A plan to double spending on bicycle and pedestrian amenities by 2040, and add transit capacity, has earned a federal award for the transportation planning organization for Chattanooga, and its suburbs in Georgia.
Tag: region
Posted inDavid Pendered, Latest News, Main Slider
Ga. Supreme Court ruling casts pall over Cobb County funding of Braves stadium
In a ruling Monday that validated the sale of bonds for the Braves stadium, the Georgia Supreme Court said the deal “may push the law as far as it can go.” The order also raised the question of political ramifications of the transaction.
Posted inColumns, David Pendered, Main Slider
52 miles of managed lanes being built with plans to serve expanded transit bus system
In a new approach to road construction in Georgia, the state is adding 52 miles of managed lanes in metro Atlanta with the intention of using them to serve a growing number of transit buses filled with passengers.
Posted inDavid Pendered, Latest News, Main Slider
Georgia prepping to provide $75 million to fund transit needs
Georgia is preparing to sell $75 million in bonds to fund transit needs statewide, and the state is devising the criteria by which the money will be disbursed, GRTA’s executive director said Wednesday.
Posted inDavid Pendered, Latest News, Main Slider
U.S. needs national strategy for seaports, says GPA director
When Curtis Foltz looks to the future, the head of the Georgia Ports Authority sees a day when ports around the nation won’t be able handle the demand for moving freight.
“Generally speaking, our ports are falling way behind in terms of modernizing, capacity, velocity, and utilizing capital,” said Foltz, GPA’s executive director since 2010 and head of the nation’s fourth largest, and fastest growing, container port.
Posted inDavid Pendered, Latest News, Main Slider
Dredging company wins contract for Savannah, vows to protect environment, marine habitat
After 16 years of planning and debate over the deepening of the Savannah Harbor, the federal government announced Wednesday it has hired a company to begin the first phase of dredging.
Posted inDavid Pendered
As auto sales rebound in Ga., new cars pay fewer taxes to build roads
An uptick in the sale of new vehicles that’s been linked to lower gas prices spells more trouble for state road funding.
Georgia’s collection of motor fuel taxes fell by 2 percent in the last three months of 2014. Revenues from tag, title, and fees rose by 2.7 percent during that period, according to a tabulation of monthly reports from the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Gov. Deal tees up transportation debate as federal funds wane
Gov. Nathan Deal sought Wednesday to cast a hopeful tone over the future of transportation funding.
The current reality is grim. For starters, as of June 1, Georgia is facing a $367.2 million shortfall in necessary federal transportation funds in the federal fiscal year that ends Oct. 1, the state’s chief engineer told GRTA’s board of directors.
Posted inDavid Pendered
New partnership intends to help develop affordable homes in region
More money is soon to be available for developers who need loans for projects in metro Atlanta neighborhoods still reeling from the housing crisis and, in some cases, woes that preceded the crisis.
The additional capital is to flow from a new partnership between Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. and The Reinvestment Fund.
“Some metro Atlanta submarkets are slowly rebounding from the great recession, while others are experiencing considerable growth,” ANDP President/CEO John O’Callaghan said.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Poll: Georgians want Congress to end impasse, fund roads, rails, transit
Georgians and residents of six other states want Congress to end its stalemate at least long enough to approve transportation funding before the existing pot of money runs out this summer, according to results of a poll released Wednesday.
The results could give federal lawmakers the political cover needed to provide federal funding for roads, transit and rail – a sector that historically enjoyed bipartisan support before gridlock reached its current state.
“People just want Congress to take action, and transportation is a no-brainer,” said Margie Omero, managing director of Purple Insights, the polling firm. “It’s not a partisan divide, at least among Georgians.”
Posted inDavid Pendered
ARC to Ga. congressional delegation: Help end impasse over transportation funding, GDOT official concurs
The Atlanta Regional Commission’s board of directors voted Wednesday to ask the state’s congressional delegation to resolve the impasse over the nation’s transportation funding program and keep transportation money flowing to Georgia.
The ARC board acted in advance of the July 1 deadline imposed by the state for approval of new transportation projects. The Georgia Department of Transportation swiftly endorsed the resolution approved by ARC’s board.
“We support the action of the ARC,” said Natalie Dale, GDOT’s liaison for government relations. “We’ve had similar conversations with our congressional delegation.”
Posted inDavid Pendered
New airport business alliance similar to successful economic development program in Gwinnett County
The newly formed Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance bears a striking resemblance to Partnership Gwinnett, a public-private initiative that has created a strong record of economic development in Gwinnett County.
Each entity was formed to attract jobs and investments to their respective areas. One distinguishing point is that the aerotropolis alliance was convened by the Atlanta Regional Commission, whereas Partnership Gwinnett is based at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
Posted inDavid Pendered
New intrigue in proposed remake of Fulton County tax commissioner
The perennial proposal to do something, anything, about the Fulton County tax commissioner is bottled up in the Georgia legislature.
The state Senate on Thursday tabled a proposal, filed by ranking House members, that contains two big provisions. At this stage in the legislative session, there’s no telling if the proposal has a chance of being passed this year.
