Fresh Loaf

Literally. The Transit Planning Board — the agency that brought you the regional-transit vision called Concept3 — kindly asks for your help to determine how a more mobile metro Atlanta would look.

Visit this survey the agency created that asks what works and what doesn’t. Did a set of railroad tracks look better with or without a commuter rail station? Should downtown Atlanta be served by a bus or light-rail? Should buses run on I-75 or should commuter rail zip along the shoulder?

The board did a commendable job by actually showing how many of the possible solutions to metro Atlanta’s traffic woes would actually appear. If you’re a fan of what-could-be, it’s worth your time to check it out.

(Screenshot from TPB survey)

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Yep. That’s billion.

According to the first phase of a study conducted by a consulting firm tasked with developing a statewide transportation plan, Georgia needs an extra $100 billion over the next 20 years if we want to move around this congested mess.

The always-excellent Maria Saporta at the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports:

The study explores improving mobility in the Atlanta region through three different ways:

• Demand management: teleworking, compressed workweeks, employee vanpools, congestion pricing, better clear of accidents and converting existing HOV lanes to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, where people pay a premium to drive in faster-moving lanes.

• Connecting infrastructure: HOT lanes connecting major employment centers, an express bus system, commuter rail to Griffin and additional arterial roads.

• Invest in most congested corridors: replace express buses with light or heavy rail in dense corridors, build high capacity road projects and build commuter rail between Atlanta and Athens.

The “scenario study” defines those high-capacity road projects as a tunnel underneath the Downtown Connector from I-675 to Georgia 400; and another tunnel paralleling the northern arc of I-285.

That thing about commuter rail? Really cool. The thing about the tunnel snaking under the Downtown Connector tunnels? Well, as the also-excellent Joe Winter once wrote in CL — not so cool.

The price tag for the statewide transportation plan over the next 20 years is between $142 billion and $251 billion. About a half of those funds would likely come from existing sources, such as federal highway dollars, the motor fuel tax and the MARTA sales tax.

Which means the rest will have to come from a new source. The next phase of the study will focus on that conundrum.

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It takes an energy crunch for Congress to start using their heads. Jim Galloway, the nicest nattering nabob of negativism over at That Other Paper, reports U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., wants to give rail a chance.

Undeterred, Isakson is about to reach across the aisle again, this time to John Kerry, the Democrat from Boston. The purpose: A revival of this country’s rail system, which — with luck — could give birth to a high-speed passenger train that would careen from Birmingham, through Atlanta, to Washington.

The senators are writing a bill that could be introduced sometime this month, Galloway says. A draft is supposedly being e-mailed back and forth between Atlanta business bigwigs. (Note to bigwigs: Please send it my way as well. I promise I won’t release it on here. Hehehe.)

Isakson said the bill would fundamentally alter our method of capitalizing rail transportation, putting it on a footing similar to the way we fund airports, freeways and seaports. Governments, a combination of state and federal, would acquire the right-of-way and build tracks. User fees would pay for upkeep, levied by private rail corporations that would live or die on their own performance.

By some accounts, the Kerry legislation also permits the raising of $200 billion via bonds to finance a limited number of high-speed rail lines across the country.

(Hat tip to Icarus at Peach Pundit)

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Gov. Sonny Perdue recently reversed his long-standing opposition to state-funded commuter rail in Georgia.

“I am fully prepared to support GDOT’s efforts on commuter rail and making the pilot a reality. After looking at the operational costs that I’ve seen it makes sense to go all the way to Griffin using this pilot program.”

— Perdue, in a June 12 press release.

“We have added 15 new GRTA Express bus routes and plan to have 37 such routes in operation by 2010. We are moving forward with the Bus Rapid Transit project on the I-75 corridor, at a cost of over $1.8 billion.”

— Perdue, responding to a question about passenger rail in Georgia, during a 2006 AJC candidates’ forum.

