Fresh Loaf

'Behold, our new idol'

UPDATE: We hear from Siemens that Thursday’s vehicle tour has been canceled because of rain. Tomorrow’s tour is still a go.

Of the 3,082 transit projects proposed for metro Atlanta, few are as far along as the Peachtree Streetcar.

Proponents of the $300 million project say it’s shovel ready and could be snaking up and down Atlanta’s most famous thoroughfare by the end of 2012. That is, if we can secure the cash to build it.

And while City Hall and MARTA anxiously wait to hear if the streetcar has been selected for vital federal funding — an announcement is expected in mid February — you’ll get a chance to see the technology that could potentially be used in the project (as well as for the Beltline) this week.

On Thursday from 2-5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., a Siemens light-rail and streetcar vehicle on its way to Charlotte, N.C. — the city that’s actually made progress on building transit — will make a stop at Centennial Olympic Park. Atlantans are invited to drop by and take a tour of the streetcar, enjoy refreshments, and ask themselves why this technology isn’t already being used in one of the most vibrant cities in the country.

Now don’t get us wrong: This event is great. But at the risk of sounding like downers, isn’t it just a tad bit depressing that here we are, still sitting in traffic in 2010, and we’re having to treat streetcars and transit like they’re an Epcot attraction? “Witness … the future.” Nonetheless, go check it out if you’re downtown.

(Courtesy Siemens)

Bookmark It

Better transit in Atlanta? Hell yes! More bike lanes? You bet! Safe sidewalks and shorter city blocks that would encourage people to walk instead of drive? Man, that sounds fantastic.

But how are we gonna pay for it?

That was the conundrum Tuesday night at a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Citizens for Progressive Transit and PEDS at the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Seated before a packed and transit-savvy audience, mayoral candidates Lisa Borders, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed and Jesse Spikes outlined their positions on how people could move around Atlanta without having to use their cars — and what they would do, if elected, to make it happen.

First, the question we’re sure a lot of people are probably asking: How do the candidates feel about Georgia gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine’s idea of “talking” about a possible asphalt artery that would cut through East Atlanta?

(more…)

Bookmark It

Beltline officials have proposed allowing future developers to build up to eight stories at 10th Street and Monroe Drive. (Looking northeast from Grady High School)

Some intown residents who’ve never been ones to shy away from city and developer battles say they’re none too pleased with the proposed vision of the Beltline near Piedmont Park.

According to preliminary plans for the Beltline’s segment that stretches from Ansley Park to City Hall East, future developers would be allowed to build up to eight stories at the congested corner of 10th Street and Monroe Drive.

That’s a far cry from the twin Towers of Babel that Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason wanted to build on the same spot in 2006. But the reduction in size — and the fact that no specific development project’s been proposed — hasn’t stopped some residents from voicing concerns over what they say is an inappropriate vision for one of intown Atlanta’s most popular neighborhoods.

(more…)

Bookmark It

The Atlanta City Council yesterday approved a deal that could once again see streetcars running along Peachtree.

The Midtown Alliance and Central Atlanta Progress have offered up to $600,000 for MARTA to study the streetcar project, which last year was placed on hold after the city realized its budget woes.

Yesterday’s deal also allows officials to determine if the project could compete for up to $300 million in federal transportation stimulus cash. According to City Council President Lisa Borders’ mayoral campaign website, streetcars could become a reality in five years.

The $1 billion streetcar project, which includes new parks and streetscapes along the streetcar route, proposes connecting Fort McPherson to Buckhead. The first phase eyed for implementation — estimated at $120 million before the market tanked — would connect Midtown to downtown and include an east-west tourist loop stretching from the King Center to Centennial Olympic Park.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Beltline has secured a purchase option on segments highlighted above in red

The Beltline and Georgia Department of Transportation have agreed that key railroad tracks owned by the state agency will indeed be part of the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit.

GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith and Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Terri Montague announced today the agencies have struck a deal over a two vital segments of railroad tracks in Southwest and Southeast Atlanta.

