In 2025, high school social studies teacher Daniel Griffin bought an e-bike on Facebook Marketplace for $500.
“I really don’t like driving, and everything in my life is in close proximity, so I can conceivably bike almost everywhere,” Griffin said.
He uses the e-bike for his five-mile commute from his home in East Atlanta to Cabbagetown, taking advantage of Atlanta’s bike infrastructure, including a new network of bike lanes installed throughout the city over the past few years.
Across Atlanta, residents like Griffin are finding more ways to get around without driving, as safer streets, improved infrastructure, and new programs make walking, biking, and other types of transportation more accessible to the public.
Building a cycling culture
Old Fourth Ward resident Alex Benigno was an early e-bike adopter. In 2013, he outfitted his regular bike with an electric motor, riding an average of 10 miles a day. Benigno — affectionately known as the Atlanta Magnet Man — has become a local hero for using a magnetic trailer attached to his e-bike to remove debris and trash from city bike lanes.
“I get recognized all over the city, people honk their horn and wave and say hello, and it’s a great source of inspiration to continue my service,” he said.
In addition to his solo rides scavenging for debris, Benigno regularly joins rides with local cycling groups like Atlanta Social Bike Rides and Critical Mass Atlanta.
“A bicycle is a great way to get exercise, go outside, and meet new people and find new friend groups,” he said.
Propel ATL, a local nonprofit that advocates for safe streets and sustainable transportation options, wants more people to do the same. The organization offers free cycling classes and bike education programs to more than 2,500 residents each year.
“We’re seeing a lot more people using different ways of getting around for shorter trips closer to where they live,” said Rebecca Serna, executive director of Propel ATL.
“It opens up more pathways to health or people getting accidental exercise going about their day, because now instead of driving to the park or library you can bike or scoot there,” she said.
Propel ATL recently partnered with the Atlanta Regional Commission and the City of Atlanta in an e-bike rebate program. Designed to provide affordable transportation options for Atlanta residents, the program offers a sliding scale, point-of-sale rebate for qualified applicants who purchase e-bikes from participating local bike shops, from Sept. 8 through Sept. 22 this year.
Improving infrastructure
Propel ATL is also a leader in safer streets initiatives, including recent Atlanta City Council legislation prohibiting right turns on red lights (and left turns at a handful of intersections) in the Downtown, Midtown, and Castleberry Hill neighborhoods. Another initiative includes new leading pedestrian intervals at 25 of the city’s most dangerous crosswalks.
Those improvements are meaningful to residents like Darin Givens, co-founder of ThreadATL, a local nonprofit dedicated to innovative urbanism and inclusive growth policies.
“I really appreciate those as a pedestrian, having that chance to get out there before the cars start turning,” said Givens, who does not drive and uses a cane to walk.
Givens cites scramble crosswalks at intersections like DeKalb Avenue and Boulevard as major improvements with increased safety for pedestrians.
“There’s this phase in the traffic lights where all cars are stopped, and it’s just pedestrians and bicycles that are going, I love those and I wish we had more of them,” Givens said.
Serna said those types of improvements not only relieve traffic congestion in densely populated areas because more people feel safer walking or cycling, but make the streets safer for pedestrians and drivers alike.
For example, Propel ATL organized neighborhoods and stakeholders to redesign a formerly dangerous stretch of Memorial Drive, from East Lake to Grant Park, notorious for serious car crashes and even pedestrian fatalities. Now, the road has protected bike lanes in both directions, a center turn lane, and two new pedestrian crossings — all of which have significantly reduced the number of injury crashes and fatalities.
“These safer streets are a huge benefit for everyone from all walks of life, and they are more affordable than people losing their lives or being cut off from being able to get to work safely or on time,” Serna said.
It’s one of the reasons Griffin feels comfortable using his e-bike in certain neighborhoods where Atlanta bike infrastructure has expanded in recent years.
“I grew up here, lived away for a while, and when I came back I realized you can kind of bike around here if you stay on the southeast side because there are a lot of bike lanes,” he said.
Propel ATL’s goal is to continue putting pressure on the city to complete safety and infrastructure projects funded by 2022’s Moving Atlanta Forward infrastructure bond. While several street paving projects were completed in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, only 39% of safe streets and sidewalk networks have been completed to date.
“We’re trying to keep the attention and focus on those as well as sidewalks to make sure that those projects do get built because we know what happens when they get towards the end of a program, the money runs out,” Serna said.
