Atlanta, GA
Atlanta City Council to consider resolution to shorten e-scooter curfew for second time

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Nearly five years after adopting an e-scooter curfew after a series of traffic fatalities, the Atlanta City Council will consider a resolution to address whether to shorten the curfew for the second time in two years.
“We want you to be connected, we want you to be in a walkable city, but we’re preventing you from using some of the tools that are eligible for you at night,” said District 12 City Councilman Antonio Lewis, who sponsored the resolution.
The change would shorten the curfew to two hours, 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. It’s currently from midnight to 4 a.m.
For most people, e-scooters from companies like Byrd and Lime are practical means of transportation.
Raegan Turner and Mackenzie O’Brien often work downtown past midnight as servers.
“It’s cool and convenient because I don’t have a car,” Turner said.
Turner believes the change would promote safer movement.
“I don’t have to walk in the middle of the night — as a girl — which is very unsafe in the city,” she added.
But the curfew was originally a safety protocol, running from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., after multiple scooter-accident deaths in 2019.
The Atlanta City Council instituted the curfew, but even at the time, there was concern that the problem was not scooters but Atlanta’s streets.
In 2022, a Georgia Tech study found that the scooter curfew was hurting city traffic, which led the city council to shorten the curfew from midnight to 4 a.m.
Now, it could be scaled back again to help workers who get off late at night.
“It would make it a lot more accessible for different modes of public transportation,” O’Brien said.
In the years since the curfew began, Atlanta’s roads have also changed.
“I think sometimes the roads were a little too tight, like, for cartoon characters,” said Sara Tan, operations manager at EStar Rides in South Atlanta. “The infrastructure is preparing for it. So, they’re redoing a lot of our roads now.”
That includes where Turner and O’Brien ate lunch on Memorial Drive SE on Monday afternoon.
“They just did this, like, I wanna say six months ago,” Turner said, pointing out dedicated lanes separating bikes and scooters from car traffic.
It’s work like the construction on Memorial Drive that has Lewis feeling like Atlanta is ready to consider a change.
“There’s no reason for us to be so hard on folks who want to ride a scooter,” he said.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.

Atlanta, GA
PHOTOS: Trees come crashing down during severe thunderstorms across metro Atlanta

As severe weather rocked the South this weekend, the metro Atlanta area wasn’t spared. Thunderstorms even brought trees down across Georgia.
Here’s a look at some of the storm damage in our viewing area:
A tree also came down on the tracks, deenergizing the third rail between the Medical Center and Dunwoody MARTA stations. For now, there’s a bus bridge in effect from Medical Center to Sandy Springs until the tree can be moved. There are also delays on the Red line, according to a spokesperson from MARTA.
If you have pictures or video of storm damage in your area, you can submit them for consideration through the FOX 5 Weather app or email them to newstipsatlanta@fox.com.
The Source: These images were either supplied by FOX 5 Atlanta viewers who submitted them through the FOX 5 Storm Team app, or by FOX 5 Atlanta photojournalists.
Atlanta, GA
Residents of Atlanta townhome complex fear eviction, allege ‘unlivable’ conditions