“[The Atlanta-Lovejoy line] had also endured a decade of hurdles, including Perdue’s 2003 gutting of a state bond package (passed under Roy Barnes’ administration) that included money to fund commuter rail…”

— Georgia Trend, March 2007.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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This could prove interesting.

A little bird flew upon thine window and tipped me about a piece of property near Atlantic Station owned by the State Road and Tollway Authority. The nearly 6-acre parcel of land sits across the street from the IKEA store and is sure to make developers drool.

It’s also been eyed as a key stop along the planned commuter-rail network that would spider from downtown Atlanta. (This particular route juts toward Athens.) Before Gov. Sonny Perdue’s time, AIG Real Estate sold the land to then Gov. Roy Barnes’ administration for below market value.

Earlier this month, SRTA designated the land as “surplus” property and the State Properties Commission listed the parcel on its website. It will begin accepting bids July 10. A commission spokesperson says the agency is not obligated to accept any of the offers. So maybe they’re just sticking their toe in the water.

If you’re a forward-thinking developer who understands that people want to live and work close to transit options, this photo to the right is probably just as appealing as water to a parched man in the desert. It’s near the Beltline, you’ve got a Publix a couple of blocks away, located near a bustling neighborhood and separated from Downtown only by 3,235 lanes of interstate. Commuter rail isn’t exactly the speediest service to connect people to downtown, but it’d be nice to have some rail serving Atlantic Station.

Deals like these usually involve sealed bids, with the highest offer, regardless of planned use, usually the one being accepted. Let’s hope whoever purchases this property keeps the train in mind.

You don’t need a lot of room to build a train stop for folks, but a solid transit-oriented development would be a nice addition to the area.

(Photo courtesy State Properties Commission)

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Gov. Sonny Perdue today said he’d support the long-awaited commuter rail line between Atlanta and Griffin, pitching it as a “pilot program” for other routes in other parts of the state.

We turn to Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. He reports:

“We have not kept pace in our transportation infrastructure,” Perdue said during a news conference at his Capitol office. “We need to catch up and make sure we plan for the future.”

As recently as this year’s legislative session, the governor stood on the sidelines as lawmakers debated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed Georgians frustrated by ever-worsening traffic congestion to vote by region on whether to raise sales taxes to pay for needed transportation improvements. The legislation, which would have included public transit projects, failed by three votes in the Senate.

…

Perdue said he chose the Griffin project over a second planned commuter rail line linking Atlanta and Athens because substantial federal funds already are committed to the Griffin line. The southern route also offers fewer impediments to an agreement to share the tracks with freight trains operated by Norfolk Southern Corp., he said.

Yep, that’s what the DOT board told us a couple of months ago, too. Click that link to read more about the train that will lead to Griffin. Perdue also told reporters he’d located the funding he promised last week to purchase sorely-needed buses for GRTA.

Perdue also announced that he has identified $13 million from various funding sources that he plans to use to buy an additional 28 buses for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which operates commuter bus routes across the metro area. He asked for the money last winter, but the legislature yanked it from the mid-year budget.

Get Georgia Moving, a coalition of more than 50 groups ranging from road builders to transit advocates who led the unfruitful push for additional funding for transportation during the last legislative session, applauded the governor’s decision via press release:

“We commend the Governor for moving to address Georgia’s transportation funding shortfall,” said Charles Tarbutton, assistant vice president of Sandersville Railroad Company, chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition. “For too long, Georgia has lacked the money to build the infrastructure we need to support our booming population and maintain our strong economy. As a result, badly needed projects are being canceled all across Georgia. This problem is affecting every corner of our state. It touches every one of the nearly 10 million people who call Georgia home. And it must be resolved.”

