Fresh Loaf

Planning Director Todd Long

The man who’ll help Georgians stop dying slow painful deaths sitting in gridlock was unanimously confirmed this morning as the state’s first transportation planning director.

Todd Long, a transportation-planning veteran who was nominated to the post by Gov. Sonny Perdue, faced final questions from the House Transportation Committee this morning.

The planning director position was created during a Perdue-helmed overhaul of Georgia’s transportation power hierarchy earlier this year. The governor had originally proposed neutering the state Department of Transportation and placing decision-making power in the hands of a new state agency — an agency largely overseen by himself.

State lawmakers, clever jackals that they are, rewrote most of the proposal near the end of the legislative session. What came out leaves GDOT intact but created the transportation planning director position.

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TIME magazine has a hilarious pool report of today’s D.C. sitdown between Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood and several governors on the topic of high-speed rail. Gov. Sonny Perdue was among those in D.C. for the meeting:

Upon entering, VPOTUS ran into Perdue who appeared, to the VPOTUS at least, to be leaving before the meeting started. Banter and jokes followed.

VPOTUS: “Where you going?”
Perdue: “I was leaving.”
VPOTUS: “What the hell’s wrong with you?” (laughter)

VPOTUS shook hands around the table with several “Good to see you, man,” and “Good to see you, Ed [Rendell].” Said upon sitting: “…Georgia gets nothing. I’m only kidding, only kidding, only kidding.”

Biden knows, y’all. He knows.

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U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., visited the Atlanta Press Club today and spoke about rail, water woes and the nation’s standstill economy. (He said it might take five years for the nation to recover.) Isakson also said the closing of the Hapeville Ford Plant might have hurt the region’s chances for the Atlanta-Lovejoy rail line.

Maria Saporta and the AJC’s Kristi Swartz wrote great summaries of his speech. Grayson Daughters also produced a video of Isakson’s talk.

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On April 16, President Barack Obama gave rail lovers some long-awaited good news: As part of the president’s stimulus plan, he offered $8 billion to begin linking major U.S. cities with high-speed rail lines — and an additional $5 billion more to improve rail service over the next four years.

“We need high-speed rail,” Obama said. “It’s happening right now. It’s been happening for decades. The problem is, it’s been happening elsewhere, not here.”

By “elsewhere,” the president was referring to Europe and Asia. But he could just as easily have been talking about Southeastern states other than Georgia. Thanks to a lack of vision, little to no funding, and an almost cartoonish addiction to roads, the Peach State’s far behind many of its neighbors when it comes to rail.

Transit and transportation advocates say if the state’s leadership doesn’t work to catch up, Georgia could miss out on a nationwide rail renaissance.

Click here to continue reading this story.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama called Thursday for the country to move swiftly to a system of high-speed rail travel, saying it will relieve congestion, help clean the air and save on energy.

Appearing with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Obama said the country cannot afford not to invest in a major upgrade to rail travel. He said he understands it necessarily will be “a long-term project” but said the time to start is now.

The president allocated $8 billion in the enormous $787 billion economic stimulus spending package for a start on establishing high-speed rail corridors nationwide.

Included on this list:

- Southeast corridor (Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Macon, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville)

- Gulf Coast corridor (Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta)

Now if only Georgia would join that Atlanta-New Orleans study commission…

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The study is needed to tap federal funding for a high-speed rail line connecting Atlanta and New Orleans.

From the Birmingham News:

In a turnaround, Alabama has agreed to pay its dues in the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission.

The state owes $120,000 in commission dues for 2008 and 2009.

Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Director Bill Johnson said the state stopped paying because his agency was not in the transportation business.

As the News reported last week, Georgia is not a member of the commission conducting the study. Can the state jump on board?

(Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

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For most of the Beltline’s history, concerns about displacement have largely focused around slowly gentrifying neighborhoods in Southeast and Southwest Atlanta. The land and homes are less expensive and ripe for the picking by a developer agog at the thought of a project near the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit.

But at Monday morning’s Atlanta City Council meeting, councilmembers heard from concerned residents who feared a plan to save a key part of the $2.8 billion project would potentially uproot them from their homes.

