TRANSIT COULD TRANSFORM ATLANTA
Maria Saporta says that "metro Atlanta could be completely transformed if all the innovative rail projects now being contemplated actually see the light of day." Saporta illustrates the plausibility of implementing a number of area rail projects as well as the gravity of making these projects happen in the very near future. She notes that ARC Public Forums consistently reveal that people feel "the kind of transportation funding needed in the urbanized areas of the region is transit (from MARTA to light rail to streetcar) combined with pedestrian/bicycle facilities."
Not only will these rail initiatives reduce dependence on our cars, but they will also result in economic development and a healthier environment for all of us.
Click here to read Maria Saporta's column in the AJC Horizon.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
DEFINITIONS:
Rails with Trails: Greenway trails running alongside active railway.
Rails to Trails: Old railroad rights of way converted into greenway trail transportation networks.
Trails without Rails: Community activist groups working to prevent re-establishment of rail service where trails share the right of way.
Trail~Rail Hot Spots: Areas where trail networks feed into Rail Stations.
Rail Estate: Real Estate located within the pedestrian shed (1/2 mile) of a Rail Station.
Trail Estate: Real Estate located within 1/2 mile of greenway trail access.
Rails with Trails: Greenway trails running alongside active railway.
Rails to Trails: Old railroad rights of way converted into greenway trail transportation networks.
Trails without Rails: Community activist groups working to prevent re-establishment of rail service where trails share the right of way.
Trail~Rail Hot Spots: Areas where trail networks feed into Rail Stations.
Rail Estate: Real Estate located within the pedestrian shed (1/2 mile) of a Rail Station.
Trail Estate: Real Estate located within 1/2 mile of greenway trail access.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Earlier this month, the Hampton City Council unanimously approved a Resolution supporting the PATH organization and the building of greenway trails in Hampton. Coinciding with this fantastic step forward, the City recently received a $500,000 Transportation Enhancement Grant from GDOT. The purpose of the grant is “to build or improve trails, sidewalks, greenways, streetscapes and historic transportation-related facilities.”
The next step is the creation of a Master Trail Plan for the City of Hampton by PATH Foundation. This Master Plan, combined with the current GDOT Grant and support from the City Council and Hampton Citizens provides powerful momentum for making this vision a reality. It also makes us eligible for GDOT Recreational Trail Grants, starting this Fall. These can be substantial and could serve to further jump-start our Initiative. Our immediate goal is to designate and build a “show mile” of trail that connects as many communities with as many public facilities, schools, shopping and other destinations as possible. Achieving this will help everyone to see the tremendous value this Network will bring to our community.
The next step is the creation of a Master Trail Plan for the City of Hampton by PATH Foundation. This Master Plan, combined with the current GDOT Grant and support from the City Council and Hampton Citizens provides powerful momentum for making this vision a reality. It also makes us eligible for GDOT Recreational Trail Grants, starting this Fall. These can be substantial and could serve to further jump-start our Initiative. Our immediate goal is to designate and build a “show mile” of trail that connects as many communities with as many public facilities, schools, shopping and other destinations as possible. Achieving this will help everyone to see the tremendous value this Network will bring to our community.
Friday, June 11, 2004
The Grand Opening of The Arabia Trail, Dekalb County's latest collaboration with PATH Foundation on a community trail network, will be on June 14, 10:00 am, Nature Center at Arabia Mountain Park.
Join Congresswoman Denise Majette, DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, and other community leaders as they cut the ribbon on DeKalb county’s newest greenway trail.
For more trail information, including maps, click to the Trail Fact Sheet.
Join Congresswoman Denise Majette, DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, and other community leaders as they cut the ribbon on DeKalb county’s newest greenway trail.
For more trail information, including maps, click to the Trail Fact Sheet.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
XPRESS BUSES ARE A GOOD STOPGAP UNTIL ATLANTA-MACON COMMUTER LINE BEGINS SERVICE
On June 7 my family and I rode the Xpress Line from the Raceway [Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia] to Five Points Station in downtown Atlanta. The bus is very nice and it only took about 45 minutes to get downtown. Of course, riding on I-75 is much more pleasant than driving on it! With the exception of a couple of scheduling glitches (which I'm sure will be ironed out quickly) it was a good experience. I was excited to see people riding to and from work - it's great to be connected to the city. While the Xpress Line is a nice alternative to driving up 19/41 and I-75 it is in no way a good long term transportation solution. In order to keep this bus "express" we will need more H.O.V. lanes. (A bus is the same slave to traffic as an automobile!) A better long term solution is a commuter rail which would use tracks that already exist and will truly be "express". The entire Atlanta to Macon commuter train line will cost about the same as building 9 miles of H.O.V. lane!!!