“We applaud the Governor’s leadership and are glad to see transportation being addressed at the highest level,” said Bill Linginfelter, former Georgia State CEO for Wachovia Bank and former chairman of the transportation policy committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. “Congestion is the number one problem every citizen deals with every day in metro Atlanta and the biggest threat to our quality of life and continued economic success. This problem is not new. It has been looming for at least 10 years. In a decade, metro Atlanta has gone from 15^th- to 4^th- to 2^nd-worst traffic in the nation.”

“Any real solution must be immediate, generate enough funding to provide the relief we need, be open to all modes of transportation and have a meaningful impact on our quality-of-life and our economic competitiveness,” said Joe Leonard, retired chairman of AirTran Airways, chairman of the transportation policy committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition. “We applaud the Governor for engaging experts on a comprehensive solution and we look forward to a plan that produces tangible, immediate and significant results.”

In other news, pigs are drunk with flight-induced glee.

UPDATE: After the jump, view Perdue’s statement.

(more…)

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The AJC is reporting Gov. Sonny Perdue will make an announcement about transportation tomorrow that may hint at support for commuter rail.

If that’s the case, look toward the sky — porcine creatures, propelled by their methane and guided by those cute little tails, will be soaring gracefully alongside jet-fuel gobblin’ Delta planes.

From the AJC:

In vague outlines to the board, the governor expressed support for commuter rail and for considering funding options such as privately-built toll roads.

The governor said he supports measures to increase spending for transportation. Two measures — restoring a portion of the gas tax that now goes to the general fund and returning some bond debt service to general fund — could produce as much as $400 million a year, DOT officials said.

UPDATE: This baby’s got a name! IT3 — Investing In Tomorrow’s Transportation Today.

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The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the banner carriers of the Peach State’s free-market movement, hosted DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham last week to update powerplayers and bigwigs about the transportation agency’s pulse.

Here’s Abraham in a Florida Times-Union article about the event, talking about some of the good deeds that have gone unnoticed in light of all the romantic hullabaloo during her tenure (emphasis added):

In her speech, [Abraham] complained that news reports of [her relationship with former board Chairman Mike Evans] were distracting the public from information of substantive progress at the agency, namely a commitment to proceed with a long-discussed commuter-rail line from Atlanta to Lovejoy.

“I want to mention something that I am very excited about that the board passed in the last board meeting that didn’t get written about. Everything else in my personal life did. The board was very, very excited, and so was I about passing a resolution to look at commuter rail,” she said.

*Cough, cough* Ahem.

In more substantive news, the article also includes this choice nugget:

Another way of paying for [transportation projects] would be through privately run toll roads or, at least, toll lanes. Perhaps that’s why the luncheon was sponsored by Transurban, an Australian company that operates toll lanes for rushed commuters in Washington, D.C., and a toll road in Richmond, Va.

Common sense would tell me these speedy lanes would benefit the folks who could afford them — and who aren’t getting pinched by high gas prices — and cripple those who can’t, leaving them sitting in traffic in the Average Joe lanes, burning gasoline and seconds of their lives.

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Lost in the headlines about the DOT romance between former board Chairman Mike Evans and Commissioner Gena Abraham was the news that commuter rail earned a shot in the arm on Monday. The board passed a resolution that directs agency staff to determine how feasible a new funding concept would be to cover much of the costs — including the tricky operating costs — of a commuter rail network in metro Atlanta. Probable first on the list: A line between Atlanta and the awesomely named hamlet of Lovejoy. The project already has nearly $110 million in DOT funding earmarked as well as promised federal funding.

I heard what you said. “Lovejoy? Why not somewhere more populous and exciting, like Marietta? White Water’s fixing to open soon, yo.” My thoughts exactly.

But to create a vibrant rail corridor to Macon, a long-planned vision for the state, Lovejoy would be a good first stop. Also, when the idea was first brought to light years ago, the city to our south is as far as the money would take them. DOT Board member Larry Walker said that the money is there, time had been invested by certain parties, and it was the most feasible.

Walker says the resolution is not just a toothless vote that will add to the pile of such actions passed over the years.

