Tag Archives: GRTA

Metro Atlanta roads: How to make do with a transportation system that’s (mostly) already on the ground

Date: April 10th, 2013, 5:33 pm

State and regional transportation planners are taking the steps they think are within reach in order to relieve traffic congestion in metro Atlanta. GRTA’s board took its first step Wednesday.

The solution won’t be a magic bullet, no more so than if voters in 2012 had approved the construction program envisioned for the proposed 1 percent transportation sales tax. Transit was not part of Wednesday’s conversation.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s touch is evident in the new approach. Deal said after the sales tax referendum that the state would focus on affordable transportation solutions, or, in the words of the resolution approved by GRTA’s board: Georgia will, “improve the movement of people and goods across and within the state [in order to] expand Georgia’s role as a major logistic hub for global commerce.”
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged Atlanta traffic, Gov. Nathan Deal, GRTA, transportation planning | 6 Comments

Public transit outlook remains case of: “Better the devil you know”

Date: April 8th, 2013, 6:03 pm

The landscape of public transit has become clearer in metro Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia, at least for the next year – not much will change.

The state Senate essentially gave MARTA’s new GM, Keith Parker, a year to get settled into the job and devise plans to curb costs and raise revenues. The Senate stalled expansive legislation, which the House had approved, to privatize segments of MARTA and otherwise retool its board and operations.

Gov. Nathan Deal prevailed in his effort for the state to fund Xpress, the regional bus service overseen by GRTA. Finally, the planning process continues to advance for helping people take public transit to their medical appointments, and other critical destinations, in metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged ARC, GRTA, MARTA, Xpress | 3 Comments

Legislature OKs $8.1 million for Xpress buses, stalls MARTA reorganization plan until next year

Date: March 29th, 2013, 9:14 am

Two transit measures that are important to metro Atlanta commuters were resolved when the state Legislature ended its 2013 session late Thursday.

The Xpress bus service received $8.1 million in funding, which will enable the commuter bus program operated by GRTA to continue its service through the fiscal year that begins July 1. An additional $567,000 will keep buses running through June 30.

A proposal to reorganize MARTA and privatize some of its operations stalled in the Senate and is eligible for reconsideration in the Legislature’s 2014 session.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged GRTA, MARTA, Xpress | 12 Comments

Metro Atlanta’s transportation funding clobbered by recession, dip in federal support, ARC study shows

Date: March 13th, 2013, 5:29 pm

Some truly jaw-dropping numbers that reveal the harrowing impact of the recession on transportation funding in metro Atlanta were presented Wednesday to the board that oversees GRTA.

All the numbers relate to the amount of money that will be available to build and maintain roads and bridges, and transit. The revenue figures are down – across the board – from federal to state to local dollars.

Here’s a wry observation of Georgia’s expected share of the federal transportation bill that President Obama signed in 2012: “We were excited to see it, until we began to look at the money in it,” said John Orr, a senior planner with ARC who made the presentation to GRTA’s board.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged ARC, GRTA, Plan 2040, property tax digests, transportation funding | 2 Comments

GRTA quietly making case to state lawmakers to fund Xpress bus service

Date: February 13th, 2013, 10:35 pm

GRTA is working diligently at the state Capitol to support funding for Xpress, the regional bus service that is in line to receive $8.7 million in state funding, if state lawmakers support budget requests by Gov. Nathan Deal.

GRTA, which manages the bus system, is making the case to help lawmakers see the value in state funding for a transit system that reportedly takes 1.5 million cars a year off metro Atlanta’s roads with its 2.4 million boardings in fiscal year 2012.

Jannine Miller, GRTA’s executive director, on Wednesday walked GRTA board members through the presentation the agency is delivering to lawmakers. The message is simple: Xpress represents a good fiscal policy for lawmakers to support.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged Georgia budget, Gov. Nathan Deal, GRTA, transit, Xpress | 10 Comments

Xpress bus service funded in Gov. Deal’s proposed FY 2014 budget

Date: January 18th, 2013, 9:42 am

The Xpress bus service operated by GRTA will continue to operate through at least June 2014 if the Legislature leaves intact the operating funds recommended by Gov. Nathan Deal in his budget proposal for FY 2014.

Deal also made history by including Xpress funding in the state’s annual budget, rather than its supplemental budget. That’s significant because eliminating money from programs that are included in the annual budget has, historically, been much more difficult than eliminating funding that was provided in the amended budget, or supplemental budget, the Legislature adopts in the middle of a fiscal year.

Deal provided $8.1 million for Xpress operations in the budget he unveiled Thursday. The money would offset the loss of local and federal funds, according to the line item in the governor’s budget.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged economic development, Georgia funding, Governor Nathan Deal, GRTA, Nathan Deal, transportation, Xpress bus, Xpress bus funding | 2 Comments

ARC’s first reorg in a generation aims to meet region’s emerging needs

Date: January 14th, 2013, 6:19 pm

The Atlanta Regional Commission is embarking on its first reorganization in a generation, in order to meet the demands of the post-recession paradigm that’s emerging from the public and private sectors.

Silos of expertise are to be replaced by collaborative teams. An example of the new approach would be for ARC planners to examine mobility rather than transportation – a shift that frames the issue in a fashion that begs for broader solutions.

“Because we are changing in so many ways as a region, ARC realizes we have to be more adaptable to help local governments solve more problems,” said Doug Hooker, ARC’s executive director.
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Posted in David Pendered | Tagged Airport Area Task Force, ARC, Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta Transportation, community development, Doug Hooker, Georgia power, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, GRTA, Jannine Miller, mobility | 3 Comments

Atlanta region standing strong on regional transit governance and changes to MARTA Act

Date: February 27th, 2012, 3:52 pm

It should be so simple.

Establishing a regional transit governance structure and tweaking the MARTA Act to make the transit system more functional should be no brainers.

But when sound ideas are placed in the hands of some members of the General Assembly they somehow become distorted, convoluted and warped with political baggage.

Then when people and institutions object to proposed bills have been drafted with flawed thinking rather than common sense, those bills often just die on the vine and nothing gets done.
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