12 Reasons to Take a Walk

September 1, 2026 by Leave a comment

Walking is one of the simplest ways to add more movement to your day. You don’t need special equipment, a gym membership or a complicated workout plan. Just lace up your shoes and head outside.

Whether you’re walking around your neighborhood, exploring a Decatur park or taking a stroll with a friend, regular walking can benefit both your body and your mind.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, here are 12 reasons to make walking part of your routine:

1. Get Your Heart Moving

Walking gets your heart rate up and helps improve circulation. Regular walking can support cardiovascular health and help keep your heart strong.

2. Support Strong Bones

Walking is a weight-bearing activity, which can help support bone health and maintain bone strength as we age.

3. Support a Longer, Healthier Life

Regular physical activity is associated with a lower risk of serious health problems and can contribute to a healthier, more active life.

4. Boost Your Mood

Walking isn’t just good for your body. Physical activity can help improve your mood and release endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.

5. Help Manage Your Weight

Walking burns calories and, when combined with other healthy habits, can help support weight management.

6. Strengthen Your Muscles

Walking works the muscles in your legs and core. Adding a little arm movement or walking at a brisker pace can make your walk more challenging.

7. Sleep Better

Regular physical activity, including walking, may help support better sleep and make it easier to establish a healthy sleep routine.

8. Keep Your Joints Moving

Movement is important for healthy joints. Walking helps keep joints moving and can support flexibility and mobility.

9. Improve Your Breathing and Energy

Walking increases your breathing rate and helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. Over time, regular activity can help you feel more energetic.

10. Support Brain Health

Staying physically active can benefit your brain as well as your body. Regular walking has been associated with maintaining memory and cognitive health as we age.

11. Stay Active as You Age

Walking is a low-impact activity that can be adapted to different fitness levels and abilities, making it an accessible way to stay active throughout life.

12. Keep Doing the Things You Love

Maintaining strength, mobility and endurance can make it easier to stay independent and continue participating in the activities you enjoy.

Take a Walk in Decatur

One of the best things about walking is that you can do it almost anywhere. And in Decatur, there are plenty of places to get moving.

Take a stroll through a neighborhood park, walk along a local path, explore Legacy Park or make walking part of your trip to a favorite destination. You can walk on your own, bring a friend, take the dog or make it a family outing.

You don’t have to walk for hours to get started. Even adding a few minutes of walking to your day is a step toward a more active lifestyle.

So grab your shoes, head outside and take a walk. Your next step is closer than you think.

Visit Decatur Parks & Recreation for more information on Active Transportation in Decatur.

Source: Arthritis Foundation, “12 Benefits of Walking.” Read the Arthritis Foundation’s full article

Filed under Bike Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Exercise, Legacy Park, Walk Decatur Tagged with , , , ,

Diversify Your Routine

July 27, 2026 by Leave a comment

We know regular physical activity is important, but doing the same exercises over and over and over again can get tiresome. This Monday, give yourself something to look forward to by diversifying your workouts.

Targeting different muscle groups keeps your muscles on their toes, and, unless you’re training for a race, repetitive exercise doesn’t provide the same benefits as a varied fitness routine. With some planning, soon you’ll be able to reshape your shape.

Adaptation is Plateauing

Tricking adaptation is the key. Your body is smart; it tries something a few times and gets the hang of it very quickly. It adapts beautifully. Muscles stop getting stronger, heart rates level, and you don’t need to work as hard as you were during the first few weeks of an exercise. Avoiding repetitive motions also decreases the likelihood of injury.

Whole Body Workout

When you design your exercise routine include upper body, lower body, and cardio to have a whole-body workout. Make it fun. Mix up an exercise like jogging with some low-impact activities like crunches and squats. Or, bike for 30 minutes then do some lateral lunges to open up your hips and strengthen those muscles. Draw up a plan, put it on the fridge, and check off your weekly accomplishments. By the end of the week, you’ll be humming along with a perfect routine.

Spice it Up

Doing the same thing over and over also takes the fun out of doing it. If you like to walk, walk on the treadmill and mix it up with the incline settings. If you like to ride a stationary bicycle, try the elliptical. If you like to lift weights, take a strength training class. Or a dance class. Or a yoga class. Use this Monday to reset your routine to get stronger faster, build endurance, and trick adaptation.