“What’s the difference between this motion and the motions in the past?” said Robert Brown during Monday’s meeting.

“We want it done,” said Larry Walker, a board member who has been one of the biggest pushers for commuter rail. “We can keep coming back and talking about debt and what’s it going to cost, but we might be here in five years talking about the same thing.”

Walker’s not alone in wanting to see commuter trains run from Atlanta to Lovejoy.

“We’ve been talking about this too long,” said Bill Kuhlke, who became acting chairman after Garland Pinholster resigned from the position. “And frankly we can’t build enough roads to ease that congestion.”

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Proponents of the Brain Train, including state legislators, college students, local officials and environmentalists, gathered in the cold shadow of the Gold Dome Thursday to urge legislators to pass funding that would help make the long-running idea a reality.

Bundled up in jackets and fighting the morning cold, supporters held posters and rallied for the proposed route of the Brain Train stretching from Athens to Atlanta and south to Macon.

Emory Morsberger, chairman of Georgians for the Brain Train, said a new poll commissioned by the organization showed 72 percent of registered voters in Bibb, Clayton, Henry, Lamar, Monroe and Spalding counties supported the idea of a commuter train connecting Atlanta and Macon.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Is the Brain Train going to happen?’” Morsberger said. “I say yes. When we started, everyone laughed at us. But now we’ve got the House, the Senate, the DOT board. It works cost-wise, it works for the environment and it helps congestion. The time to do this is now.”

Allen Marshall of Griffin held a poster board outlining the 33 public and private educational institutions the commuter rail line would connect. Schools, he said, would be just one of the benefactors should the Brain Train begin to roll.

Other poll results show:

• 74.2 percent believe commuter rail service in the Macon-Atlanta corridor will help create jobs

• 70.7 percent stated they regularly drive to work

• 85.7 percent believe congestion will get worse in the next 10 years

• 70.6 percent described “traffic congestion getting into Atlanta” as a “big problem,” more than 20 percentage points higher than education, job creation, too much development and local congestion

• 59.2 percent said they would be either very likely or somewhat likely to use commuter rail service if available in the corridor

• 56.4 percent said the argument against commuter rail service that people just won’t use it is NOT PERSUASIVE

Michael Robison, CEO of Lanier Parking, said that of the 13 largest metropolitan regions in the nation, only three are without a commuter rail line. Houston’s one of those, he said, but the city has plans for a train. Detroit, the foreclosure capital of the country, is actually losing people. Atlanta’s the odd one out.

“We’re way behind the rest of the country in doing this,” Morsberger said. “The time is now.”

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A report released Monday by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce says that connecting seven intercity rail lines in Georgia is not only feasible, but that the ridership is there to use it.

Conducted by D.C.-based R.L. Burns and Associates Inc., the study evaluated the estimated ridership and cost of implementing and maintaining the different rail lines that would connect Atlanta to cities such as Athens, Augusta, Savannah and Chattanooga, among others. The group concluded that the ridership for the lines would be comparable to other cities that operate commuter rail systems. The Athens-Atlanta link, for example, would serve an estimated 3,000-3,7000 people every day. The downside — as there always is a downside — is that it’ll cost $471 million to start and $15 million to operate annually. The study also says that as gas prices continue to rise, more and more commuters would consider the alternative means of transportation desirable. As the legislative session teeters to its annual opening, maybe the state will finally heed the call from not only public-transit advocates, but the business community as well, that roads have served their purpose in the region and other modes of transportation need to be explored.

Interesting side note: Out of the 13 most populated regions in the United States — such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — only three are without a commuter rail system. Yes, Atlanta’s one of those.

I tried to upload the PowerPoint presentation of the study, but alas it’s too large. However, you can view or download it at the Georgia Association of Rail Passengers website. Click on “Press Room,” scroll down to “MACOC - Commuter Rail Plan Update Summary (Large),” click, and enjoy.

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