Fresh Loaf

Amount of federal stimulus dollars allocated for Georgia transportation improvements: $1.1 billion

Of that $1.1 billion, amount Georgia will spend on road construction and maintenance: $932 million

Amount of federal stimulus dollars earmarked for MARTA: $63 million

Amount the state of Georgia contributes to the operating costs of MARTA: $0

Number of other states that don’t allocate funding for their major public transit systems: 0

Atlanta’s rank among the country’s most traffic-congested metropolitan areas: 3

Number of cities whose residents spend more time commuting than those in Atlanta: 0

Percent likelihood that an Atlanta driver will express road rage if cut off: 14.4

Rank of Atlanta when it comes to seven cities surveyed for rude drivers: 1

Sources: AJC.com, Atlanta Business Chronicle

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After reading a New York Times story this morning about federal stimulus transportation money going disproportionately to rural areas, I started Googling Georgia’s stimulus spending.

According to Georgia’s Stimulus Accountability web site, Georgia roads are getting nearly $7 in federal stimulus cash for every $1 going to state public transit.

State roads are getting $932,000,000 in federal money. Public transit in Georgia is getting $135,309,588.

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Georgia roadbuilders — well, Marietta, Ga.-based C.W. Matthews, in particular — had something to smile about yesterday. Gov. Sonny Perdue, flanked by newly elected Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith and U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, made the smoggy skies rain with Obamabucks on Tuesday as he kicked off the Peach State’s first foray into stimulus spending.

On Tuesday state and federal transportation officials gathered in Hapeville to celebrate the first stimulus-funded road project to go under construction in metro Atlanta, a repaving expected to pump $940,841 into the Georgia economy.

The project is to pave 4.2 miles of Ga. Hwy. 3, a commercial corridor in Clayton and Fulton counties near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Contractors said work is scheduled to begin Monday night.

C.W. Matthews scored the project because it is God.

Now, you can argue about the stimulus all day long. Hard truth though is that it’s here, so you best spend it wisely. And a new study by self-explanatory think tank Smart Growth America and its partners says, whoa, Georgia’s made some good choices in how it spends the cash.

The rest of the country? Meh.

(more…)

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The most tangible component of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan — transportation projects — is starting to take shape in metro Atlanta and Georgia.

Yesterday, the State Transportation Board today approved 135 projects — most of which involve bridge maintenance and road resurfacing — valued at more than $512 million.

And today, the Atlanta Regional Commission approved stimulus projects totaling more than $270 million — $95 million of which will help metro region transit agencies replace aging vehicles, complete maintenance projects, and improve park-and-ride facilities. MARTA has been allocated $55 million. Some pedestrian improvements are included in each agency’s project lists.

If Gov. Sonny Perdue approves the projects, bids will be solicited. Work is expected to begin immediately thereafter.

Georgia was allocated $1.1 billion in transportation funding under the plan — $931 million for roads and $144 million for transit projects. GDOT oversees 70 percent of that cash. The remaining funds are distributed among metropolitan planning organizations — i.e. the ARC.

After the jump, screenshots of GDOT’s approved projects in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. To view the entire list and monitor how the agency spends Obamabucks, visit its stimulus projects website. To download a PDF of the ARC’s approved stimulus projects, click here. I’d post screenshots for you, dear reader, but since the projects are all local, it’s best to read the list in full.

(more…)

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Last fall, when Congress was grappling with the first of several bank bailouts, Buckhead art dealer Alan Avery came to appreciate that the current recession is different from others he’s faced in his 27 years in business.

“There have been weeks when I didn’t have a single person come into the gallery,” says Avery, who represents such well-known artists as Chuck Close and David Hockney. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that happen.”

Sydney Ellis, director of marketing for 7 Stages theater in Little Five Points, is also familiar with that sinking feeling.

“We opened our first show last fall on the same day there was no gas in Atlanta,” she recalls. “That seemed to set the tone for the entire season.”
Kim Patrick Bitz, founding executive director of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts, recently decided to launch a 25th anniversary e-mail fundraising campaign for his organization, which operates the AtlanTIX half-price ticket booth.

In its first three weeks, the campaign collected just $380.

“We’d expected a few thousand,” says a stunned Bitz.

Nearly every member of the Atlanta arts community has a similar anecdote illustrating when the impact of a slumping economy made itself felt.

Continue reading “Atlanta’s arts organizations brace for funding crisis”

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The Georgia Department of Transportation has unveiled a website to allow residents to track projects that are part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus program.

From the department:

Visitors to the site will find links to topics including Georgia’s stimulus transportation funding chart, project categories, the Department’s current efforts, links to other sites and resources, frequently asked questions and much more. The Web site will be closely monitored and periodic updates will be added continually.

The department’s December call for transportation project proposals generated more than 850 responses from Georgia cities and counties. The president’s $787 billion plan allocated $932 million for transportation projects in the Peach State.

The department says it’s combing through the cities and counties’ wishlists — which totaled more than $1 billion — and will post information about projects once they are approved. That could be as early as Friday or Monday.

(Photo courtesy the gubment)

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Will April 3 look like this?

Earlier this month, the Georgia General Assembly took the unprecedented step of adopting a stretched-out legislative calendar that called for lawmakers to hold session only three days a week through the end of March, recess for at least eight weeks and then re-convene for five days in late June to finalize the state budget.

That was before Congress approved the $787 billion federal stimulus package – including close to $6 billion for Georgia – and before the state had finalized its revenue projections. Now that state budget-writers know roughly how much money they’ve got to work with, there’s really no reason to drag out the session any longer than necessary. Thursday was the 24th legislative day.

According to a little Gold Dome bird – who claims to have seen the soon-to-be-dropped bill – the new end date for the 2009 Legislation session will be no later than Friday, April 3. That would be one day earlier than last year.

Apparently, the leadership hasn’t quite settled on whether to go the full 40 days or try to wrap things up a few days early. If they opt for the latter, the session could be over as early as Wednesday, March 25. I’ll believe that when I see it.

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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