Barack biking

A-Bike + Strida Folding Bike Competition

Longest paved trail in U.S. now complete

The last foot of the Silver Comet Trail was poured on August 29th.  This completes PATH Foundation's 10 year journey constructing 61.5 miles of trail from the Mavell Road Trailhead in Mableton, GA to the Alabama/Georgia state line.  

The Silver Comet Trail joins the Chief Ladiga Trail at the state line which continues west to Anniston, AL.  

Together these two trails form a 95.5 mile-long trail comprising what is believed to be the longest paved trail in the United States.

A historic 61.5 mile bicycle ride from the Mavell Road trailhead to the Alabama state line is planned for Saturday, Sept. 27 beginning at 7:30 a.m.  A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the achievement will take place at the state line at 2:00 p.m. with food and entertainment until 4 p.m.

A PDF with more details and a map can be had here.

Google Transit covers Atlanta

Rail advocates encouraged by results of Gwinett straw poll

Local passenger rail advocates are encouraged by the results of this week's MARTA straw polls in Gwinnett County.

Both Democrats and Republicans were asked whether they would be willing to pay an additional 1% sales tax to extend MARTA service into Gwinnett.

Democrats voted "yes" and Republicans voted "no," but the overall percentage of Gwinnett voters favoring MARTA service was much higher than in previous elections.

The Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers says the results are evidence that Gwinnett voters are interested in rail passenger service.

"The straw poll questions only asked about MARTA service, which implies heavy rail transit," said GARP President Steve Vogel. "If Gwinnett voters had been asked about commuter rail service, the number of 'yes' votes would have been even higher."

Heavy rail transit is generally used to link central cities with close-in suburbs. It consists of frequent trains operating on their own dedicated tracks making frequent stops throughout the day.

Commuter rail is a different form of rail service, generally used to link central cities with more distant suburbs. Commuter trains normally operate on tracks shared with freight railroads, and most runs are scheduled during the morning and evening rush hours. It's less expensive to build and operate than heavy rail.

The proposed Atlanta-Athens "Brain Train" commuter rail line would run through Gwinnett.

"The size of the pro-MARTA vote suggests there would be very strong support in Gwinnett for a commuter rail line," said Vogel.

Georgia Commuter Rail: The $4 per gallon tipping point

Past predictions were that Georgians wouldn't change their driving habits, even if gas were to go to $6 per gallon. In a surprising reversal of opinion, Governor Perdue has changed his position at $4. Last week he endorsed the long stalled Atlanta - Lovejoy commuter rail line and said that we must raise the funds to extend the line on to Griffin. The Federal funds for Atlanta - Lovejoy have been in place since the days Gov. Barnes' tenure ended in January 2003.

Let's hope that the Hampton City Council will follow Perdue's example. The Council has voted twice 6 - 0 against the rail, saying they don't want a train platform in Hampton even though it is a proposed stop on the rail line between Lovejoy and Griffin.

Georgia House Passes Brain Train Resolution

(ATLANTA) The Georgia House passed HR 1631 in support of commuter rail service in the Athens - Atlanta - Macon corridor yesterday by a margin of 143 to 12. This resolution states "that the members of the Georgia Transportation Board are urged to help ensure that the existing plans for the Macon to Atlanta to Athens commuter rail lines are implemented with urgency."

HR 1631 was adopted based on all of the work that has been done to date and the proximity of this particular project to implementation. Georgians are incredibly close to being provided with permanent congestion relief, a safe, reliable alternative to commuting, and a better quality of life for commuters in both corridors. It also provides a model for implementation in other commuter corridors as defined by GDOT and the Transit Planning Board (TPB).

Representatives John Heard (R- Lawrenceville), Clay Cox (R-Lilburn), Billy Mitchell (D- Stone Mountain), Tom Rice (R- Norcross), and others sponsored HR 1631.

HR 1631 compliments SR 263, which was unanimously adopted by the state senate in March of 2007, which urged Congress "to provide funding for the engineering, construction, land acquisition, and other necessary costs for commuter rail connecting Athens to Atlanta."

With the combination of these resolutions, recent polling and other recent actions by the GDOT Board, staff and others, there appears to be more traction than ever to implement commuter rail in Georgia. Supporters of the commuter rail line -- affectionately called the Brain Train because of the high concentration of colleges, universities, and research centers in close proximity to the line -- say the state's support sends a clear message to the DOT that this project should be a priority and would help alleviate Georgia's traffic woes, provide a safe alternative to automobile travel, improve air quality and contribute to positive economic development and sustainable land-use practices.

