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JANUARY 2020 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Community | 15
an old legal agreement that might ban the project, while Holy Spirit revealed it had con
sidered libel lawsuits against neighbors who put up yard signs opposing them. By mid
year, the proposal had dropped out of the city review process, but may yet return.
SIDEWALK SAFETY GETS ATTENTION
The safety of pedestrians and wheelchair-users on local sidewalks got official atten
tion, though not always immediate solutions. The Georgia Department of Transporta
tion’s decision to move some power poles into the sidewalk on Peachtree Road drew
debate and highlighted jurisdictional disputes, as did new negotiations over a five-year-
long streetlight outage on Sidney Marcus Boulevard at Buford Highway. In October, a
group of Atlanta City Council members, state traffic engineers and other officials took a
mile-long wheelchair ride on Peachtree Road to see hazards of existing conditions and
of motorized scooters.
GROWING GREEN SPACE
Green spaces grew in Buckhead, with the opening of a new PATH400 multiuse trail
segment in October and the formation of a friends group for the new Loridans Greens-
pace park on Loridans Drive. Coming soon is the addition of a trail to another commu
nity park, Mountain Way.
TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT
Ever-increasing commuter traffic sparked many local discussions, including a new
effort to replace the “hue” shuttle in the business area with an Uber-style, on-demand
van that would serve anyone. Livable Buckhead issued a study that proposed improving
and stabilizing affordable housing as a way to cut commuter traffic by letting Buckhead
employees live closer to work. An effort to bring an experimental self-driving shuttle to
Lenox Square mall, however, was brushed aside by skeptical business leaders.
PARTY MANSION OPENS, AND SHUTS, AGAIN
Massive parties at a palatial mansion on Garmon Road, once home to music star
Kenny Rogers, drew major controversy in 2018 until a zoning citation appeared to end
the noise and traffic complaints. But this summer, the parties were back under a new
operator. This time, the city went nuclear with the response, getting a court order ban
ning commercial events there and hitting the operator with citations that resulted in a
$7,500 fine and a 30-day jail sentence. The city is now working on legislation to further
crack down on “party houses,” which may emerge next year.
FINGER-POINTING ON CRIME
Concerns about Buckhead crime - largely involving car break-ins and residential bur
glaries - caused finger-pointing among local officials. At Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’
crowded town hall in Buckhead in February, Police Chief Erika Shields blamed prosecutors
and courts for letting criminals off the hook. Prosecutors and courts said most of the criti
cisms weren’t true. The Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods backed such local efforts as a
“adopt-a-judge” program to press for tougher sentences. Meanwhile, the former police com
mander said residents could help reduce car breaks by not leaving guns and other valuables
in their vehicles. A new commander for Buckhead’s Zone 2 precinct, Maj. Andrew Senzer,
took over in November and promised a “zero-tolerance” approach to crime hotspots.
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