At yesterday’s special-called meeting, council unanimously OK’ed a deal reached by the Georgia Department of Transportation, Amtrak and Beltline officials that saved residents near the Piedmont Park the headache of high-speed trains lumbering nearby on tracks called the “Decatur Belt.” The move also saves the entire Beltline project — late last year, the city poured money into the area when it purchased the property from a Gwinnett County developer for at least $66 million.

But the vote came without some last-minute amendments thanks to Marietta Street residents who said Amtrak, GDOT and Beltline officials’ plan to save the Decatur Belt merely shifted the burden of high-speed rail on to them — and placed their homes at risk. According to rough plans presented to GDOT’s board last week, the alternate plans for high-speed rail serving Atlanta involve expanding the tracks and potentially seizing property. The buildings and lofts in which the residents could very well be some of those.

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Alabama, home to Space Camp and not much else, lacks the cash to fund plans for a proposed New Orleans-Atlanta high-speed rail line. The proposed route, which could potentially receive federal funds as part of President Barack Obama’s proposed rail network, would be served by trains operating at 110 mph.

From the Birmingham News:

The chairman of the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission says Alabama’s refusal to pay its dues to the organization could cost the Deep South a shot at a high-speed train that would run from New Orleans to Atlanta.

Preliminary work to plan for the line already is complete in Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama’s partners on the commission, said Chairman Richard Finley of Birmingham. But Alabama – a member of the commission for 26 years – refused to pay dues after 2007, and Finley contends that is standing in the way of the Southeast getting a high-speed corridor.

“The problem is the state of Alabama is blocking us,” Finley said. The state owes $120,000 to the commission for its dues for 2008 and 2009.

That’s depressing, especially since the article says that, if it were funded, the rail line could begin operation in three years. And it looks like Alabama’s not entirely to blame.

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The dispute that potentially derailed Atlanta’s smart-growth future seems to be officially coming to an end.

The Georgia Department of Transportation today ended its role in the dispute over railroad tracks in northeast Atlanta considered vital to the Beltline, the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit proposed to one day circle the city.

During its monthly meeting, the department’s board unanimously voted to remove its objection over the Beltline’s plans for the “Decatur Belt,” a 4.3-mile rail segment that stretches from Ansley Park to DeKalb Avenue.

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You know that whole Beltline dispute? The one in which the Georgia Department of Transportation and Amtrak basically told Beltline officials that they’d have to make room in Northeast Atlanta for a commuter rail line? Officials from the agencies and departments involved met this morning and had what I’m sure was a very interesting sitdown. They’ve requested the federal government give them 30 days so they can try and resolve the dispute as a group.

So sayeth a joint statement from the agencies:

Atlanta – A meeting of officials from key organizations including the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Beltline, Inc., Amtrak, the Atlanta Regional Commission, MARTA and the Transit Implementation Board along with staff from Congressman John Lewis’ office was held today to discuss the critical issue regarding plans for the Northeast Beltline Corridor (“Decatur Street Belt”) and future options for multi-modal passenger terminals (MMPT).

The overarching goal of the meeting was to share information, communicate directly, discuss alternatives and seek out viable solutions for an amicable outcome that is in the best interest of our customers. To that end, the Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta Beltline Inc./ Atlanta Development Authority, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern have agreed to formally request that the Surface Transportation Board issue a 30 day stay of their proceedings in this matter in order to work towards a common solution that accommodates the Beltline vision, intercity and high speed rail in the region.

During this time, a technical team will work to investigate the potential alternatives. An Executive Team will also work to develop a final agreement between all of the parties.

All of the organizations involved acknowledged the importance of the Beltline project to the City of Atlanta and the region. Each recognized the common goal to provide much needed regional transportation options for the residents of and visitors to the City of Atlanta which have a profound effect on the economic future for the entire state of Georgia.

After the jump, exclusive video of Beltline officials confronting the GDOT Beast about its plans.

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Tired of swallowing Xanax every time you jump on a plane to visit the folks? You might get an alternative, my weary friend.

A new multi-state study says high-speed rail is feasible along I-85 from Charlotte, N.C. to Macon. Greenville, S.C. and Atlanta would be stops along the route.

From a press release about the study:

The Charlotte-Macon Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor study assesses the capacity and speed capabilities of the corridor and estimates possible ridership, revenue, operating and capital costs associated with extending high-speed passenger rail from Charlotte, N.C. to Macon, Ga., along the I-85 corridor. The report also addresses the feasibility of train speeds up to 150 miles per hour, including new track construction in locations that would increase speeds and avoid congested areas. The study was conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass.

