Here we go again.
The Georgia Department of Transportation on Oct. 22 hosted a public presentation to present three possible corridors for high-speed rail service between Atlanta and Charlotte.
Tag: Transit
Posted inColumns
DeKalb County’s potential transit tax vote in 2020 faces myriad of scenarios
DeKalb County transit advocates face a possible campaign in 2020 that could go beyond simply seeking voter approval of a 30-year sales tax. Advocates may have to overcome public trust wavering after setbacks in two nearby tax-funded programs – for DeKalb schools, and Atlanta’s roads-and-sidewalks-and transit programs.
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Next stop for Atlanta transit: Jobs
By Guest Columnist BETTY WILLIS, president of the Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association
As far back as 1961, transportation planners at the predecessor of the Atlanta Regional Commission had the foresight to anticipate where MARTA rail lines would best serve the metro region’s transit needs, years before construction began in 1975 on the heavy rail system.
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GDOT seeks public comments on funding of transit, bike and walking paths, more
The window of opportunity for the public to express opinions on state funding of transit, bike and walking paths – and all modes of transportation – opened over the weekend and public comments will be accepted online through Oct. 20. The outreach is part of the state’s effort to update mobility plans that are to guide spending through 2050.
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‘Suffocated’ by traffic: Buckhead residents seek solutions from ATL, ARC, GDOT, etc.
Just one number speaks to the reason traffic is again a major topic in Buckhead: The number of vehicles that every day drives along just one street lined with homes compares to almost the entire population of Decatur.
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BeltLine Rail: Bait-and-Switch?
By Guest Columnist PATTY DURAND, co-chair of BeltLine Rail Now
You’d think if Atlanta leaders had a way to extend reliable rapid transit to dozens of neighborhoods, connecting them to existing MARTA rail at multiple points – and do it relatively cheaply – they’d jump at the chance.
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Buckhead plan aims to reduce solo commutes by providing affordable homes in Buckhead
The related challenges of affordable housing and traffic congestion are paired in a new report in Buckhead. Civic leaders have devised a proposal to increase the number of affordable homes in order to enable staffers to reside closer to work and not need a car to commute.
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Plan calls for saving oak trees, widening sidewalks at Brookhaven shopping center
A proposal to save five specimen oak trees in exchange for tweaking the sidewalk requirements at a busy shopping center along Peachtree Road in Brookhaven, near MARTA’s Brookhaven Station, has received preliminary approval from city planners.
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The ATL transit board names Chris Tomlinson executive director
The close connection among agencies is the latest example of the state of Georgia trying to address cross-county metro Atlanta traffic snarls by means other more untolled car lanes.
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ATL edging toward Vision Zero, a policy of no deaths when vehicles strike humans
The job posting for Atlanta’s first transportation commissioner calls for experience with implementing Vision Zero, a mobility policy that includes reducing vehicular speed on city streets in order to improve safety for folks not in vehicles.
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Saving the Atlanta BeltLine: A shift from transit to micromobility
By Guest Columnist KEVIN H. POSEY, who writes about transportation and has served on related boards in the Washington region. He moved to Atlanta in 2017.
Atlanta’s BeltLine is perhaps the city’s best-known landmark. As with New York’s High Line, travel writers point it out as a key stop for those visiting Atlanta. However, that popularity poses a threat to its viability as a usable transportation corridor.
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Tenacity pays off as partners build warehouse to compete in tough retail sector
They never gave up. And after 30 years or so of efforts, the two partners and their families celebrated on Thursday the construction start of a warehouse in Tucker that is to be the foundation of the next generation of their furniture store – reflagged from Underpriced Furniture to Georgia Furniture Mart.
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Commuters’ trip times reduced by GDOT’s construction approach that won awards
Metro Atlanta commuters who travel on roads may take some consolation in the notion that construction delays aren’t as bad as they could be. Georgia Department of Transportation has been commended for a program that reduces construction timelines – and cut a decade off one major project.
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The absence of children in transportation planning
By Guest Columnist DOUG JOINER, a lifelong child and adolescent advocate
In January 2012, I was introduced to Safe Routes to School in metro Atlanta through the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors via a Kaiser grant. As I assessed the program in metro Atlanta, two disturbing issues immediately caught my attention – children rarely factor in transportation planning; and low-wealth minority communities have even few safety provisions for children walking to school.
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New audible crosswalk alert helps blind college student, reminds of simpler times
It’s a simple story from a simpler time. A mother asked a man to help her blind son. The man agreed. An audible tone was added to a crosswalk on a busy road. The son now can safely cross the road between his home and a bus stop after his ride home from school.
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Conventioneers overlooked in Downtown mobility plan; entire concept to be reviewed
Transportation planners overlooked one aspect of Atlanta’s convention industry – the people who attend – and that evidently contributed to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ decision to halt the first step in a plan aimed at making Downtown more pleasant for pedestrians. In addition, the mayor ordered a review of the entire Downtown mobility plan by the city’s newly approved Transportation Department, which is to be functional by late 2020.
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Not all aboard with new philosophy of mobility in Downtown Atlanta
A new philosophy of mobility in Downtown Atlanta is to be ready for use in three years. Not everyone is on board. The Atlanta City Council on Monday issued a split decision, 11-4, in favor of the first phase of the concept – to convert part of Baker Street from a one-way to a two-way street.
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Downtown Atlanta traffic: Baker Street conversion part of sweeping proposal to reshape mobility
A significant vote on part of the sweeping proposal to “revolutionize the way we move through Downtown Atlanta” into 2030 is on the agenda Monday, and the Atlanta City Council is slated to approve this step in a plan fostered by the group of influential business leaders, Central Atlanta Progress.
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Atlanta shouldn’t settle for mediocre ‘More MARTA’ plan
The proposed investment priorities of More MARTA in the city of Atlanta feels as though we’re coming up short.In gauging the response of the proposed priorities and timeline of the More MARTA plan, it appears few are satisfied or comfortable with the plan as it stands.
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Transit funding bill could mean money for region; passage seems iffy, at best
The outlook is bright for transit funding in a spending bill that on Thursday cleared a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee. However, chances that it has a prayer of becoming law have crumbled amid the latest round of discord over the Democrats’ calls for investigations into President Trump.
