Into the Peachtree Forest: Atlanta, Traffic, and an Imaginary Tree

As the buds of Atlanta sprout into a grand city of the New South, so too do its peach-laden traditions. In everything from old city landmarks to rapid-growth urban highrises, Atlanta's reverence for the symbolic peachtree continues to shape every aspect of urban planning. While some find this potent peach theme to be charming, others find the peach crop to be crowding the city's landscape.

Lately it seems that at any given moment, at least 40 percent of all Atlantans are stuck somewhere on Peachtreet Street, Atlanta's main drag. In this car-addicted city, some might say it brings Atlantan drivers together, but this insanely busy four-lane road poses quite a bottleneck for a burgeoning metropolis. Are there alternatives to the Peachtree thoroughfare?

In every facet of life, popularity is a potent force. Peachtree Street is popular, and Atlantans want to be where the action is. However, with so many citizens seeking to crowd in at any given moment, one would think some urban planners would step in and help citizens refine their city identities.

Not to say that symbolism in city identity is a bad thing. Georgia's "Peachtree" image is a noble example of a city concept and image, and it's fun to feel part of the greater Georgia Peach family. Forget the fact that no peachtrees reside on Peachtree Street--or that most of Atlanta's supermarket peaches come from South Carolina. But some bold non-Peachtree move must be made soon, for the sake of keeping old Peachtree Street peachy.

Why, one asks, must Atlanta branch out from its Peachtree traditions? Simply put, the city is asking too much of this one main street. Peachtree Street stores and restaurants would obtain more business if citizens could more easily turn and park in their overflowing parking lots. The cosmopolitan pedestrian zone of Atlanta's Midtown is threatened by the cars that race along this suburban commuter's thoroughfare. Atlanta's Buckhead bar and club section, spanning northern Peachtree Street, suffers unsafe street-crossing conditions for tipsy late-night city-walkers. Moreover, as posh residential high-rises sprout alongside the almighty Peachtree in efforts to develop intown living, even greater pressure results from hundreds of new residents entering and leaving their homes via already limited routes.

Finally, Peachtree-less city planning is needed for the simple sake of dignity. While Peachtree Street maintains its centrality to the city, it is perplexing to see how many Peachtree name variations are applied to other streets, circles, avenues and locales, as if in each case the name-appointer presumed himself authentic and original. As I write this, I sit at my desk, in my cubicle, in my office, in my commercial building on Peachtree Street. My building is called "The Peachtree," and of course it is the Peachtree Grill downstairs that serves up midday fries and BLTs to us intown workers. Do we think we're unique?

Ask the folks in the Peachtree Center, just down the road.

Elena Juris