By shaking up your routine this Monday, you’ll keep your body and its adaptive powers on its toes. Diversity makes you stronger but it also keeps things stimulating. Challenge yourself to get creative with your routine, you’ll be surprised by what you can achieve.

Filed under Adult Sports, Bike Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Exercise, Healthy Monday, Monday Campaigns, Yoga Tagged with , , ,

The Physical and Environmental Benefits of Biking

June 29, 2026 by Leave a comment

Physical Benefits of Biking in Decatur

Thankfully, most of us never forget how to ride a bike. In a community like Decatur, where neighborhoods are compact and connected, cycling is not only a fun activity but also one of the easiest ways to stay active while getting around town.

Biking offers a wide range of physical benefits that make it stand out from many other forms of exercise.

First, it is low impact, which means less strain on bones and joints compared to activities like running or jogging. That makes it a great option for people of all ages and fitness levels, whether you are riding through Oakhurst, cruising past Glenlake Park, or taking a loop around the Decatur Square.

Cycling also engages all the major muscle groups in the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. These muscles play a key role in balance, endurance, and everyday movement like climbing stairs or walking longer distances. On top of that, biking supports cardiovascular health, builds muscle strength, improves joint mobility, and can help reduce stress.

One of the best parts about biking in Decatur is how accessible it is. With the city’s growing network of bike-friendly streets, neighborhood connections, and Safe Routes to School efforts, you can often get where you need to go with just a bike, a helmet, and a short ride through your own community.

Programs like Bikes & Brews, a community group ride that brings riders together on Decatur’s streets, are a great example of how biking can also be social. These rides highlight how cycling is not just exercise or transportation, but also a way to connect with neighbors, explore local routes, and enjoy the city in a new way.

You do not need to be a competitive cyclist to see the benefits. A casual ride to the Decatur Farmers Market, a school commute, or a weekend loop through your neighborhood all count. You set the pace based on your comfort and goals. And along the way, biking gives you a chance to slow down and notice the small details of the city that are easy to miss from a car.

So pump up those tires and head out on Decatur’s streets, parks, and trails.

Biking for the Environment in Decatur

Biking benefits your health, but it also benefits your community. In Decatur, choosing to ride instead of drive is a simple way to support cleaner air and a more sustainable city.

Transportation is one of the largest sources of air pollution in the United States, and even short car trips add up over time. By biking for local trips, whether it is to school, work, a park, or the Decatur Square, you help reduce vehicle emissions and lessen traffic in busy corridors like Clairemont Avenue and Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Fewer cars on the road also means less congestion and less demand for additional parking and roadway expansion, which helps preserve space for parks, greenspace, and walkable neighborhoods. Bikes work within the existing street network, making them one of the most efficient and low-impact transportation options available.

Cycling is also quiet, helping reduce noise pollution and creating a calmer, more pleasant environment in residential neighborhoods and community spaces.

Most importantly, biking through Decatur helps build a stronger connection to the places we live. Whether you are riding past local parks, school campuses, or neighborhood greenways, you experience the city at a slower pace and develop a deeper appreciation for its natural and built environment.

Basic Cycling Guidelines for Staying Safe in Decatur

Riding through Decatur can be both energizing and practical, but safety should always come first for cyclists of all ages and experience levels.

The most important safety step is wearing a properly fitted helmet. Because helmet fit varies by manufacturer, it is important to adjust the straps so the helmet sits level on your head and feels secure. A well-maintained bike that fits your body is also essential for a safe and comfortable ride.

Before heading out, make sure shoelaces and loose clothing are secured to avoid getting caught in the chain. Planning your route ahead of time can also make a big difference. In Decatur, that might mean choosing neighborhood streets, bike-friendly corridors, or connecting paths that avoid heavier traffic when possible.

Visibility is especially important. National safety data shows that many bicyclist crashes occur in low-light conditions, so if you are riding in the evening or early morning, use front and rear lights and wear reflective or bright clothing so drivers and pedestrians can see you clearly.

In Georgia, bicycles have the same rights and responsibilities as vehicles on the road. That means riding with traffic, obeying all traffic signals and signs, and using hand signals when turning or stopping. Predictable riding helps everyone share the road more safely.