The set of tracks in Southwest Atlanta stretch more than three miles from Allene Avenue to Lena Street. The other segment, which is much smaller, runs from Wylie Street to Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown.

According to the agreement, Beltline officials have exclusive claim on the properties until June 30, 2012. Until then, ABI will lease the segments and prepare them for public use — think hiking tours, urban sightseeing, etc.

(more…)

Bookmark It

A couple of years ago, it really seemed like the Peachtree Streetcar was gonna happen.

The studies were completed and it seemed like everything was in place to connect Fort McPherson and Buckhead with a nearly $1 billion street-level transit system.

The first phase of that vision — 10 miles of track from Woodruff Arts Center to Memorial Drive, with a downtown tourist loop — was nearly ready to go. All the initiative needed was a special tax district along Atlanta’s most famous corridor, a Legislature-approved parking tax, and everyone to exercise patience during construction.

But then the city reported its shortfall and the economy cratered. The streetcar concept was placed on the backburner, where’s it sat for months. Ask any transit wonk at panel discussions or community meetings about the project, and they’d tell you that the vision was there but the money was not.

Maria Saporta reports however that the City of Atlanta, MARTA, Midtown Alliance and Central Atlanta Progress are coming together to apply for federal transportation dollars to fund some of the project.

(more…)

Bookmark It

A lot of it depends on what you want to see.

As part of its environmental study, Beltline officials are soliciting public input as to how the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit should take shape. A full list of meeting dates and locations is available in this post.

Officials last week released 14 short videos that show examples of the options under consideration for the project’s parks, trails and transit components, among other thing. They’re all in the player embedded below. To view the different videos, press play and move your mouse icon to the left or right along the bottom of the screen.

UPDATE: After the jump, the Beltline “fly-through” video.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Beltline officials on Monday will provide residents of Southeast Atlanta a chance to offer their opinion on how they want to move around the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit. Officials will also show them how they’ll move.

The meeting, the first of five Environmental Impact Study workshops, will be held at Trees Atlanta at 6:30 p.m. It will reportedly include a Google Earth animation that will take people on a virtual tour of the project’s path. Beltline officials will take citizen input on the how the trail and transit paths should be aligned, where station stops should be located, and what type of transportation — light-rail, streetcar, etc. — they think should be used.

The meeting is scheduled to end at 8:30 p.m. Click here for directions to Trees Atlanta. A list of the remaining workshops follows after the jump. To download a flyer that includes all the workshop dates and locations, click here. (Warning: PDF)

(more…)

Bookmark It

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.

(more…)

Bookmark It

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.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Beltline

The federal agency in charge of the exciting topic of “railroad abandonments” has told the Georgia Department of Transportation, Amtrak and Atlanta Beltline Inc. that it expects an update about the three agencies’ dispute over hotly contested Beltline tracks no later than March 23.

In a decision filed today, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board says it received the transportation agencies’ requests for 15 more days to resolve any remaining issues about the “Decatur Belt,” a 4.3-mile segment of rail that runs from Ansley Park to DeKalb Avenue and hugs Piedmont Park.

In late January, the local, state and federal agencies got into a nasty fight over the rail segment, which is owned by the city and planned to be a vital part of the Beltline, the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit envisioned to circle the city. Last Friday, the agencies said they’d reached a “consensus” that commuter or intercity rail did not need to run on the tracks.

(Courtesy Atlanta Beltline Inc.)

Bookmark It

Happy ending for the Beltline?

Residents and transit wonks hoping for a Friday cease-fire over unused railroad tracks called the “Decatur Belt” got good news today.

Officials from the Beltline, Georgia Department of Transportation, Amtrak and other transportation agencies say they’ve reached an agreement regarding the hotly contested rail segment that stretches from Ansley Park to DeKalb Avenue.

“These parties have reached a consensus on joint actions to develop and implement a plan to accommodate commuter rail, intercity and high-speed rail service in the region that does not require the use of the Decatur Belt rail corridor,” a joint statement says.

