Safety
As most of you are probably aware, Atlanta doesnt exactly have the greatest reputation when it comes to safety and crime. However much of this is based on how the city was in the 80’s through the early 1990’s. Back then Atlanta was the land of sprawling Projects, ghetto’s and deteriorating business districts. The 1995 Olympics changed everything, the city decided it had to clean up its image before the games and the first thing to go were the Techwood Homes housing projects across from Georgia Tech, and blocks of decrepit buildings were leveled to make way for Centenial Olympic park. This was just the begging, since then all the public housing projects have been leveled, and many replaced with mixed income housing. Much of the decaying business and industrial area’s along Marietta St (which runs parallels to the Atlanta Terminal sub) has been revitalized. Many area’s that you did not think of wandering into in the 1980’s unless you had a deathwish are now safe to walk around even in morning and late evening.
Many railfans i have talked to say they are afraid to venture into Atlanta because of this perceived danger, which is a shame because it has so much to offer. I was the same way before i moved to Atlanta, but i was pleasantly surprised. Personally I have railfanned Atlanta extensively for a month mainly walking and riding the MARTA and have had no problems, someone with a car should have no problem.
However this still is a big city, and still has a far higher than average crime rate, its not Folkston you will have to use some common sense and precautions. Dont walk around town showing off your fancy equipment, if you are going to be walking or riding MARTA I would recommend carrying your equipment in a cheap backpack, its worked well enough for me. If your in car try and keep valuables out of sight, especially when the car is parked. If its possible carry around some sort of protection, since i live on GT campus i am not permitted to have any firearms so i have to do without but its not a bad idea if possible.
Today most of the downtown midtown is safe enough during day, Midtown is safe even at night for the large part but downtown im not generally comfortable being alone there too late. A common rule is to stay north of the East-West MARTA line, going south of it isnt exactly risking your life in most cases but you will see things immediately get a little more sketchy once your past the East West. Remember Atlanta varies block by block, its a constantly changing city, and changing for the better thankfully but you will have to remember some area’s are still borderline.
As far as places to stay out of if you are traveling alone or unfamiliar with the area, i would say to go no further south than McDaniel St. on the Griffin District, especially staying out of Oakland City, East Point is not too great either but not that bad that you have to stay away. Bankhead is a big no no as well, I would stay away from the Manchester Sub between where the Slide goes under Innman and the 285 Perimeter. NS South Yard has traditionally been a place to stay away from, NS canceled all night jobs at one point because crews were getting shot at, its not that bad anymore but definitely a place to use caution. In general the south and west part of town have more bad area’s, the north is probably the best and the east a mixed bag, with midtown being generally safe. Anywhere outside the 285 perimeter it pretty much becomes small town railfanning again.
MARTA, Atlanta’s public transit system has got a bad rap for safety, little of it is true though and it is a fairly good way to get around town though a good bit slower than driving. I have ridden the North -South and East-West end to end and they are both generally safe. The North South is the better of the two, as it is used more by middle and upper class riders. The East -West line west of Five Points gets a little sketchy but i have never had problems in all the times i have used it. Ive never ridden the North Springs or Bankhead lines but North Springs is probably the safest line, and seeing what the destination of the Bankhead line is, its probably the opposite but not unsafe either. As for buses, ive never had a problem on those either, even ones on the west side of town like the 58 Bolton which does pass through some undesirable neighborhoods, the issue is not so much on the bus but where you get off.
Safety Ratings
In line tours i will be including safety ratings for each location, these are just based on my own observation and perceptions, and are by no means absolute, stuff happens everywhere.
The rating system is relatively simple, one hobo means the area is safe, five hobos means you probably should think twice before railfanning at that spot. To give that a bit more meaning, i would generally feel comfortable railfanning (and have done so before) a one to three hobo location on foot without a weapon, but wouldnt think of railfanning a 4 or 5 star hobo location on foot and possibly not even with a car. Occasionally i will give a area a 0 hobo rating if i think its that safe, and sometimes i will give a 5 star rating with additional warning.
admin | 
August 1, 2009 10:20 pm
Subscribe