Always assume that others may not see you, and ride defensively, especially at intersections and driveways where visibility can be limited.

Following these basic safety practices helps ensure that every ride through Decatur is a safe and enjoyable one.

Filed under Bike Decatur, City of Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Healthy Monday, Monday Campaigns, Safe Routes to School Tagged with , , , ,

The Path Forward

June 1, 2026 by Leave a comment

For most people, a path is just a path until they actually start using it.

Then it becomes the route your kid takes to school. Or the shortcut to Truckin’ Tuesday. Or the reason you decide to bike instead of drive because places that once felt disconnected suddenly feel linked together in a new way.

This month at Legacy Park, we celebrated the completion of something that may look simple on the surface: the final segment of the multi-use PATH along South Columbia Drive. But projects like this are rarely just about concrete.

On May 5, community members gathered ahead of Truckin’ Tuesday for the segment’s grand opening, completing a long-envisioned connection linking neighborhoods, schools, and Legacy Park to the East Decatur Greenway and the broader PATH network beyond.

From a city management perspective, it’s a trail project. But in practice, it’s something much larger.

All About Connection

The newly completed segment now creates a continuous, safer corridor for people walking, biking, rolling, running, and moving throughout southeast Decatur. It strengthens connections between Legacy Park, nearby neighborhoods, Talley Street Upper Elementary, Winnona Park Elementary, and the city’s growing network of multi-modal infrastructure.

For students and families, it supports Safe Routes to School and helps make things like Walk & Roll days and bike buses not only possible, but practical. For residents, it expands access to recreation, nature, community gathering spaces, and everyday destinations without requiring a car.

“I am truly thrilled to have this segment completed,” says Mayor and Legacy Decatur board member, Tony Powers. “It further affirms our city’s commitment to active living!”

And for Decatur as a whole, it represents another meaningful step toward the city’s vision of a more connected, accessible, and sustainable future — one where more daily needs can be reached within a short walk or bike ride.

That vision matters because mobility is about more than just transportation. It’s about independence. Health. Social connection. Environmental resilience. Quality of life. It’s about creating a community — including the park’s new Village at Legacy neighborhood — where more people of more ages and abilities can participate fully in public life.

As Georgia’s highest-ranked Bicycle Friendly Community, Decatur has long invested in infrastructure that prioritizes people alongside cars. But what makes this particular connection especially meaningful is where it leads.

Legacy Park is one of the city’s largest and most unique public spaces — a place where nature, recreation, education, arts, ecology, wellness, and community life intersect. The completion of this path makes those experiences more accessible to more people in more ways.

“Legacy Park has always been about connection,” says Legacy Decatur executive director, Madeleine Henner. “Connection to nature, to community, and to one another. Completing this final segment helps weave the park more fully into the daily life of Decatur in a way that’s healthier, safer, and more inviting.”

Redefining Relationships

Beyond providing access, this final segment also changes the way the park relates to the city itself.

For years, much of Legacy Park felt somewhat inward-facing despite its size and importance. The completed South Columbia corridor now creates a welcoming public edge — one that visibly signals that the park is connected to the life of the community around it.

That connection became even more meaningful during construction, when workers uncovered 33 unmarked graves near the park’s north entrance, believed to be children who lived in our community in the mid to late 1800s.

Rather than disturbing the area, the project team redesigned portions of the path to avoid the graves entirely, shifting the alignment to follow the roadway more closely. The adjustment added complexity to the project, but it also reflected something important about how communities move forward responsibly: progress and preservation do not have to be in conflict.

At Legacy Park, honoring history is part of shaping the future.

The Larger Mission

The completed path is, in many ways, a reflection of the larger mission that continues to guide this place: making the park and the surrounding community more green, more connected, and more inviting for everyone.

Sometimes that mission looks like environmental restoration. Sometimes it looks like arts and culture. Sometimes it looks like gathering around food trucks on a spring evening.

And sometimes, it looks like a path.

A path that helps a student bike safely to school. A path that encourages healthier and more sustainable choices. A path that connects neighbors not just to destinations, but to one another.

The new South Columbia path segment completes a physical route but, more importantly, it expands the ways people can experience community itself.

Start using it. You’ll see.

Written by our friends at Legacy Decatur.