The agencies agree that a commuter, intercity or high-speed rail line could operate along modified tracks west of the city. Beltline supporters initially proposed such a concept, but Amtrak and GDOT rejected it, calling it difficult because those tracks are busy freight routes.

A technical committee recommends a long-awaited downtown train terminal proposed near Philips Arena which would accommodate the trains be redesigned, that Amtrak consider possible stations along MARTA’s Northeast line, and that the local, state and regional transportation agencies conduct a study of freight traffic options in metro Atlanta.

In other words: It appears that, barring anything insanely out-of-the-blue, the mixed-use, light-rail Beltline vision proposed near Piedmont Park is safe.

Background and the full release from the agencies after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Beltline, Georgia Department of Transportation and Amtrak officials have until tomorrow afternoon to update the U.S. Surface Transportation Board about the fate of the Decatur Belt, a strip of abandoned rail in Northeast Atlanta which all sides say they need to control for very different rail projects. (Here are some maps of the project and area in question.)

Late last week, residents of several at-risk neighborhood organizations — including Poncey-Highland, Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward — asked Amtrak and GDOT to scrap their plans for commuter or intercity rail running along the Decatur Belt. (Click here to read their Word Document press release.) While all the agencies promised to work together to try and resolve the issue, they’re keeping mum on how things have progressed. On Tuesday, Mayor Shirley Franklin told U.S. Congressman John Lewis the sides are still negotiating. Nonetheless, keep checking back for updates about the story.

In other Beltline news, some areas of the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit that would require rezoning are scheduled to be discussed — and possibly voted on — by the Atlanta City Council’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee on Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m.. Included are project areas near Old Fourth Ward, Grant Park, Northwest Atlanta, and others.

A full list of the areas follows after the jump. If you want to get involved, stop by City Hall or contact your councilmember.

(more…)

Bookmark It

That’s how opponents of the statewide one-cent sales tax have branded the bill. If passed and approved by voters on the 2010 ballot, the tax could generate an estimated $25 billion over the next 10 years for a list of transportation projects that include oodles of sure-to-become-congested-in-five-minutes roads.

Dick Pettys of Insider Advantage reports:

The proposed constitutional amendment, to be voted on at the November 2010 ballot, needed 120 votes to pass, and easily cleared that mark 151-15. It now goes to the Senate, which prefers and has passed a counter proposal to allow regions to propose and seek to pass local option sales taxes for transportation.

Tuesday’s vote marked the first time in the two-year struggle to pass a new transportation funding mechanism by the Legislature that the statewide concept, backed strongly by House leaders, had come to a vote. Last session, a similar measure also was proposed but GOP leaders lacked the votes and did not put it to the floor.

Now, House and Senate leaders are positioned to try to determine anew if they can settle the long-standing debate over whether to pass the House-preferred statewide sales tax or the Senate-favored local option, regional approach.

Pettys has much more information on the bill’s passage, including the rundown on amendments tacked on at the last minute. Jim Galloway of the AJC says one of those amendments could turn into a political mess. Galloway, who says he’s no lawyer (LIES!), thinks one amendment spells out where the House stands on Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to gut the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Regardless, if lawmakers fail to agree on something, we’ll all still be stuck in traffic and wishing for better transit. And that’s what this issue’s about.

Bookmark It

STILL GOING Dispute over Beltline tracks riles residents

After two hours of debating administrative minutiae, the Georgia Department of Transportation board nearly brought an end to the bitter dispute the state agency and Amtrak started with the City of Atlanta over Beltline tracks near Piedmont Park.

At the end of today’s board meeting, Boardmember David Doss of Rome — who it should be noted, hasn’t always been the biggest advocate for rail projects — asked the board to consider withdrawing its stay of abandonment of the “Decatur Belt,” a 4.2-mile segment of unused tracks which stretch from Ansley Park to DeKalb Avenue. Those tracks are a vital piece of the Beltline, the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit proposed to circle Atlanta’s core. Amtrak and GDOT say they want the tracks preserved for future commuter rail service into downtown Atlanta.

