Cycle Atlanta, a strategy to create a complete and connected network of high-quality bicycle facilities in the core of Atlanta, has been awarded the Young Professionals in Transportation (YTP) Excellence in Innovation/Research of the Year Award. Led by Brad Davis (MCRP ’08) Cycle Atlanta is a joint project of the City of the Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development, Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). It was funded through a contribution from the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiative planning program. Additional support was provided by the GVU Center and the Institute for People and Technology at Georgia Tech. The Cycle Atlanta team will receive a happy hour at their local chapter sponsored by YPT International, a plaque recognizing their achievement, and a year of free YPT membership.

The project includes two components. The first, called Cycle Atlanta:  Phase 1.0 Study,  focuses  on five cycling corridors that extend from the Atlanta BeltLine into the center of the city.  The second component, an app called CycleAtlanta, collects data about cyclists’ routes, origins, destinations, demographics, and features of note in the City of Atlanta. The goal of the project is to connect citizens to local government through the app, allowing them to participate in the planning process without being inhibited by spatial or temporal limitations in existing participatory planning practices.

The CycleAtlanta app team also built an interactive map that allows users to see where cyclists are riding in Atlanta. The interactive map can sort route information based on the ride purpose, rider type, gender, age, and ethnicity, providing access to the data as it is uploaded for viewing and analysis.

The project has the full support of City of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, representatives from community improvement districts, Georgia Tech, City Council members, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition among many others.  The project was kicked off at a press event in the fall of 2013 where Mayor Kasim Reed and Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson both spoke.  The event marked the launch of the Cycle Atlanta app and the beginning of the planning project. 

At the event, the Mayor committed to using this project to achieve city goals such as doubling bicycle commute to work mode share to 2.2% by 2016, becoming a top ten city in the US for cycling to work, becoming a top ten city for cycling safety, doubling the miles of high-quality bicycle lanes/cycle tracks, doubling the miles of high-quality linked shared-use paths, and achieving a Silver-Level Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the League of American Bicyclists.