Filed under Bike Decatur, City of Decatur, Decatur Greenspaces, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Legacy Park, Safe Routes to School, Walk Decatur Tagged with , , , , ,

The History of Decatur’s Touch-a-Truck

March 11, 2026 by Leave a comment

For more than twenty years, Touch-a-Truck has been one of Decatur’s favorite family traditions. Every spring, kids climb into fire engines, honk the horns of big trucks, and meet the people who help keep the city running every day.

What started as a simple idea has grown into a beloved community event that brings families together year after year.

Where the Idea Began

The idea for Decatur’s Touch-a-Truck started in 2002, when a City of Decatur staff member attended a Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) conference and learned about the concept.

The idea was simple but exciting: give kids the chance to get up close to the trucks and equipment they see around town every day.

The following year, Decatur Parks & Recreation brought the idea to life. In 2003, the first Touch-a-Truck event was organized by longtime Parks & Recreation leader Greg White and held at McKoy Park.

From the beginning, the event was about more than trucks. It was about helping residents connect with the people and services that make the city work. Fire engines, dump trucks, police motorcycles, street sweepers, and other equipment were lined up for kids to explore, climb inside, and ask questions.

Greg White once described the event as a way to show residents “what we do as a city.”

Growing and Moving Around Decatur

As word spread and the event became more popular, Touch-a-Truck needed more space.

Over the years, the event has been hosted in several locations around Decatur, including:

• McKoy Park, where the first event was held in 2003
• The Decatur High School parking lot
• The Callaway Building parking lot in downtown Decatur
• The East Lake MARTA Station parking lot, where the event moved in 2010

Each move helped accommodate more vehicles, more families, and more opportunities for kids to explore.

Today, the event has come full circle and is now back at the Decatur High School parking lot, where it has been held for the past two years.

Adding Touch-a-Budget

Several years after the event began, the City added Touch-a-Budget, expanding the day beyond trucks and equipment.

Touch-a-Budget gives residents the opportunity to meet staff from across city departments and learn more about the programs and services funded through the city’s budget. While kids explore the vehicles, adults can stop by booths, ask questions, and learn more about how the city operates.

It’s a great example of Decatur’s commitment to making local government accessible, informative, and family-friendly.

New Activities and Traditions

Like many long-running community events, Touch-a-Truck continues to evolve.

In recent years, the event has added bike safety and education activities, including a Bike Rodeo where kids can practice riding skills through obstacle courses and learn basic bike safety.

The Bike Rodeo helps introduce young riders to safe biking habits while encouraging more families to explore active transportation in Decatur.

A Decatur Tradition

Today, Touch-a-Truck remains a free, family-friendly event that celebrates the vehicles, workers, and services that help keep Decatur moving.

Kids still climb into the driver’s seats of fire engines, check out construction equipment up close, and learn about the trucks they see around town every day.

More than twenty years after it began, Touch-a-Truck continues to do exactly what it was designed to do: bring the community together and connect residents with the people who help make Decatur such a special place to live.

Filed under Bike Decatur, CFCI, City of Decatur, City of Decatur School System, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Safe Routes to School, Walk Decatur Tagged with , , , , ,

Decatur Parks & Recreation Receives Funding to Improve Physical Activity and Nutrition

January 8, 2026 by Leave a comment

CITY OF DECATUR, GEORGIA—The City of Decatur’s Parks & Recreation Department is pleased to announce that it received funding from the Georgia Health Policy Center through the Georgia State Physical Activity and Nutrition (G-SPAN) initiative. G-SPAN is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN).

G-SPAN aims to provide safe and accessible physical activity opportunities, make healthy food choices easier, improve nutrition and physical activity in early care and education settings, and support breastfeeding. In support of this effort, G-SPAN has provided funds to Georgia-based organizations to implement new or existing policy, systems, and environmental change across the initiative’s four priority issues.

The City of Decatur is one of 38 community-based organizations funded by CDC’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN). Together, G-SPAN’s network of 100+ partners are supporting comprehensive obesity prevention efforts across the state working to design communities to increase access to physical activity.

The funding received will support Decatur’s Bike Bus Initiative, a project that will increase safe, active transportation options for students by launching structured, community-supported “bike bus” routes beginning with Decatur’s upper elementary schools. The goal is to build student confidence on bikes, reduce car congestion around schools, and create long-term habits of physical activity for families across the city. This project is a direct response to growing community demand for safer, healthier, and more sustainable ways for students to travel to school, as well as Decatur’s commitment to strengthening its Safe Routes to School program.