Doss said he proposed the same motion yesterday at an intermodal committee meeting.

“The idea of commuter rail or high-speed rail going through Piedmont Park makes little sense to me,” Doss told boardmembers. He said the two modes are not compatible with plans the city has already made for the property, which it purchased from Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason last year for more than $66 million.

Suddenly, a booming voice sounded from the ceiling. Boardmember Steve Farrow of Dalton, participating in the meeting via conference call, objected.

(more…)

Bookmark It

A group of Inman Park residents have formed Keep High Speed Rail Out of Inman Park in an effort to fight the Georgia Department of Transportation and Amtrak’s plans to run commuter rail near the historic neighborhood. The ambiguously named group has a petition here and a YouTube video.

Bookmark It

Citizens for Progressive Transit, a grassroots advocacy group, is holding its annual lobbying day at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Members and non-members who want to speak with Georgia lawmakers about the need for more transit, cleaner air and less auto-dependent options are urged to meet with the group at the Central Presbyterian Church across the street from the Capitol on Tuesday morning. There, you’ll receive a briefing and then make your way to the Gold Dome to advocate the cause.

Full details are after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, has requested AMTRAK President Joseph Boardman work with city and regional planners, officials and residents to resolve the “Decatur Belt” dispute between the federal agency, the Georgia Department of Transportation and Beltline officials.

Lewis says AMTRAK’s actions “have the potential to unnecessarily disrupt one of the most important public benefit projects that the City of Atlanta has undertaken in recent memory.” He adds that “these combined actions are not the model of a productive and healthy local, State and federal partnership with the shared goal of revitalizing transportation services in Metro Atlanta.”

Download a PDF of the letter here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Transit Implementation Board Chairman Eldrin Bell was not about to let that agency’s inaugural meeting today turn into a boxing match between the City of Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Much to the disappointment — or relief? — of those involved, Bell didn’t allow the two sides to argue whether light-rail or heavy-rail should run along several miles of unused railroad tracks near Piedmont Park. GDOT and AMTRAK argue that the tracks are the only viable options if transit advocates want to see commuter rail and a long-planned downtown terminal. Officials for the Beltline, the planned 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit, say there are alternatives and that commuter rail drastically alters the design that planners, neighborhoods and developers have crafted for the area.

Bell said he’s hesitant to discuss the Beltline’s future unless all the stakeholders were in the room.

(more…)

Bookmark It

From the Beltline Network:

RALLY TO SAVE THE BELTLINE

LET’S SHOW HOW MUCH THE PEOPLE SUPPORT ATLANTA’S LIGHT RAIL, TRAIL, PARK, ARBORETUM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE!
THIS SATURDAY, January 31, 2009, 2:00PM
MEET ALONG THE BELTLINE TRACKS AT THE INTERSECTION OF 10TH AND MONROE IN MIDTOWN

Bookmark It

…but it would be problematic for them to do so on the Beltline property in Northeast Atlanta that’s become a bone of contention for the city, the Georgia Department of Transportation and AMTRAK.

In 2005, Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel and Friends of the Beltline Inc. issued a study that examined how the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit may be affected by the various rail lines circling Atlanta. (Download the study PDF here.)

In regards to the “Decatur Belt,” the 3.5-mile segment that runs from DeKalb Avenue to Ansley Mall, the study says:

use of this line for the commuter rail network is problematic for the following reasons:

• The original alignment of the Decatur Street Belt with the main line into downtown Atlanta was broken by the reconfiguration of Hulsey Yard and the construction of the elevated East MARTA line and King Memorial Station.
• Use of the Decatur Street Belt puts Amtrak trains through residential areas and Piedmont Park, crossing surface streets at Monroe Drive, Irwin Street and DeKalb Avenue.
• The Decatur Street Belt is too narrow south of Freedom Parkway for the Belt Line and Amtrak to share right-of-way with separate tracks.
• Shared use of the tracks themselves in this corridor would be difficult due to topographic and physical constraints.
• Any shared arrangement would make the Belt Line much less desirable by eliminating greenspace and permeability and by increasing safety concerns, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists.

