Honesty without a lens
Is Mays safe?
Atlanta, Georgia · safety score updated nightly
Be careful — go in daylight and stay on the busier streets.
VibeLoco rates Mays as “Caution”.
Gogo's take on Mays
“Go with care. Mays is primarily a quiet, residential Westside community with limited attractions for typical tourists. While daylight walks on residential streets are generally uneventful, the lack of commercial amenities, poor pedestrian infrastructure, and proximity to higher-crime corridors along MLK Jr. Drive warrant caution.”
Recent Westside community initiatives have focused on traffic-calming improvements and pedestrian safety upgrades along the nearby Martin Luther King Jr. Drive corridor.
About the area
Mays is a wooded, mid-century residential neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta characterized by single-family brick ranches and hilly roads. It offers a calm residential atmosphere for locals but lacks walkable dining, retail, or cultural venues. Most daily errands and visitor activities require driving to neighboring districts.
- Quiet / Residential
- Wooded Suburbia
- Car-Dependent
- Mid-Century Ranches
Walking and biking in Mays
Walk score: 28/100 · Bike score: 24/100
There are no dedicated bike lanes, Relay bike-share stations, or direct BeltLine trail connections within Mays. Cyclists must navigate narrow, hilly roads alongside vehicular traffic.
Reasons to go, and reasons to think twice
Pros
- Quiet, tree-lined residential streets with minimal through-traffic
- Classic mid-century Atlanta residential architecture
- Close proximity to key Westside landmarks like Benjamin E. Mays High School
Cons
- Very low walkability with missing sidewalks and hilly topography
- Near-total absence of walkable restaurants, cafes, or shops
- Elevated property crime and auto break-ins relative to regional averages
- Car dependency makes exploring on foot impractical
Homelessness: Visible homelessness is very low within the interior residential blocks of Mays. A small amount of panhandling or unhoused presence is occasionally visible near transit stops and shopping plazas along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
What Mays is like at each time of day
- Morning · 5a – 11a
- Peaceful and quiet as residents commute, making it the best time for a stroll along residential side streets.
- Afternoon · 11a – 5p
- Generally calm with modest local traffic, though commercial edges near MLK Jr. Drive get busier.
- Evening · 5p – 10p
- Activity drops off sharply after dusk, and limited street lighting makes walking less comfortable.
- Late night · 10p – 5a
- Not recommended for walking due to sparse lighting, isolated roads, and elevated risk of opportunistic crime.
Transit, parking and getting around
The nearest MARTA rail hub is Hamilton E. Holmes Station (Blue Line), situated approximately 2 to 3 miles northeast. MARTA bus routes 68 and 73 serve the area along Bakers Ferry Road and MLK Jr. Drive.
Residential street parking is free, unmetered, and easy to find throughout the neighborhood. Strip malls and business plazas along the perimeter offer free surface parking lots.
Things to do in Mays
- Walk the quiet, tree-lined residential loops along Bakers Ferry Road
- Visit the sports facilities and grounds around historic Benjamin E. Mays High School
- Take a short drive to nearby Lionel Hampton-Beecher Hills Park for nature trails
Local favorites
- Q Time Restaurant · Soul Food Restaurant · 4.2★ (1240)A longtime Westside staple serving hearty meat-and-three plates and traditional Southern soul food.
- JJ Fish & Chicken · Seafood Restaurant · 3.8★ (790)A popular counter-serve spot on the corridor known for seasoned fried catfish, wings, and fries.
- Chopsticks · Chinese Restaurant · 4.0★ (330)A casual neighborhood strip-mall takeout counter serving classic Chinese-American staples.
Scores blend recent reported crime levels, area poverty and walk/bike access, refreshed nightly. They are a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change street to street.