Posted inColumns, Michelle Hiskey & Ben Smith
Atlanta Diaper Bank a fresh resource for a hidden need
Behind Atlanta’s hunger, poverty and homelessness are parents who are trying to stretch every resource—even dirty diapers. To cut the cost of this basic need, their babies wear soiled diapers for longer periods than they should, and sometimes parents try to wash or reuse disposable ones, putting the kids at risk for staph infections.
Founded by Adrienne Hopkins of Kennesaw, the Diaper Bank of Greater Atlanta is winding up its annual “Twelve Days of Diapers” drive that began Dec. 1. The Diaper Bank is a nonprofit that helps cover the bottoms of babies and toddlers as well as adults who require disposable undergarments but cannot afford them. Its current goal is collecting 100,000 diapers and adult incontinence products before Thursday.
Posted inColumns, Michelle Hiskey & Ben Smith
Transformed by refugees, Clarkston takes stage in ‘Third Country’
“I just want to know one thing: How do we stop the refugees from coming here?” That faceless voice rings from a cast member planted in the audience at the Horizon Theatre.
The play is“Third Country,” a drama based on the seismic change in Clarkston, which in the past 20 years has transformed from a predominantly white Atlanta suburb into what Time magazine called the most diverse square mile in America.
In this play by first-generation Egyptian-American Suehyla El-Attar, Clarkston is called Sidington, and the plot captures the intense emotions and misperceptions across our country about newcomers and the meaning of home, between ourselves and our shared space.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Higher local match for state road funding appears in counties that rejected transportation sales tax
The financial consequences of last year’s transportation sales tax referendum are starting to appear in the coffers of local governments throughout Georgia.
Counties that passed the sales tax have to match 10 percent to receive money from the state to maintain roads. Counties that rejected the tax – including metro Atlanta and most of Georgia – have to match 30 percent of the grant to receive any allocations from this pot of money.
The first round of checks has been released in the first time this formula has been used. In addition, this is the first use of a new state program the state Legislature created in 2009 in an attempt to streamline the state’s previous method of providing money to local governments to repair and maintain roads.
Posted inDavid Pendered
New study of Georgia’s school funding questions state’s ability to provide skilled workforce to business
A new report on state funding for K-12 education raises some challenging questions about Georgia’s ability to provide a skilled workforce to businesses – especially in areas beyond metro Atlanta.
School districts are coping with funding cuts through measures including trimming days from the school year and assigning more students to each teacher, according to the report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. School budgets are squeezed by shrinking state support and by the declining local tax base caused by the recession, the report states.
Even as school districts are strapped, the Georgia Department of Economic Development is touting Georgia’s workforce development policies including its support for charter schools, pre-K programs, HOPE scholarships, and strong public technical schools and universities. Georgia has adopted common core standards in math and language arts, and allocates extra funding to districts that provide gifted programs, according to DEcD’s webpage.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Gov. Deal’s trade trip to Asia: Chinese phosphate plant to open near Savannah; tourism pitch on agenda
Gov. Nathan Deal announced Thursday, on the first day of his trade mission to Asia, that a leading Chinese phosphates producer will open its U.S. headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Effingham County.
The agreement continues Georgia’s traditional efforts to secure foreign direct investment. This trip also intends to foster China’s tourism to Georgia, and nurture the relationship with Georgia’s second-largest export market.
The trip represents Georgia’s attention to China, the world’s largest travel spender and soon-to-be top oil importer. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed led a trade mission to China in March 2012, aiming to focus the country’s importers on metro Atlanta’s offerings such as bio-tech products and engineering services.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Smallish transportation projects advance as Sierra Club outlines thoughts on regional mobility
Additional federal funding for a new bridge across I-75 in north Cobb County and a stormwater project along Ponce de Leon Avenue in DeKalb County were among six transportation projects approved Thursday in a proposed amendment to the region’s long-term transportation improvement program.
Simultaneously, the Atlanta Regional Commission has started the competition among local governments for the region’s estimated $29 million a year in federal funding for projects that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. The filing deadline is Sept. 27 for this new round of federal funding.
Collectively, the projects represent the type of recalibration that is surfacing a year after metro Atlanta voters rejected the 2012 transportation sales tax and its $8.5 billion in planned mobility improvements. In a sense, this approach shares similarities with “framework for transportation progress” outlined by the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Wheat export through port rises as Atlanta fosters role as logistics hub
Georgia’s port in Brunswick is benefiting from a rise in the export of Georgia-grown wheat to Mexico, and the first vessel of the season sailed from Brunswick Thursday.
Georgia farmers have bet heavily on wheat this year. The acreage committed to wheat production rose by 52 percent this year compared to 2012, from 230,000 acres to 350,000 acres, according to the Georgia Ports Authority, citing figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The idea that Atlanta has an interest in Georgia’s wheat exports through a state port is fueled in part by Mayor Kasim Reed. Reed has linked Atlanta’s stature as a global logistics hub with a seaport capable of handling the world’s largest cargo vessels. To that end, Reed is working diligently to obtain federal support for the deepening of the Savannah harbor.