- Originally posted on the Neighborhood Forum at OurHampton.com
On June 7 my family and I rode the Xpress Line from the Raceway [Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia] to Five Points Station in downtown Atlanta. The bus is very nice and it only took about 45 minutes to get downtown. Of course, riding on I-75 is much more pleasant than driving on it! With the exception of a couple of scheduling glitches (which I'm sure will be ironed out quickly) it was a good experience. I was excited to see people riding to and from work - it's great to be connected to the city. While the Xpress Line is a nice alternative to driving up 19/41 and I-75 it is in no way a good long term transportation solution. In order to keep this bus "express" we will need more H.O.V. lanes. (A bus is the same slave to traffic as an automobile!) A better long term solution is a commuter rail which would use tracks that already exist and will truly be "express". The entire Atlanta to Macon commuter train line will cost about the same as building 9 miles of H.O.V. lane!!!
- Originally posted on the Neighborhood Forum at OurHampton.com
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
ATLANTA STREETCAR IN THE NEWS
Click here to view the recent TV coverage Atlanta Streetcar received after receiving commitments of $75K from Atlanta's three districts, Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead.
Click here to view the recent TV coverage Atlanta Streetcar received after receiving commitments of $75K from Atlanta's three districts, Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
GWINNETT COUNTY STARTS BIKE/WALK PILOT PROJECT
According to a May 10th Atlanta Journal-Constitution article,"Parent Lisa Carthy and sons Dylan and Jake walk a half-mile to Mason Elementary each morning, passing a long queue of cars snaking through the school's parking lot and down Bunten Road. They typically beat car-riding neighbors to the school's front door. On mornings when traffic congestion is especially annoying, Carthy often will greet neighbors still idling in traffic on her return trek home. Like a Pied Piper of pedestrians, she tends to attract other walkers on her journey, as harried parents call out, 'Can my child join you?'
"'We have seven subdivisions around Bunten, all within easy walking distance to the school,' Carthy said. 'In the foreseeable future, we'll have nine neighborhoods. It's hard to imagine why families who live so close will idle in traffic for a half-hour or more some morning and afternoons.'...Since January, Mason has piloted the Safe Routes to School program in Gwinnett. On two recent Sunday afternoons, the school sponsored bicycling safety clinics for youngsters, directed by the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign.
Source:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0504/10classfea.html
Archive search: http://www.newslibrary.com/sites/ajc/
Title: "Pilot program encourages walking, cycling"
Author: M. Elizabeth Neal
According to a May 10th Atlanta Journal-Constitution article,"Parent Lisa Carthy and sons Dylan and Jake walk a half-mile to Mason Elementary each morning, passing a long queue of cars snaking through the school's parking lot and down Bunten Road. They typically beat car-riding neighbors to the school's front door. On mornings when traffic congestion is especially annoying, Carthy often will greet neighbors still idling in traffic on her return trek home. Like a Pied Piper of pedestrians, she tends to attract other walkers on her journey, as harried parents call out, 'Can my child join you?'
"'We have seven subdivisions around Bunten, all within easy walking distance to the school,' Carthy said. 'In the foreseeable future, we'll have nine neighborhoods. It's hard to imagine why families who live so close will idle in traffic for a half-hour or more some morning and afternoons.'...Since January, Mason has piloted the Safe Routes to School program in Gwinnett. On two recent Sunday afternoons, the school sponsored bicycling safety clinics for youngsters, directed by the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign.
Source:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0504/10classfea.html
Archive search: http://www.newslibrary.com/sites/ajc/
Title: "Pilot program encourages walking, cycling"
Author: M. Elizabeth Neal
Monday, May 17, 2004
GROWING POPULARITY OF BELTLINE DUE TO IT'S UNIQUE NEXUS OF TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
It's easy to see why the Belt Line is getting so much attention. Unlike some other transit projects that are too narrowly focused, the Belt Line recognizes the missing links between transportation and land use, a nexus that will become increasingly important as the population growth the city has seen in the last decade continues. A recent study found that Atlanta's core neighborhoods alone will add 180,000 new residents and 13,000 more jobs by 2030.