The group proposed several recommendations, including tinkering with the Brookwood station where AMTRAK currently stops. One of the biggest challenges the Beltline will face is actually connecting the rail segments that will create its spine and shape.

If you’re a transit lover and want to know more about the current dispute, as well as the project’s other connectivity challenges, this study is well worth a read.

Bookmark It

Man, the Beltline can be pretty confusing, huh? So can writing about transit agency disputes.

To put it plainly: The vision of a 22-mile loop of transit, parks and trails is now in jeopardy after the state Department of Transportation and AMTRAK unexpectedly announced they had their own heavy-rail plans for the project’s northeast section along Piedmont Park.

On Wednesday, members of the Beltline Network, a citizen group that supports the project, will meet for a special-called meeting to discuss how to keep the $2.8 billion “Emerald Necklace” — the largest public-works project of its kind in the country — on track.

Liz Coyle, chair of the Beltline Network, writes in an “urgent” e-mail sent yesterday to members (emphasis added for the more civic-minded Fresh Loaf readers who want to get involved):

I am calling a special meeting of the BeltLine Network on this Wednesday, January 28, at 4:30pm at Trees Atlanta, 225 Chester Avenue. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and strategize a community response to a threat to BeltLine transit. I will provide more details as available at the meeting, but to summarize the situation and get right to the point, AMTRAK has begun condemnation proceedings on the NE Corridor of the BeltLine. This is in response to Norfolk Southern Railroad (NSR), Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) and Atlanta Development Authority (ADA) pursuing rail abandonment on the Northeast Corridor (aka the “Decatur Belt”) with the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB), a necessary step to advancing light rail transit in the BeltLine corridor. Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and AMTRAK have filed Motions to Stay the abandonment proceedings.

More on Coyle’s e-mail and the issues — and questions — surrounding this dispute after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Jeez, guys, didn’t you read that he was taking a train to Washington, D.C.?

The Georgia Public Interest Research Group has just released its analysis of the state Department of Transportation’s wishlist for President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus funds. And the group says the state agency’s list favors asphalt over rails.

The Georgia Department of Transportation’s wish list requests:

• Georgia would spend only 34.3 percent of funds on public transit/intercity rail projects.

• The state DOT has allocated 69 percent of the two billion dollar highway project funds to the maintenance needs of the state’s infrastructure. This is a higher portion than most other states but would still leave many bridges and roads in a state of disrepair while building new highways.

• GDOT also lists three bike/pedestrian projects in Fulton County: West End Rail Multi-use Trail ($2.2 million), Fourteenth Street ($7.6 million), and Downtown Atlanta Pedestrian ($6.7 million).

There are some worrisome aspects to these high-dollar and ambitious wishlists, too.

(more…)

Bookmark It

A coalition of officials from the state and metro region’s transportation planning agencies have vouched to now take the next step in addressing the issue — moving past pretty blueprints and visions and focusing on the more complex process of actually finding ways to build the mobility solutions.

The Transit Planning Board yesterday, in its final meeting under that banner, unanimously approved a “new year’s resolution” to create the Transit Implementation Board, or TIB. That agency, which will supplant the board, will examine how the region can implement Concept 3 (PDF) — a gridlock-relieving vision of light-rail, heavy-rail and bus routes that would spider throughout metro Atlanta.

The Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and MARTA — members of the board — have all passed resolutions in support of Concept 3.

From a press release from the group:

“Two years ago, our region needed to focus on developing a vision for transit that we could all support,” stated TPB and Clayton County Chairman Eldrin Bell. “Today, we’re saying our focus needs to be on implementation. This year has filled me with optimism regarding what our region can accomplish when we work together Now, however, the hard part begins.”

The TIB’s first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29.

Bookmark It

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)

Bookmark It