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Residents of a townhome complex in southwest Atlanta say they’re being forced out despite paying rent.
Renters living in Bolden Townhomes, located off Oakland Drive, came together on Friday to demand answers from the property owner about potential evictions and the reasons they’re subjected to living in allegedly “unlivable” conditions.
The townhomes are owned by Bolden Capital Group.
One renter, Ba Ba, said he moved in months ago. He claims he has lived without power and air conditioning, showing us that the lights and other utilities in the home are not functioning.
“Violating my rights, my kids can’t come to see me because my apartment is not in a fair condition to come,” said Ba Ba. “I don’t have air or lights.”
To cook food, he has to get creative, using a can and a portable cooking device typically used for camping.
Ba Ba also pointed us to a note allegedly left on his door by someone who represents the property ownership group. It offered a warning that “any unauthorized entry is trespassing and a violation of law.”
Residents now fear eviction and being left without a place to live.
“I don’t understand how you would take our money and kick us out,” said Martavious Pope, another resident. “I don’t understand that.”
Other residents held a press conference held at the complex on Friday morning and said they have collapsing ceilings and mold; Atlanta News First observed broken glass windows, boarded-up homes, and a lack of lights and air conditioning.
Alison Johnson with the Housing Justice League demands answers from the city and the property owner.
“As we see here, that is not happening,” said Johnson. “There’s been no accountability, no one here to tell the landlords that this is an unjust living situation and tenants should live in these conditions.”
The outcry drew the attention of Atlanta City Council Member Jason Dozier, who called for an investigation into the situation and a halt to any potential evictions. He wants “a swift, coordinated response from the City of Atlanta, including our code enforcement agencies, housing officials, and legal partners.”
Bolden Capital Group said they face “complex challenges” in maintaining Bolden Townhomes. They claim that people are living in homes without proper authorization. The group told us other issues exist, including “utility theft and damage to units” and that “these issues have created difficult and unsafe conditions.”
The group said that it is working with local law enforcement to resolve the situation.
Ba Ba certainly believes he has every right to live in his home. He provided us with what appears to be a lease agreement that he signed with the company, emphasizing that he pays rent to the landlord every month.
“Already hard to find somewhere to stay, and when you do, it’s not even decent,” added Ba Ba.
Bolden Capital Group said there is pending legal action. What that looks like remains unclear.
Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.
Atlanta, GA
MARTA ridership to Atlanta airport accelerates after parking rate hikes

ATLANTA – It’s no secret that passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were not very happy about recent increases to parking rates.
Now many people have turned to other alternatives like MARTA to save money before they fly.
By the numbers:
New data FOX 5 requested from MARTA shows more people are taking the train to avoid parking fees at the Atlanta airport.
At the start of May, hourly, daily economy and international rates all went up.
MARTA estimates an increase in rail entries at its Airport station of approximately 7.5%, or an average of around 600 more entries from April to May 2025.

A MARTA train stops at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. (Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In the same timeframe, MARTA’s data showed the average utilization of its long-term parking facilities has increased by around 43%, or an average of 69 more long-term spots in use per day.
What they’re saying:
Renee Steinike lives in Alpharetta and said the price increase has changed how she heads to the airport.
“For the last year and a half, I’ve been going home once a month to take care of my mom and I usually park at the west parking lot because it was very convenient, no problem, but just recently they raised rates to $30 a day. It’s ridiculous, so now I’m parking here and taking MARTA,” Steinike said.
For others, using MARTA is all about not having to deal with the traffic.
“It’s nice that you avoid a lot of the traffic going down there. So, you avoid the perimeter traffic at 285, you avoid the 75/85 merger. It’s just really convenient,” Caro Montes said.
Roswell resident Allyson Golightly was also taking the train.
“This is close to my house, yeah, but i feel like this station is pretty safe,” she said.
Dig deeper:
Back in 2019, MARTA police reported 436 transit-related crimes.
Over the last five years, that number has steadily slowed down. In 2024, 211 incidents were reported – dropping more than 50% from five years prior.
Data did show a jump in some crimes from 2023 to 2024.
“I make sure that I have my headphones in and my sunglasses on because sometimes it’s not real safe at certain times,” Steinike said,
Other riders say you just have to stay alert.
“I’ve lived in a lot of big cities throughout my life. I think Atlanta is no different as long as you just stay aware of your surroundings, keep your valuables where you are – I really don’t have a problem on transit,” Montes said.
What you can do:
MARTA only charges $5 a day for long-term parking at its Dunwoody, Medical Center, Kensington, Lenox and Sandy Springs stations.
The price for the College Park, Doraville, Lindbergh and North Springs stations will run you just $3 more daily at $8.
The Source: FOX 5’s Kendrick Henderson reported this story from interviews and data taken from MARTA reports.
-
News1 week ago
Video: Faizan Zaki Wins Spelling Bee
-
News1 week ago
Video: Harvard Commencement Speaker Congratulates and Thanks Graduates
-
Politics1 week ago
Michelle Obama facing backlash over claim about women's reproductive health
-
Technology1 week ago
AI could consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of 2025
-
News1 week ago
President Trump pardons rapper NBA YoungBoy in flurry of clemency actions
-
Technology1 week ago
SEC drops Binance lawsuit in yet another gift to crypto
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be a ‘super assistant’ for every part of your life
-
World1 week ago
Two killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine before possible talks in Turkiye