If the Belt Line is built, officials are confident that the value of the property would rapidly escalate, as it did in the Pearl District in Portland, Ore. The Pearl District attracted more than $1 billion in real estate improvements within five years of the launch of a streetcar line through the former warehouse sector.
City records show that land adjacent to the proposed Belt Line currently has a taxable value of $244.4 million, and transportation studies have found that every dollar invested in transit reaps about $6 in new investment.
Read more...
Source: ajc.com > Opinion
It's easy to see why the Belt Line is getting so much attention. Unlike some other transit projects that are too narrowly focused, the Belt Line recognizes the missing links between transportation and land use, a nexus that will become increasingly important as the population growth the city has seen in the last decade continues. A recent study found that Atlanta's core neighborhoods alone will add 180,000 new residents and 13,000 more jobs by 2030.
If the Belt Line is built, officials are confident that the value of the property would rapidly escalate, as it did in the Pearl District in Portland, Ore. The Pearl District attracted more than $1 billion in real estate improvements within five years of the launch of a streetcar line through the former warehouse sector.
City records show that land adjacent to the proposed Belt Line currently has a taxable value of $244.4 million, and transportation studies have found that every dollar invested in transit reaps about $6 in new investment.
Read more...
Source: ajc.com > Opinion
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Though the ARC removed several rail projects from it's new 25-year transportation plan (except Atlanta - Macon commuter line) that's not necessarily because there's little interest in rail. It's mostly a function of the fact that there are few dollars available to operate it, and no plans yet for any one entity to be in charge of operating the many transit projects planned for different counties in the region. However, there is money to build the BeltLine...
Read more...
Source: The Atlanta Business Chronicle Online
Read more...
Source: The Atlanta Business Chronicle Online
Thursday, May 13, 2004
TAX ALLOCATION DISTRICT FOR INTOWN TRAIL AND RAIL
An independent city of Atlanta panel has been assembled to decide whether a special tax district can generate enough money to pay for a proposed 22-mile transit line and greenbelt looping around the city's intown neighborhoods.
A tax allocation district uses additional taxes from the increased property values caused by development in a certain area to pay for public improvements in that specific area. Atlanta currently has five such districts, including the Atlantic Station megadevelopment in Midtown.
"We're going from 'Boy, wouldn't this be a good idea?' to the implementation phase," said Cathy Woolard, former City Council President and the BeltLine's most ardent political advocate.
Read more...
Source: ajc.com
An independent city of Atlanta panel has been assembled to decide whether a special tax district can generate enough money to pay for a proposed 22-mile transit line and greenbelt looping around the city's intown neighborhoods.
A tax allocation district uses additional taxes from the increased property values caused by development in a certain area to pay for public improvements in that specific area. Atlanta currently has five such districts, including the Atlantic Station megadevelopment in Midtown.
"We're going from 'Boy, wouldn't this be a good idea?' to the implementation phase," said Cathy Woolard, former City Council President and the BeltLine's most ardent political advocate.
Read more...
Source: ajc.com
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS DRIVERS, TOO
It's a perennial debate: On the one hand advocates of mass transit argue that transit is an essential strategy for combating congestion. On the other, road advocates maintain that since only a minority of travelers use transit, we're better off expanding roads that serve most people. What if there was convincing evidence that building transit benefits everybody, whether or not they use the system?
New evidence just developed for the forthcoming book "The New Transit Town" begins to make this case. The catch is that it requires both the construction of a transit system, and an effort by local government to encourage development around stations. When that's the case, everybody wins, even people who choose to live in single-family neighborhoods and drive everywhere they go. Read more...
It's a perennial debate: On the one hand advocates of mass transit argue that transit is an essential strategy for combating congestion. On the other, road advocates maintain that since only a minority of travelers use transit, we're better off expanding roads that serve most people. What if there was convincing evidence that building transit benefits everybody, whether or not they use the system?
New evidence just developed for the forthcoming book "The New Transit Town" begins to make this case. The catch is that it requires both the construction of a transit system, and an effort by local government to encourage development around stations. When that's the case, everybody wins, even people who choose to live in single-family neighborhoods and drive everywhere they go. Read more...
Friday, April 30, 2004
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
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
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.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
