How Will Music Midtown Road Closures Impact You?

Lot’s of people are excited about the Sept. 21-22 return of Music Midtown to . The street closure plan might not jazz too many, though, especially those who use 10th Street on a regular basis.

Last year’s comeback of Music Midtown from an five-year hiatus was a Saturday all-day affair in the park’s meadow. But the 2012 version, featuring the likes of Foo Fighters and Ludacris, will begin on a late Friday afternoon before leading into Day 2 when as many as 60,000 music and festival fans will take over the park.

Organizers communicated to Neighborhood Planning Unit-E members Tuesday that 10th St. between Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive will be closed to non-resident traffic on Friday, Sept. 21 at 6 a.m. until Sunday, Sept. 23 at 12 midnight.

Another emailed notice from organizers indicated the street closure on the Friday would not begin until 9:30 a.m. Event organizers have said they will again be meeting with the Midtown Neighborhood Association in the coming weeks with all finalized festival plans.

This weekend-long 10th St. closure will cause traffic delays on Monroe Dr. near the Midtown, Morningside and Virginia-Highland neighborhoods. Residents near Amsterdam Avenue should also expect more car traffic due to the road closures.

Of course other Piedmont Park festivals and events such as the Red Bull Soapbox call for area street closures, but none as extended as maybe Music Midtown and July's Peachtree Road Race.

How much do full or partial closures of 10th St. affect your lifestyle and how and where you spend your time when it happens? Is it a tradeoff you accept for living in the vibrant heart of the city?

During the 10th St. closure there will be access during school hours for The Children’s School and Grady High School; access to the Post Parkside parking lot and the adjacent retail parking lot; access for Midtown residents and businesses displaying proper identification; and APD will provide intermittent traffic control for ADA, emergency vehicle and MARTA access.

Residents can present a valid driver’s license or recent utility bill with an address within the resident only area to gain access. They can also display a Resident Access Pass, which will be made available for pick-up.

Other limited street and lane closures for Music Midtown from organizers:

• On Sunday, Sept. 16, 10th Street between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive will be periodically closed for load-in of the festival infrastructure (stage, tents, etc) from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • APD will be onsite to allow intermittent traffic flow for all vehicles during this period. While we do not anticipate the street being closed for the entire 14-hour span, due to the mutable nature of the load-in process (inclement weather, transportation delays, etc) it is necessary that we request this length of time for the purposes of the street closure permit.  Traffic will be allowed to move freely as long as there are not production vehicles or equipment actively loading in.   
• On Sunday, Sept. 16 at 8:00p.m.(or after all scheduled infrastructure loads in) three east-bound lanes of 10th Street between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive (the ones closest to Grady High School) will be used for two-way traffic while the two west-bound lane (the ones closest to Piedmont Park) will be closed. These lanes will remain closed until the festival completes load-out on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 12 midnight.
• On Thursday, Sept. 20 from 6:00 a.m. until Sunday, Sept. 22 at midnight, the east-bound curb lane (parking lane) of Charles Allen Drive from 8th street to 10th street will be closed.  
• On Sunday, Sept. 23, 10th Street between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive will be closed for load-out of the festival infrastructure (stage, tents, etc) from 12:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • APD will be onsite to allow intermittent traffic flow for all vehicles during this period. Traffic will be allowed to move freely as long as there is not pedestrian traffic or production vehicles/equipment actively loading out.

After Labor Day, there will be a map at www.musicmidtown.com that details these closures. Electronic message boards will be placed on Monroe Drive, 10th and 14th streets the week leading up to the festival to draw attention to closures. The message boards will also direct patrons to parking garages on festival day(s).