Decatur's Church Street To Lose Vehicle Lanes, Add Bike Access

DECATUR, GA — One of Decatur's busiest roads will get dedicated bike lanes and improved sidewalks in the next two years— but will lose two vehicle lanes to make room for the additions.

Decatur City Commission members voted last week to permanently reduce Church Street from four lanes to two lanes, but add new sidewalks and one-way bike lanes on each side of the road in the vehicle lanes' place. The additions will tie in with the Commerce Drive cycle track, which was completed in early 2020.

During the commission meeting last Monday, some residents spoke in favor of the changes, citing how difficult it is to bike on Church Street on top of the heavy traffic on the road.

However, others said they were concerned the changes would only make traffic congestion worse.

“My concern is the bottleneck of traffic. It’s already very hard to get in-and-out,” said Renita Trotti, a Decatur resident, during the meeting. “It’s going to make people cut through the neighborhoods more than they already are.”

Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon said adding pedestrian access and improved vehicle transportation don't always go hand-in-hand.

"The more you do to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and accessibility, the bigger impact it has on motorists and vehicle transportation," Saxon said. "I don’t know if there’s any way to avoid that conflict."

The improvements — totaling $3.225 million — will also complete the final segment of protected bike lanes from the PATH Foundation's connectivity plan, Saxon said.

Decatur will provide $595,000 toward the project from its capital improvement fund, while the Georgia Department of Transportation will fund the remaining $2.63 million. The city will contract with Marietta-based Lewallen Construction Company for construction — the same company that completed the Commerce Drive cycle track, the East Decatur Greenway and other PATH Foundation trail projects.

In addition to the pedestrian and bike lane changes, the project also includes intersection improvements at Church and Commerce streets as well as Church Street and Clairemont Avenue. According to city documents, crews will eliminate vehicle slip lanes and reduce crossing distances at those two intersections.

Construction on the project is expected to start in July and last 18 to 24 months.