August 2022

Atlantic Station is at the heart of Atlanta, with some of the best restaurants and retail the city has to offer, alongside its many homes and office buildings. A community like this has a lot of opportunities to keep the air clean, and Atlantic Station is taking advantage of them.

Here are some of the ways the Atlantic Station community does its part for sustainability and clean air.

Walkable Design

Atlantic Station was developed to be people-first—not car-first. Homes, offices, and retail spaces are all within walking or biking distance of each other, making Atlantic Station a true walkable community.

This means that simply by nature of its design, Atlantic Station takes cars off the road. By some estimates, the convenience of car-free travel in the district removes 75 tons of CO2 from the air each day.

The Atlantic Station Access Program

To further reduce the amount of driving needed to access Atlantic Station, the Atlantic Station Access Program (ASAP) helps commuters get to and from Atlantic Station via green travel.

ASAP works with Atlantic Station employers to help their employees find clean commutes, including walking, biking, carpooling, or taking transit. With ASAP’s help, employers can then incentivize clean commutes by offering rewards to people who take them. ASAP also helps employers manage telework and hybrid work policies so employees don’t need to drive into work every day.

Shuttle Buses

While Atlantic Station is walkable, getting from the nearest MARTA station to the heart of the neighborhood can be a little far. That’s why Atlantic Station and ASAP have introduced shuttle buses that take people from the Arts Center MARTA Station to central Atlantic Station. This shuttle bus transports an estimated 746 riders each month.

Bike and Scooter Rentals

For people who want to easily get around Atlantic Station without having to walk, there’s a Relay bike rental station located at District Ave. and 17th Street. Atlantic Station has also recently partnered with scooter providers and designated five different locations for scooter drop-offs and pick-ups.

Biking and scootering make for fun and healthy alternatives from driving across the neighborhood to another.

LED Lights

In addition to taking cars off the road, air quality is also dependent on responsible energy usage. This means committing to energy efficiency. For example, Atlantic Station has converted over 300 pole lights to LED bulbs. LED lights are 80% more efficient than traditional bulbs, reducing the emissions created from the neighborhood’s electricity generation.

As a walkable neighborhood with a lot of options for getting around, Atlantic Station reduces air pollution by design—and with the help of ASAP, the neighborhood is growing more environmentally friendly by the day.

Atlanta’s air quality could stand to get better. In its 2022 “State of the Air” report, the American Lung Association gave Atlanta an F for ozone levels and said it was the city with the 37th-highest rate of particle pollution in the nation.

The good news is that our air quality gets a little better every year thanks to the efforts of Atlantans choosing more sustainable ways to get around. This August, we at Perimeter Connects invite you to join those efforts by taking part in the “Million Air Challenge”: a challenge to collectively offset one million pounds of CO2 by choosing a green way to travel.

Here are a few reasons why this challenge is worth doing:

1. To Reduce Pollution

The most obvious—and most important—reason to join the challenge is to reduce the pollution in our city. Every pound of CO2 you offset by choosing a green commute leads to less particulate pollution, lower levels of harmful ozone chemicals, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. You and your neighbors will all be able to breathe easier.

2. To Improve Your Health

Sitting in the car doesn’t do much for your health, but walking or biking can be great exercise. In that way, doing good for the planet can be good for you, too. Not only that, but cleaner air leads to better health for everyone.

3. To Try Out a New Commute

Have you ever wondered if transit would be more efficient than driving, or a carpool more fun? This is your chance to try out a different form of commuting that you otherwise may not have gotten around to. Chances are you’ll find something you like.

4. To Win Prizes

While clean air is its own reward, we want to reward you in a more literal way, too. Everyone who signs up for the challenge and logs their clean commutes will be entered to exciting prizes, from gift cards to donated items from local businesses.

Whatever your reason, the Million Air Challenge is sure to be a fun and rewarding time. Register now to be a part of Atlanta’s journey to better air.

Archives for August 2022

How Atlantic Station Keeps Its Air Clean