rail, to get home to Virginia Highlands or Poncey Highlands from Grady [Midtown] High School,” Injaychock said. “So… there’s quite a storied tradition of Midtown High students using the BeltLine [before it was the BeltLine] to get to school.”

Injaychock said that history has led to one of the most rewarding parts about this recent project: allowing students a more convenient, safer way to get to school.

“That was one of the coolest parts when we opened [the BeltLine],” Injaychock said. “Watching kids take it to get to school was really rewarding to see. So I think this is a really good step making it a lot safer for [students], and not just for school. I’ve seen you guys cross it all summer, hanging out or going with friends to places. We’re also gonna have a plaza space too, that… is great for meetups so that people aren’t just standing in the front of the BeltLine waiting for their friends. I think it’s been a long time coming but it’s definitely been quite a tradition of Midtown high students using the BeltLine to get to school.”

Junior Jakob de Roode uses the intersection almost every day while he bikes to school and hasn’t noticed many differences with the intersection yet, but anticipates the developments yet to come will improve his daily commute.

“I bike to school, and I haven’t really noticed a difference [with the new intersection] yet,” de Roode said. “I don’t see how the [raised] intersection really helps that much [considering] how much it’s been disrupting while it’s being built. But, I think the new [separated] crosswalk for bikers will keep it less busy. The crossing guards have also helped a lot, making sure people aren’t running [the red lights].”

The crossing guards, hired through a collaboration between the BeltLine and the Atlanta Police Department, are working to monitor pedestrian safety at the intersection while the intersection is under construction. They are posted during school arrival and dismissal times to ensure students’ safety across the intersection.

“The police officers and crossing guards that you see are actually the Atlanta BeltLine Path force, who are a special contingent of the Atlanta Police Department that specifically monitors the BeltLine,” Kynthia Gaines, BeltLine construction director, said. “We specifically asked that team to take on the responsibility of doing the crosswalks and the pedestrian crossing for students in the mornings and in the afternoons, during arrival and dismissal. But, that was just [for] the construction; so, you’ll see them for the next month or so, and after that, once we complete construction, we’ll rely on the signals and the new striping to help guide the pedestrians and the vehicles to utilize the intersection that’s designed.”

Slaven has taken notice of an increased emphasis on pedestrian safety in the city.

“In the scope of government intervention, this did actually happen pretty quickly,” Slaven said. “I don’t want to speak for the Atlanta City Council, but I can say that they are definitely making more moves like banning right turns on red in District 5. They’re making more moves to emphasize pedestrian safety.”

Going forward, the Beltline expects to complete the majority of construction by Oct. 1.

“Right now [the intersection] is a mess,” Injaychock said. “If you walk to school, you’ve seen it. Working with this volume of pedestrian traffic was never going to be an easy process. Through our community meetings, we have really tried [to engage] people for this [project]. But we hope to have the sidewalks around the intersection complete by the end of the month. Our goal right now is to put the final asphalt cap on the top of the intersection by October 1st. We’re working with the city with dates on when that permit would go through so it could be the first [of October]. With that, there’s still going to be tweaking of various things probably after October. But we expect to at least be done with the major detours, the closing of half the trail, the closing of sidewalks each day.”

For Injaychock, this intersection redesign is the culmination of years of work. Not only will the new intersection improve safety for pedestrians, but it will also connect the Northeast Trail to the newly developed section across Monroe, helping to accomplish the BeltLine’s founding goal of making a continuous loop around the city.

“I’ve worked on this project for at least six years in construction for the Northeast Trail as a whole,” Injaychock said. “And so this is our final piece. Maybe mentally I saved it to the end because it is challenging, but it’s going to be a huge win for us to connect this across 10th and Monroe, to really connect the BeltLine versus just having to get to a smaller sidewalk. You can continue on and keep going down the Northeast Trail. So that’s really exciting for us. It’s been a long time for us to get to this point. I would just add that we know it’s been a pain to use the intersection and for cars, bikers, and pedestrians and we just appreciate everyone’s patience as we try to make it better.”