By King Williams en·mi·ty /ˈenmədē/ noun the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. Earlier this week we saw the defeat of mass transit expansion in Gwinnett to start the week. And by the end of the week, we saw one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the […]
As MARTA and its advocates in Gwinnett County look beyond the unofficial negative transit vote Tuesday, the Trump administration is looking forward to a transportation future replete with innovations including hyperloops and autonomous vehicles – albeit with no details about how to pay for it or the nation’s existing infrastructure needs.
An influential group of Gwinnett leaders and transit supporters showed up for a victory party in downtown Lawrenceville at the Slow Pour Brewing Co. SaportaReport will regularly update the results and reaction as the votes come in.
By King Williams Gwinnett County, the soon-to-be-largest county in Georgia by population, is the state’s most diverse county – representing a microcosm of what the future of American politics and economic development could look like. Gwinnett currently is a majority-minority county, meaning that no racial or ethnic group dominates its population. Gwinnett’s county-level leadership on […]
“We don’t need to give people the idea that there is going to be a magical next chance,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash.
When I worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal back the mid-‘70s, I would rise before dawn to catch a MARTA bus at the corner of North Decatur Road and Scott Boulevard, along with a crowd of commuters who drove every day from Lilburn and Lawrenceville, parked in the North DeKalb Mall lot and made the second leg of their commute by public transit. I recall those days to make the point that however the referendum turns out March 19, commuters from Gwinnett County have been riding MARTA for a long time, and over the years, forking over a share of the sales taxes that support it at Atlanta lunch counters and stores.
The sentencing in federal court this week of a former MARTA department administrator brings to a close a scheme in which two top transit officials and an associate defrauded MARTA of more than $500,000.
MARTA bus riders and postal couriers may as well share the same unofficial creed, since both endure the elements – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night….” A ray of sunshine is rising for MARTA riders.
The Fulton County Commission and mayors within the county are considering asking voters for a .2 percent sales tax for transit projects either this November or in 2020.
The 0.2 percent sales tax is expected to generate about $1.2 billion over 30 years.
Funny how the world works.
For decades, Atlanta has been viewed as an auto-centric, sprawling city with few accolades for being pedestrian-friendly or transit-accessible.
But listening to the folks from the National Football League and the Super Bowl Host Committee, Atlanta is being portrayed as a totally different city.
In the last 25 years Atlanta has hosted the big game two times, and we are on the eve of hosting our third. Each of our Super Bowl eras has marked a different phase of Atlanta.
On Jan. 11, MARTA CEO Jeff Parker stood before the audience of the 6th annual State of MARTA address announcing that within the next few decades the metro Atlanta area would need to invest $100 billion in new transit & developments to meet future needs by 2045.
With an audience of elected leaders from all over metro Atlanta and beyond, MARTA’s leader said the region needs to have a “big goal” as it looks toward the next 40 years of transit.
The following is a continuation of the 18 best, worst, and most important trends and developments emanating from within and throughout metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia for 2018. This list was compiled by me with input from people within SaportaReport and beyond.
MARTA is preparing to post advertising on the jumbotrons in the Five Points Station during the Super Bowl. The ads are to be placed on panels that are to be attached to the jumbotrons and removed after the event.
A set of quicker transit routes are set to come through Clayton County as MARTA’s board formally approves a rail line on the south end of its network plus bus rapid transit for other parts of the county.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Oct. 19, 2018
The new corporate headquarters of Interface Inc. is hard to miss.
The building — directly across from the MARTA Arts Center Station on West Peachtree Street in Midtown — is wrapped in recyclable polyester with images of large trees.
Atlanta is a city founded on transportation.
Railroads were the economic engines of Atlanta and the state. After the railroads, there were horsecars, streetcars, buses and pedestrian-filled streets that enabled the city’s growth.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on July 13, 2018
Atlanta BeltLine Inc. stands at a critical juncture — at a time when its leadership is in a state of flux.
Brian McGowan, president and CEO of the city agency since September, has accepted a position to become CEO of the Greater Seattle Partnership and will be stepping down from the BeltLine in mid-August.
I remember growing up in the 1990’s daydreaming during community meetings while my mom and countless advocated for better MARTA bus service in our section of Decatur. As a kid, the walks seemed endless – miles between our apartment complex and South DeKalb Mall – our connection point for buses and the occasional expensive cab ride.
Oil drilling off Georgia’s coast an issue for Trump’s nominee for Interior secretaryMarch 25, 2019 - 4:57 pm
First an apartment tower, now a senior facility planned on grassy plot near Lenox SquareMarch 24, 2019 - 7:25 pm
Nesting shorebirds protected from predators in pilot program on Georgia’s coastMarch 22, 2019 - 12:21 pm
