PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE IS ALSO THE PATH OF LEAST EXPENSE
The commuter train plan from Lovejoy to Atlanta is the least expensive transportation program of any solution being proposed. It will cost a little more than $4 million a mile to do everything needed to get trains in operation. Some will tell you that's too expensive. Yet the HOV lanes needed for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's Northwest Connectivity bus project on I-75 and I-575 will cost more than $30 million a mile to build, and their Bus Rapid Transit is estimated to cost $20 million a mile. Read more...
Source: ajc.com > Opinion
Friday, April 30, 2004
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Atlanta needs commuter rail as an investment in its future. Our population simply cannot continue to grow as it has without offering rail as an alternative. Look at all the great cities of the world; this Atlanta native just returned from a visit to Boston, which has a rail network that can virtually take you anywhere on its multi line subways and radiating commuter routes.The Lovejoy (Macon) line is an unprecedented opportunity because if the state doesn't buy it- the line will eventually be abandoned and sold in pieces, never to be reassembled. It is a duplicate line to Macon that Norfolk Southern no longer needs. We cannot afford to lose this corridor in a metro area exceeding 4 million people and growing daily. Think beyond 2009- think 2019,2029 and beyond. Planners in Boston from 100 years ago knew this.
As to the cost- people complain when passenger rail is not self supporting- neither are our federally paid for roads and highways- and the amount our state and the nation spend on rail is a tiny, tiny fraction of what is spent on highways. Poor Amtrack begs for crumbs under the table of highway spending.
Gov Purdue exemplifies the state's short sightedness in his support for GRTA's $ 20 billion bus-only proposal.When I go to Boston and New York and Chicago- trains are what are packed, not buses. Rail is needed for the future of this city and this metro area.
Wendell Burks, Alpharetta
Source: ajc.com, Forum, in response to the question: "Should the state spend millions on commuter rail?"
As to the cost- people complain when passenger rail is not self supporting- neither are our federally paid for roads and highways- and the amount our state and the nation spend on rail is a tiny, tiny fraction of what is spent on highways. Poor Amtrack begs for crumbs under the table of highway spending.
Gov Purdue exemplifies the state's short sightedness in his support for GRTA's $ 20 billion bus-only proposal.When I go to Boston and New York and Chicago- trains are what are packed, not buses. Rail is needed for the future of this city and this metro area.
Wendell Burks, Alpharetta
Source: ajc.com, Forum, in response to the question: "Should the state spend millions on commuter rail?"
Saturday, April 24, 2004
ATTRACT SENIORS BY FOCUSING ON LIVABILITY
According to an April 19th USAToday column, "Even in the best of times, when local governments talk economic development, advocates for quality-of-life amenities such as hiking trails and the local library rarely get a seat at the table. The hard-core business types like to remind tree-huggers and the arts crowd that jobs trump 'frills' every time. But what if there were a powerful economic development argument for investing in frills first? What if there were an industry with dependable access to billions of dollars, which -- instead of demanding a break on taxes or relaxed environmental regulations -- most wanted communities to be good places to live?
"Well, that's pretty much the deal with the oldster industry. In areas with the potential to attract affluent seniors, conventional wisdom about economic development is turned on its head. Many of these places, especially rural communities and college towns without the urban infrastructure favored by traditional industries, have a chance to compete for migrating retirees the way others compete for relocating companies. With retirees, however, you don't sacrifice clean air and parks for the sake of jobs. In order to get the jobs and other financial benefits seniors bring, you save the environment, nurture the arts and enhance the walk-around appeal of your downtown..."
Source:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&ncid=742&e=14&u=/usatoday/20040419/cm_usatoday/retireesprovideattractivetargetforcommunities
Title: "Retirees provide attractive target for communities"
Author: Ben Brown
According to an April 19th USAToday column, "Even in the best of times, when local governments talk economic development, advocates for quality-of-life amenities such as hiking trails and the local library rarely get a seat at the table. The hard-core business types like to remind tree-huggers and the arts crowd that jobs trump 'frills' every time. But what if there were a powerful economic development argument for investing in frills first? What if there were an industry with dependable access to billions of dollars, which -- instead of demanding a break on taxes or relaxed environmental regulations -- most wanted communities to be good places to live?
"Well, that's pretty much the deal with the oldster industry. In areas with the potential to attract affluent seniors, conventional wisdom about economic development is turned on its head. Many of these places, especially rural communities and college towns without the urban infrastructure favored by traditional industries, have a chance to compete for migrating retirees the way others compete for relocating companies. With retirees, however, you don't sacrifice clean air and parks for the sake of jobs. In order to get the jobs and other financial benefits seniors bring, you save the environment, nurture the arts and enhance the walk-around appeal of your downtown..."
Source:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&ncid=742&e=14&u=/usatoday/20040419/cm_usatoday/retireesprovideattractivetargetforcommunities
Title: "Retirees provide attractive target for communities"
Author: Ben Brown
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Golf cart limits to be lifted today
Driver's licenses won't be needed in Peachtree City. Read more
Source: ajc.com
Driver's licenses won't be needed in Peachtree City. Read more
Source: ajc.com
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Two-wheel vehicles would aid MARTA
The main reason people do not ride MARTA to work is their place of employment is too far from MARTA stations to walk ["MARTA isn't ..."]. Each worker could purchase a small, two-wheel vehicle for less than the price of parking fees and gas needed to drive to work. Small vehicles would be fun to ride from MARTA stations and would entice people to ride them instead of driving cars. This would reduce rush-hour traffic as well as air pollution.