Additional Georgia Brain Train/Commuter Rail Facts:

• According to federal studies, commuter rail is 25 times safer than automobiles.
• AAA estimates the cost of operating an automobile on a one-way trip between Athens and Atlanta (70 miles x 52.2 cents per mile) at $36.54. The cost of a one-way ticket on the Brain Train is estimated between $8.30 and $10.40.
• A 1999 Texas case study shows $1 billion in private investment within five years of the opening of 20 miles of new rail in Dallas.
• Regional comparables - the Virginia Railway Express and South Florida's Tri-Rail operate on rights-of-way owned by private railroads and have far exceeded original ridership expectations.
• For every one percent of transportation shifted from the automobile to public transit, regional income increases by $2.9 million and creates 226 jobs (Miller, Robinson & Lahr, 1999).
• Commuter rail service in the Athens-Atlanta-Macon corridor further removes more than 5.4 million annual automobile trips, and connects six commercial airports and more than a dozen of the state's great institutions of research and higher learning.

Source: Press Release by Paul D. Snyder of A. Brown-Olmstead Associates

BeltLine Begins

On Saturday, February 23, at 12:30pm in Rose Circle Park, the beginning of construction on the first part of the BeltLine will be formally celebrated in a groundbreaking ceremony!

The ceremony makes official the construction already begun on the West End Bike Trail. This segment will be completed later this year and is being positioned as the demonstration, or "show" mile for the entire 22 mile loop. Of course, future plans call for transit tracks running adjacent to the trail.

Click here for the BeltLine.org invitation flyer.

A-Train: Walk + Bike + Transit Trip Planner

Citizens for Progressive Transit have introduced an open source online mapping resource to help Atlanta residents plan car-free trips throughout the city either exclusively by foot, bike, or transit or via a combination of modes.

It's a sophisticated and useful tool for sure. Give the A-Train [Atlanta Transit Rider's Advocacy and Information Network] a test drive.

High-Speed-Rail + Your-Speed-Trail

Working with state and federal officials, ECGA volunteers have helped ensure that ongoing planning work on the proposed South East High Speed Rail Corridor between Petersburg, VA and Raleigh, NC will include a greenway corridor in both states. Environmental planning, set to begin this spring, has been approved to acquire a 30-foot easement adjacent to the rail corridor specifically to support a greenway trail. Piggy-backing a greenway trail onto this large interstate transportation effort provides an unique opportunity for large-scale trail implementation.

The greenway would generally follow the high speed rail corridor but would diverge at towns to provide access to local amenities. In areas were the high speed rail alignment will divert from existing railroad track, newly abandoned track bed will be used as the base recreational trail. In other areas, where the new high-speed rail alignment will follow existing tracks, the greenway would be adjacent to the rail corridor. This means that the proposed 140-mile trail would be a unique mix of rail-to-trails and rails-with-trails. While this effort is still in the early planning phases, ECGA intends to use the momentum of this first effort to push this ambitious plan to a successful conclusion.

Source: East Coast Greenway E-News

Coastal Georgia Greenway updates

Progress is happening all along the route of the Coastal Georgia Greenway, which will also serve as the East Coast Greenway.

• Master grants writer and ECGA Georgia Committee Co-Chair Jo Hickson of Savannah is notably advancing the trail through many projects. Activities include a greenway-inclusive design of the Back River Bridge between South Carolina and Hutchinson Island and partnering with the Coastal Heritage Society Trail through Savannah's Battlefield Park and along the Savannah Ogeechee Canal
• Bryan County seeks recreational trail grant funds to build trails to Henderson Park
• Liberty County will construct a trailhead at Riceboro Creek this spring, in a project that includes a bridge
• A trail at historic LeConte-Woodmanston Plantation will memorialize more than 6,000 slaves in the county 150 years ago.
• Also involving Jo Hickson, McIntosh County has $1,075,000 for construction of the seven-mile Highlander Trail.
• In Brunswick, funds are sought for a two-mile Liberty Ship Trail at the foot of the Sidney Lanier Bridge, and a one-mile extension northward to the Torres Causeway and St. Simons Island.
• In Camden County, research is underway to acquire a six-mile abandoned rail corridor linking St. Marys and Fernandina Beach, Florida via ferry service to begin this spring.

Source: East Coast Greenway E-News

Innovative bike filters water as it transports

The Aquaduct is a pedal-powered vehicle that stores, filters, and transports water for the developing world. It is the grand prize winner of the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine contest.