“We’re excited to launch a program that not only helps kids build independence and confidence on bikes but also strengthens community connections,” said Gael Doyle, Communications Coordinator for Decatur Parks & Recreation and Safe Routes to School liaison. “This funding allows us to expand a model that community members are already enthusiastic about, making it safer, easier, and more fun for students to choose active transportation.”

Filed under Bike Decatur, City of Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Exercise Tagged with , , , ,

Celebrating Our Crossing Guards: Decatur Honors the People Who Keep Us Moving Safely

November 17, 2025 by Leave a comment

Last week, the City of Decatur celebrated Crossing Guard Appreciation Week, and on Friday, November 14, we held our annual Crossing Guard Appreciation Breakfast to recognize the incredible individuals who keep our streets safe every day.

Decatur is proud to have 50 crossing guards, which is more than the number of police officers in our city. Their presence reflects our strong commitment to walking, rolling, and community safety. These dedicated individuals do so much more than help students cross the street. They help create the safe, welcoming routes that make Decatur a Gold level Walk Friendly Community and a Silver level Bicycle Friendly Community.

More Than a Job: A Daily Source of Safety, Smiles, and Support

Crossing guards are often the first friendly faces students see in the morning and a reassuring presence as they head home. They are trusted adults, smiling neighbors, and watchful protectors who help children feel confident walking or biking to school.

Their work also supports festivals, parades, and community events where they help keep people moving safely in every corner of our city. Their service is essential to Decatur’s culture of active transportation.

A Community Celebration

This year’s breakfast was made extra special thanks to the talented students in the Decatur High School Culinary Arts Program, who prepared and catered the meal. Their involvement reflects the same spirit of community connection and collaboration that defines our Safe Routes to School program.

We were honored to celebrate two special recognitions:

  • Joyce Washington, who marked 20 years of service as a Decatur crossing guard. Her dedication, warmth, and steady presence have touched generations of students and families.
  • Larry McCrary, who was named Crossing Guard of the Year. We received 78 votes from the community, and Larry’s selection reflects the positive impact he has on students, families, and school staff every day.

Thank You, Crossing Guards

To all 50 of our crossing guards: thank you for everything you do to keep Decatur moving safely. Your work helps our children walk and bike with confidence, and your presence strengthens our community.

We appreciate you not only during Appreciation Week, but throughout the entire year.

Filed under Decatur Parks & Recreation, Safe Routes to School, Walk Decatur, Walking School Bus Tagged with , , ,

The Joys of Summer Bike Camp

October 27, 2025 by Leave a comment

The school day begins early and depending on how a child arrives to school the start of the day is served with fresh air and energy raising pedaling. Students can be seen bicycling to school with parents or alone or possibly riding with others– along with a bike bus. A bike bus is a sticky idea, an intervention supporting active transportation by bike. Other ways students can gain transportation bicycling skills is attending bike camp. Bike camp is a summer camp offered through Decatur Parks and Recreation since 2016 where elementary to high school young people gain knowledge of the “rules of the road” and develop stronger bike handling skills to ride on different terrain and environments. Rules of the road are the following:

  • Ride on the right side of the road in the direction of travel
  • Ride is a way that keeps you visible and that is predictable
  • Be visible using lights, lane position, hand signals
  • Ride is a straight line

These are a few of the basic principles proven by data to be smart strategies when riding on roadways and trails. It is key for non-motorized and motorized vehicle drivers alike to have the same expectations for where and how a person riding a bicycle will ride, where they have both the right and access to be, and how to maneuver past one another at proper speeds and distances. Wally shares what safety means to them, “[I] don’t have to worry about getting hit by cars.” Wally went on to express even when feel like they are visible, motor vehicle drivers are not making the conditions feel like a shared space and behave in a way that prevents crossing the road. According to Geogia law [40-1(14), 40-6-29(a)], all vehicles including bicycles have full rights to the road and motor vehicles are to provide a 3-feet buffer to bicyclist when passing them riding [40-294(g)]. Not everyone is most interested in biking for “practical” reasons. Lucas said that he likes riding as a “fun sport” or “fun activity”. And no matter how one rides, the bike handling skills and rules of the road taught in a hands-on manner, creates foundational understanding where one will have necessary tools to ride for life.

