Starr Whitehouse is leading an ambitious study to transform North Avenue from a vehicle-dominated thoroughfare into a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly “front door” for the Georgia Tech community. Once the central spine of Georgia Tech’s urban campus, in recent years North Avenue has found itself on the outskirts of campus life due to increased through-traffic, the... Continue Reading
Starr Whitehouse is leading an ambitious study to transform North Avenue from a vehicle-dominated thoroughfare into a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly “front door” for the Georgia Tech community. Once the central spine of Georgia Tech’s urban campus, in recent years North Avenue has found itself on the outskirts of campus life due to increased through-traffic, the encroachment of surface parking on the Avenue’s southern edge, and ongoing campus expansion northward away from the corridor. The aim of the Starr Whitehouse study is to re-envision this periphery as the primary point of arrival for new visitors and a year-round destination for the campus community to congregate, learn, and socialize. Recommendations include pedestrianizing North Avenue with street-level amenities and traffic-calming measures; creating year-round retail, services, and open spaces to enhance campus life; developing new student facilities to anchor the southern side of the corridor; and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to bustling Midtown Atlanta just east of campus.