When will Juniper Street’s new bike lane open in Midtown Atlanta?

ATLANTA — After years of work, a major Midtown Atlanta street has been recently transformed. The city said the new Juniper Street corridor is vastly improved for cyclists and pedestrians, but lingering work is leaving some frustrated.

The green and white lane markings are down and the planted buffer separating cyclists from drivers is up, but to Brian Lesko’s dismay, the bike lane along Juniper Street is still closed.

Over the weekend, he said he was yelled at by a driver to “use the bike lane,” and shortly after he saw a biker take matters into his own hands, moving some of the road closed signs out of the way.

“He basically said it’s about time these things are open, and I was like, well thank you, but on the other hand I’m still hesitant to use the lanes for liability reasons,” Lesko said.

So why aren’t the lanes open?

Midtown Alliance, a partner on the project with the city, tells 11Alive the contractor is waiting on Georgia Power to run electricity for new traffic signals.

“The timetable for this work to be completed by Georgia Power remains fluid, and our staff is in regular communication with Georgia Power contacts,” said Midtown Alliance Director of Marketing & Communications Brian Carr. “To ensure coordination and safety between motorists and cyclists at signalized intersections, these signals must be in service before the bike lane can open.”

11Alive asked Georgia Power when the electricity will be installed, a spokesperson said they are working to get that information.

For drivers like Janice Yu, there are now two lanes, previously there were up to four depending on the time of day. Carr said during peak hours there were two lanes due to parked cars.

“Condition wise it does look better, but driving wise I feel like the traffic is a little worse,” Yu said.

Chandler Brown feels traffic may have slightly improved, but since the street changes, he avoids the area, saying it’s quicker to take other streets.

“The traffic is still pretty bad, the one good thing is that the lights have been retimed, which I think is the only thing quite frankly that actually made a difference,” Brown said.

Carr said the changes make Juniper St. safer with things like shorter crossing distances and slower vehicle speeds.

Lesko hopes his path to a safer commute comes soon.

“Well, I hope they can officially open these bike lanes,” Lesko said. “It would be great to have like a bike lane party, get all the barricades out of the way, and say hey, we’re finally open after years of planning.”