                  During summer bike camp, the practice of bike handling skills in both simulated and real life, on the road or trail is a focus to our camp day. The skills range in difficulty from easy to more challenging, riding is a straight line, and riding is a straight line while looking over one’s shoulder to look for faster moving vehicles is an important skill. It is easy to also turn one’s bicycle left when looking over the left shoulder, gaining hand strength and bodily movement to roll straight without looking is a practice. We learn and practice other skills like quick stop and rock doge which are emergency skills everyone needs. Riding a bicycle is a life skill– a skill that is useful across one’s life space for multiple reasons, including, supporting mental health and wellbeing, physical exercise and wellness, social connection and belongingness, and economic benefits to self and local small businesses. For new riders like Sydney who learned to ride during the Beginner Bike Camp and after camp goes out riding with her parents for fun.

                  The goal of camp is for each child to optimize their hours of fun in the saddle, the belief centers on the idea that more one rides, the more likely the person will fall in love with not only riding a bicycle but with everything that is connected to being on a bicycle. Once camper, Stephen, said he came to came to learn “how a group of cyclists stay safe while riding on the road with cars.” Bike camp fosters a deeper confidence in one’s body and self to achieve a huge learning goal such as biking from one’s chose destination to another. It builds physical and mental strength and stamina. It builds one’s connection to their environment including to people and places in their neighborhood or in proximity to chosen life centers.  At the end of bike camp, Stephen reported, [he felt] safer riding; I have a lower chance to get ran over… understand how cars are moving and feel more visible.”

The young people riders are acting by riding in and out of camp, learning and practicing the information shared, and these budding everyday riders are also thinking about safety to ease travel by biking. Knowing that riding a bicycle is complex, Sydney, the newest rider named “sidewalks” as her choice of getting around with ease. Iulia shared, that she would redesign the community to be more” inclusive so that it is easier for people living with a disability” [for convenient travel]. Iulia wants “cars and buses to have more awareness to people riding”. Iulia emphasized that having awareness would increase bikeability and make roadway conditions such that young people can bike without an adult. Lucas and Stephen shared biking in other cultural contexts. Many young people have a broad understanding of bicycling for transportation and fun, the different types of infrastructure, and the flexibility it creates for them to choose their own adventure. Lucas shared that his dream infrastructure would be separated and elevated bicycle highways mirroring the interstate highways. Lucas believes this design would make biking a viable option and “people can truly go from any place in Atlanta they want.”

Bike camp offers other benefits, such as social connection. For campers, many of the friendships extend from the classroom to camp and beyond. Campers also share what we do in camp with their friends, inviting them to join the community we form together. Iulia shares first that she comes to camp to see “friends” and the coaches.  Iulia also shared that bike camp has helped her to “be a better biker and become more aware” of traffic rules and how motor vehicles travel as demonstrated using hand signals and looking over her shoulder to maneuver along her chosen route. Wally shared the sense of independence that is created by having their own transportation. Youth riders communicated that curiosity and adventure is why they ride. Each rider either named “adventure”, shared an adventure done with their family, and an unintended adventure. They identified better signage and wayfinding so don’t need to rely on digital devices for a map, more trail or street maintenance as it relates to bicycle travel, moderated slower-moving motor vehicle, and separated infrastructure to create more meaningful experiences.

The City of Decatur continues building towards a more bikeable community through education. Bike Camps are supported by Rashawn Jackson, Center Supervisor and Gael Doyle, Marketing and Communication with Decatur Parks & Recreation. Gael Doyle shared about the effort of Parks and Recreation to support bicycling in the city, “We’ve made great progress this year in helping people feel safer and more connected when biking around Decatur. It’s been inspiring to see how education and community partnerships are building a stronger culture of active transportation. Bringing the League of American Bicyclists’ LCI Certification Seminar to Decatur was a big step forward for our community. The group we certified has already led bike education classes and safety trainings across the city, helping riders of all ages gain confidence on the road. Biking brings people together, it is transportation, recreation, and community all in one. We’re excited to keep that momentum going toward a safer, more bike-friendly Decatur for everyone.” Education for cyclists is only part of safer streets. Drivers must understand how to ride with all ages and bodies riding bicycles and infrastructure design must be put in place to create the goal of a more active, health, and connected community.

