In Thursday’s (8/4) Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rick Badie writes, “Karl A. Bevins enjoyed two fruitful careers, one as a city traffic engineer and the other as principal clarinetist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In 1949, the late Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield saw the need for a full-time engineer to preside over traffic, and tapped Mr. Bevins as Atlanta’s first city traffic engineer. He held the post—believed at the time to be the first of its kind in the Southeast—for 28 years, all the while playing with the symphony. He performed with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, too, and taught private lessons more than 50 years.” Bevins also presided over the Atlanta Federation of Musicians for 19 years. He died July 29 at the age of 96. “Mr. Bevins has been hailed as a pioneer and innovator, a dedicated, long-serving appointed official who improved city traffic issues. He is credited with the implementation of staggered work hours, reversible lane control and computerized signals, among other innovations. He served under four mayors, including Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition, and retired in 1978.”
Posted August 4, 2011
