Sandy Springs National Kids to Parks Day versus Atlanta Streets Alive

We went to two outdoor family friendly municipal events back to back. On Saturday 5/17 it was National Kids to Parks Day at Hammond Park in Sandy Springs. On Sunday 5/18 it was Atlanta Streets Alive on the West End/Grant Park route. Both were fine outings in their own way. Looking at them from a broader perspective, only Atlanta Streets Alive points toward a future where people could regularly and safely enjoy the outdoors with their communities. Sandy Springs needs leaders who can envision kids safely enjoying the outdoors as part of their daily life, as a way to build additional relationships, not merely as a destination or as an annual event.

National Kids to Parks Day

Probably the worst part National Kids to Parks is getting to Hammond Park, as I've written before.

It was fun. There are lots of activities arranged around the main recreational field.  Most of the activities were inflatable bouncy houses of one variety or another, a couple of which had water slides as well. There was also tennis and a few other stations of that nature. Here's a panoramic view,

 

My least favorite aspect of the bouncy houses was the nearby generators. The field is not wired with outlets, which is an unfortunate oversight since it is surrounded by light poles, so generators are needed for the air pumps. But many of the bouncy houses had large spools of mostly unused extension cords sitting right beside them.

I would have preferred for the generators to be placed as far away as the cords would allow, to reduce the kids' exposure to the extremely loud noise and unhealthy particulates that go along with the noticeable smell of these small engines. It's a pet peeve of mine, but we wouldn't want somebody to smoke nearby if kids could smell it on the bouncy house, why would we tolerate a much larger source of emissions.

There was a noticeable police presence on the field. Hammond Road alongside the park looked as dangerous as normal, with many drivers continuing to look at their phones etc.

All of this was inherently a one time event. People can come back to Hammond Park, but all of the stations depend on coordination. Even if a vendor or volunteer wanted to teach tennis lessons or  provide a bouncy house, they would have to sign up for the space which is otherwise used to play a variety of sports. That is, no matter how often or how many kids come, they'll never spontaneously find these activities. There's no path to that sort of flexibility or incorporating these experiences into regular habits. It's great if this event inspires kids to come more often to use the existing facilities, including playgrounds. I only mean that there's no clear aspiration toward a broader change beyond hosting this event once a year.

 

Atlanta Streets Alive 

This is a monthly event series during the summer. It switches between two routes, one between the West End station and Grant Park, and the second going down Peachtree street from Arts Center station to Five Points.

 

It was fun. Great follow up to the Sandy Springs event. Kids got to ride bikes and have treats. There are various tents and stations along the way for activities (painting, stickers, messaging from civic groups and politicians).

Some visitors take the opportunity to express themselves with really unique rides

but mostly it's people walking or riding whatever they have (bikes, roller blades, skateboards, mobility devices such as wheelchairs, etc. etc.), visiting restaurants along the way, having a good time.

There is only a train station on one end of this route, which presents a logistical difficulty. Entirely feasible to ride or even walk back and forth for many people. But it's also entirely possible to get tired, especially for children or people who have mobility challenges, and have to travel pretty far back to where you started. There are plenty of places to stop and rest, and I'm sure there are resources for people who need help. But the route along Peachtree touches six train stations, so anybody who gets tired and wants to stop has a relatively short distance to go. Which is an advantage of that route, and more generally a benefit communities get from good rail connections.

 

These are heavily produced temporary events. Plastic barriers are brought out to stop vehicle traffic on most cross streets. Police are stationed along the route, including some cross streets where vehicle traffic continues. 

However, there are paths toward more of this if the community demands it. More street segments could be pedestrianized on weekends. Some streets could be pedestrianized permanently, with heavy traffic calming measures and only low-speed driving allowed for e.g. deliveries or residents getting to their driveway. Traffic lanes could be converted to protected multiuse lanes for everybody not in an automobile. Then more people could regularly get outside for recreation, to see members of their community and easily stop to chat, go places even if they don't want to or are unable to drive themselves. Even if none of that ever happens on this particular route, I hope these recreational events get some participants to consider those possibilities. I hope the local businesses see the lines out of the door (with no need to pay for land to provide parking for them). Then, maybe, local leaders could add aspects of this experience into the daily life of their communities.

 

-Vladimir