Are you ready for summer? To learn more about bicycling in Decatur including signing up for camp, visit: decaturga.com/biking

written by: Nedra Deadwyler

Filed under Bike Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Exercise, Healthy Monday, Legacy Park, Monday Campaigns, Safe Routes to School Tagged with , , , ,

Celebrate Car Free Day in Decatur: Choose Active Transportation and Make a Difference

September 22, 2025 by Leave a comment

Every year, communities around the world take part in Car Free Day to reimagine what our streets and neighborhoods could look like with fewer cars and more people walking, biking, or using public transit. Here in the City of Decatur, this day is a perfect opportunity to highlight the many ways our community supports active transportation and the environmental benefits that come with it.

Decatur is a city designed with people in mind. With an extensive sidewalk network, bike lanes, multi-use paths, and three MARTA stations, getting around without a car is easier than ever. Many of our neighborhoods are part of Decatur’s “10-minute community” vision, where schools, parks, shops, and restaurants are all within a short walk or bike ride. Choosing these options for even a few trips a week can make a meaningful impact.

Going car-free, even for a day, has real benefits. Every mile walked, biked, or taken by transit helps reduce air pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and ease traffic congestion. On top of the environmental impact, active transportation supports personal health, encourages social connections, and creates safer, more vibrant streets for everyone.

Whether you walk your child to school, ride your bike to work, or hop on MARTA to meet a friend, Car Free Day is a reminder that the choices we make about how we travel matter. By embracing active transportation in Decatur, we not only help protect our environment but also strengthen the sense of community that makes our city unique.

So this Car Free Day, leave your car at home and take advantage of all the ways Decatur makes it easy to get around sustainably. Together, we can create a cleaner, healthier, and more connected city.

Filed under Bike Decatur, City of Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Healthy Monday, Monday Campaigns, Walk Decatur Tagged with , , , , ,

Help Shape Decatur’s Bicycle-Friendly Future

August 11, 2025 by Leave a comment

The City of Decatur has recently submitted its application to the League of American Bicyclists to renew our status as a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC)—and this year, we’re aiming higher. Decatur currently holds a Silver-level designation, and we are working toward achieving Gold.

As part of the review process, we want to hear directly from those who ride—or want to ride—here in Decatur. To better understand local bicyclists’ experiences, we’ve developed a public survey open to anyone familiar with or interested in bicycling in our community. Whether you’re a daily commuter, a weekend rider, or a parent biking with your kids, your input matters. Your feedback will help the League and the City identify strengths, challenges, and opportunities to improve bicycling conditions in Decatur.

Survey closes: Sunday, October 5
BFC award results announced: December
Time commitment: 10–15 minutes (all questions optional)

Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFC_2025

Biking Opportunities in Decatur

Decatur offers a range of ways to get involved in our biking community:

  • Safe Routes to School – Walk & Roll Days: Monthly events encouraging students to bike or walk to school.
  • Bike Bus Programs: Group rides to school with adult supervision—great for building confidence and community.
  • Group Rides & Social Cycling: Guild+Journeyman and community groups host casual rides for all skill levels.
  • Trail Connections: Enjoy access to nearby PATH Foundation trails for longer recreational rides.

Bicycle Education & Resources

We’re committed to making biking safer and more accessible for everyone:

  • Bike Skills Classes: Learn basic handling, traffic safety, and maintenance.
  • Youth Bike Rodeos: Fun, hands-on events teaching kids how to ride safely.
  • Online Safety Guides: nhtsa.gov/road-safety/bicycle-safety covering rules of the road, bike lights, and helmet fitting.
  • Repair Stations: Free public bike repair stands located at key spots around the city.

If you have any questions about the survey or Decatur’s bicycling programs, please contact Gael Doyle, City of Decatur Parks & Recreation Department, at gael.doyle@decaturga.com.

Thank you for sharing your input and helping us move toward Gold and create a Bicycle Friendly Community for everyone.

Filed under Bike Decatur, City of Decatur, Decatur Parks & Recreation, Exercise, Healthy Monday, Safe Routes to School Tagged with , , ,

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