Hot take: the BeltLine got worse after the paving finished in 2023

I keep seeing everyone rave about how the BeltLine is so much better since they finished that stretch near the Fourth Ward. But I walked it for years before they paved it, and honestly the gravel had a better feel. Now it's packed with people on rental scooters and groups taking up the whole path. The noise level tripled after they added those speakers at the overpass. Anyone else miss when it was quieter and less like a commercial strip?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark7312h ago

Hang on though, that scooter company thing doesn't sound right. I actually talked to a BeltLine staffer at a neighborhood meeting last spring and she said the speakers were part of the original design contract, not something a rental company paid for. The scooter guys just crank up the volume because nobody stops them.

margaret_singh13h ago

A neighbor told me the scooter rentals actually paid for those speakers.

spencerl322h ago

My neighbor down on 3rd street told me the same thing. I swear I saw a scooter rental guy messing with the volume on one of those speakers last week. Makes total sense now why they're always cranked up so loud even late at night.