David: The parade was scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. at Peachtree and Ralph McGill. It would make its way to Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia World Congress Center by about 2 p.m. Here’s more info, plus a route map: http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/12/29/know-before-you-go-new-years-eve-chick-fil-a-bowl/

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To be clear: there were 175,000 people at last year’s Peach Drop, and no reports of serious crime during the event. I understand the crowd, location and recent crimes downtown put people on edge, but it is incorrect to suggest that the Peach Drop has a steady recent history of violent crime.

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Terry, it’s a worthwhile question, but I can’t answer for everyone here. My personal experience, as someone who works downtown, uses public transportation to come downtown and often attends special events downtown, has not included serious or violent crime. I do experience panhandling almost every day, but I have no problem walking past, saying no and moving on. I know my comfort level for types of places and situations, and I think it’s important for others to know theirs as well. I don’t begrudge anybody saying they won’t go X for X; I have a much harder time with people who push that view on others based on inaccurate information or perceptions created without experience.

Still, you’re right, downtown Atlanta has an image problem. First, I think there are disparities in what people think of as “downtown.” Sometimes, that includes Buckhead, or the AUC, or East Atlanta, or the Old Fourth Ward, or Castleberry Hill, or Midtown. Sometimes not. Each of these areas are remarkably unique, and have their own issues. To lump them all into one heading is a disservice.

Second, I feel the image of “downtown” often has more to do with perception than reality. I hear often from people who claim all downtown businesses have failed, that violent crime is rampant, that downtown empties when the office workers head home for the night, that there’s nothing to do. There are examples of all of those things — and depending on your interests, indeed, you may not find anything fun to do downtown — but the issues are not so extreme as some make them sound. Bad things happen everywhere; so do good things. We will always be disappointed and unprepared if we believe absolutes that say nothing good or nothing bad ever happens [insert place here.]

And this is, of course, my own perception, rooted in my own experience here and in other cities. I’m still relatively new to the city, but I think it’s far from hopeless. I hope others haven’t written it off already.

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Terry, you’re totally right — image matters. I grew up just outside Detroit, and no matter what good happens there, it’s overshadowed by the bad; we never hear of it, or it’s treated as an isolated incident. The panhandling downtown is a complicated issue, too — it’s incredibly uncomfortable and skews the perception of the city’s problems. I suppose more cops could cut back the panhandling, but I can see why it’s hard to focus police attention on it when there are far more serious crimes occurring. You’re right about the NASCAR museum, too, but since then, we’ve had a glut of new venues working on moving in downtown. Still, I think I’m more heartened by the work going on around Georgia State. Facilitating more street life downtown will only help the businesses, image and quality of life.

Dave, you make an interesting point, too: Post-Peach Drop, there wouldn’t be a lot going on downtown that wasn’t a party inside a hotel or the venues inside Underground Atlanta. Some of that has to do with the last-call law within the city, which we’ve discussed in earlier posts on the blog, and some has to do, I think, with the tourism/resident culture. Downtown is generally more tourist-friendly, I think. When I’ve got visitors in town, we do often wind up downtown for an event or a specific venue, like the Georgia Aquarium, but when we just want to walk around, grab a drink or shop, we head to other neighborhoods that aren’t quite so obvious to those who have only a guidebook or a few days to play.

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