If each MARTA station inside Atlanta had secure parking spaces for individually owned small electric or gasoline scooters, people could park cars at outlying MARTA stations and ride MARTA trains and buses. The expense of secure parking would be recovered rapidly from rider fares.
Surely the companies where people work would make secure space available to park these small vehicles. Recharging utilities would be required at MARTA stations and workplaces.
EDWARD L. PHILLIPS
Newnan
Source: ajc.com, Letters to Horizon
The main reason people do not ride MARTA to work is their place of employment is too far from MARTA stations to walk ["MARTA isn't ..."]. Each worker could purchase a small, two-wheel vehicle for less than the price of parking fees and gas needed to drive to work. Small vehicles would be fun to ride from MARTA stations and would entice people to ride them instead of driving cars. This would reduce rush-hour traffic as well as air pollution.
If each MARTA station inside Atlanta had secure parking spaces for individually owned small electric or gasoline scooters, people could park cars at outlying MARTA stations and ride MARTA trains and buses. The expense of secure parking would be recovered rapidly from rider fares.
Surely the companies where people work would make secure space available to park these small vehicles. Recharging utilities would be required at MARTA stations and workplaces.
EDWARD L. PHILLIPS
Newnan
Source: ajc.com, Letters to Horizon
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
ARE WE THERE YET?
In this article "New Colonist" author Jessica Handler muses over the irony of the reluctance of inhabitants of a city that exists because of, and was originally named for its importance to rail traffic (Terminus) to use MARTA. Referring to conservative estimates putting growth in Atlanta's ten county area at more than one million people in the next 25 years, Jessica offers good advice: "In order to make city living attractive for newcomers and for natives, we need to make a habit of using the public transit that we have, be vocal about our likes and dislikes, and experience for ourselves how it should grow with us to meet our needs."
In this article "New Colonist" author Jessica Handler muses over the irony of the reluctance of inhabitants of a city that exists because of, and was originally named for its importance to rail traffic (Terminus) to use MARTA. Referring to conservative estimates putting growth in Atlanta's ten county area at more than one million people in the next 25 years, Jessica offers good advice: "In order to make city living attractive for newcomers and for natives, we need to make a habit of using the public transit that we have, be vocal about our likes and dislikes, and experience for ourselves how it should grow with us to meet our needs."
Monday, April 12, 2004
SUPPORT IS BULGING AROUND THE BELTLINE
The proposed Belt Line around Atlanta's intown neighborhoods is racing to the forefront of area transit plans, fueled by financial and public support.
Not only has the line, first proposed by Georgia Tech student-turned-architect Ryan Gravel and championed by Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, found its way into transportation plans, it has attracted millions in pledged funding. A nonprofit citizens group has formed to keep the Belt Line's public support growing.
Just two years ago, Woolard began to advocate building the Belt Line. Until then it had been little more than Gravel's graduate thesis: a 22-mile transit loop using existing and mostly idle rail corridor around the city's core. Now, the concept is enshrined in the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's comprehensive transit plan, the Atlanta Regional Commission's proposed long-range transportation plan, MARTA's planning program and the city's long-range land-use plan. Read more...
Source: ajc.com
The proposed Belt Line around Atlanta's intown neighborhoods is racing to the forefront of area transit plans, fueled by financial and public support.
Not only has the line, first proposed by Georgia Tech student-turned-architect Ryan Gravel and championed by Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, found its way into transportation plans, it has attracted millions in pledged funding. A nonprofit citizens group has formed to keep the Belt Line's public support growing.
Just two years ago, Woolard began to advocate building the Belt Line. Until then it had been little more than Gravel's graduate thesis: a 22-mile transit loop using existing and mostly idle rail corridor around the city's core. Now, the concept is enshrined in the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's comprehensive transit plan, the Atlanta Regional Commission's proposed long-range transportation plan, MARTA's planning program and the city's long-range land-use plan. Read more...
Source: ajc.com
Saturday, April 10, 2004
THE SPIRITUAL PATH
The labyrinth literally reintroduces the experience of walking a clearly defined path. This reminds us that there is a path, a process that brings us to unity, to the center of our beings. In the simple act of walking, the soul finds solace and peace. –LAUREN ARTESS, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, 1995.
The labyrinth literally reintroduces the experience of walking a clearly defined path. This reminds us that there is a path, a process that brings us to unity, to the center of our beings. In the simple act of walking, the soul finds solace and peace. –LAUREN ARTESS, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, 1995.
Friday, April 02, 2004
TRANSIT TOWN RISING
The Decatur Housing Authority will begin construction next year on a plan to turn much of the sprawling Avondale MARTA station parking lot into a neighborhood of apartments and condominiums. It's the first phase of a 20-year plan to transform a 40-acre warren of industrial warehouses between College Avenue and Columbia Drive on the city's east border into a community of small homes, shops and parks.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has provided $73 million in grants to communities to encourage development around transit stations and walkable neighborhoods. The ARC has earmarked $3.85 million — which includes a 20 percent local match — for the Avondale station. Read more...
The Decatur Housing Authority will begin construction next year on a plan to turn much of the sprawling Avondale MARTA station parking lot into a neighborhood of apartments and condominiums. It's the first phase of a 20-year plan to transform a 40-acre warren of industrial warehouses between College Avenue and Columbia Drive on the city's east border into a community of small homes, shops and parks.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has provided $73 million in grants to communities to encourage development around transit stations and walkable neighborhoods. The ARC has earmarked $3.85 million — which includes a 20 percent local match — for the Avondale station. Read more...
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