“This effort supports our shared belief that we must seriously consider — and plan for — transportation alternatives in these rapidly developing areas,” said Georgia Transportation Commissioner Gena Evans. “Given the growth our states continue to experience, we must explore every tool in our tool box in order to move the needle on transportation reform.”

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High speed rail service, where appropriate, will provide business and leisure travelers with a competitive alternative to air and auto for trips between 100 and 500 miles.

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia are working together with the business communities in each state to plan, develop and implement high speed rail in the Southeast. If implemented, the system would be developed incrementally, upgrading existing rail rights of way where possible.

What’s next? More studies, of course, including environmental assessments and modeling to gauge how viabile it would be to connect high-speed rail to other cities such as Washington, D.C. and Boston. Nowhere in the release does it mention how much the project would cost, which, in the end, is what determines whether it gets off the drawing board and into reality.

The complete study is also available online for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Full press release is after the jump.
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The Chattanooga Times Free-Press explores the possibilities that Atlanta and Chattanooga might do a little horse-trading: A rapid-rail system between the two cities in exchange for a water pipe running from the Tennessee River to Atlanta to quench our thirsts.

On a typical day, the paper reports, 9 billion gallons of water flow through Chattanooga, and considering how Lake Lanier is on a slow and steady descent, Atlanta casts its thirsty eyes north.

However, there’s already one significant kink in the plan. The Tennessee Valley Authority would have to sign off on any decision to send its water to Atlanta, and the head of the TVA doesn’t have much sympathy for our situation. Reports the Times Free-Press:

TVA President Tom Kilgore, a former resident of Atlanta, said last week that he would be reluctant to give any water from the Tennessee River to the Atlanta region.

“I lived there when they were supposed to build six reservoirs around the city, and they built zero, so they’re starting with the wrong person,” Mr. Kilgore said.

Kilgore is referring to a plan that was approved when Roy Barnes was governor, then scuttled when Republicans took control of Georgia. Gov. Sonny Perdue has sought to end our drought and water problems through divine intervention, which obviously hasn’t worked.

As Mark Twain noted: Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.

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In a public display that drew more journalists, agency officials and consultants than the general public, the Georgia Department of Transportation unveiled several plans for a high-speed passenger rail line connecting Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., Tuesday at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, the first of three such presentations set to take place in Georgia and our neighbor to the north over the next two days.

It was the first step in a multiyear, $10.1 million study to determine the feasibility, impact, layout and scope of the project, which is estimated to cost $4 billion to $5 billion. If deemed worthy, construction may only begin in 2020.

More transit goodness after the jump!

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The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that talks between Georgia and Tennessee transportation officials to determine the benefit of a 110-mile high-speed rail line between Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Chattanooga will begin next Thursday in Chattanooga, with meetings in Powder Springs Sept. 18, and Rome, Ga., Sept. 19 (details below). It is the first step in what is to be a three-year, $10.1 million engineering and environmental study. The total project, Georgia Department of Transportation estimates, could cost $4 billion if magnetic levitation technology is implemented. Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, is quoted in the article as saying he hopes public-private partnerships can help pay the bill.

The idea of a high-speed rail line between the two locales has been a hot topic as of late, praised by Sagacious Cindy at that other Atlanta paper. And with Delta’s new CEO Richard Anderson poo-pooing the idea of a second airport in Georgia, people are scratching their heads as to just how people can efficiently shuttle about.

At a time when transportation funds are hard to come by, the primary concern among officials in this early stage of the sure-to-be-expensive endeavor: Will people use the train? Say you want to compare two aquariums in one day, or maximize flight plans and book connecting flights at airports. Maybe visit your wonderful grandmother who is an adjunct professor at UT-Chattanooga, hasn’t seen you in so long, wants to cook you that pot roast you always love. Come visit already!

Would you use it?

Meeting information:

Atlanta (Powder Springs): Tues., Sept. 18, 2007, 5-7:30 p.m. McEachern High School, 2400 New Macland Road.

Rome: Wed., Sept. 19, 2007, 5-7:30 p.m. Rome Civic Center, 400 Civic Center Drive.

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