Fresh Loaf

Note to lawmakers: Perhaps using one of the metro region’s most important assets as a bargaining chip isn’t that great of an idea? Maybe?

From Friday’s Atlanta Business Chronicle:

If Atlanta’s rapid transit system is forced to eliminate a day of service, business leaders say, it will be a severe economic blow to a city already stung by a deepening recession.

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“It would be devastating for the Atlanta economy and therefore the state of Georgia’s economy if MARTA has to restrict services on any day,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, the alliance of downtown businesses. He called the state’s failure to resolve the problem a “travesty.”

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“If MARTA has to furlough its trains and buses for one day a week, the ripple effect would be tremendous,” Metro Atlanta Chamber President Sam Williams said. “I’ve talked to several big employers who say their businesses would be drastically affected. This would certainly send a message nationwide that Georgia has another problem and can’t solve it.”

The paper also quotes officials from AT&T, UPS and BellSouth — all of whom say MARTA service cuts could impact their workers. There’s also a good list of statistics outlining the role MARTA plays in shuttling residents and visitors around the region.

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Yeah, it might not be raining this very moment, but across Atlanta, people are dealing with the aftershocks of recent storm activity. And it sucks.

Fighting the wind and rain this morning in downtown Atlanta.

Grady High School is among the more than 230,000 Georgia Power customers in metro Atlanta without power. Downtown Decatur’s electricity just returned. MARTA was out of service for several hours. And one person was killed when a tree fell. Here at CL the lights flickered on and off for most of the morning, causing great panic and confusion amongst the hardworking proletariat as we slave away at our information terminals.

And the AJC says more rain could be on the way:

Up to 2 inches of rain could fall across the area through the day Monday, with hail possible, forecasters said.

“There will likely be two rounds of thunderstorms,” the Weather Service said in a statement. “One this morning as a squall line moves through central Georgia and another this afternoon and tonight as the cold front approaches.”

The chance of rain continues into Tuesday, with dry weather forecast for the back half of the week.

Be careful on the roads and watch out if you’re working under or around trees.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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And while we’re on the topic of saving MARTA, the transit agency is asking your opinion on potential cuts it might have to make to offset its budget shortfall.

There are a whole host of questions — asking if you’d mind if MARTA sold advertising on Breeze Cards, closed bathrooms, etc. If you’ve got something to tell them, there’s an online way to do it.

Check it out here.

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Transit supporters take note: grassroots coalition Save MARTA is asking you to hop on the bus or train next Friday to raise awareness about the people mover’s woes.

From the event’s Facebook page:

In light of impending MARTA service cuts due to state level legislative action and inaction, Metro Atlantans are coming together to support the transit system by celebrating Ride MARTA Day on Friday, April 17. On Ride MARTA Day, participants will all ride MARTA at least once, per their usual commute or replacing their usual mode of transportation. Participants will ride at the time of their choosing. In other words, all you need to do is ride the bus or train on Friday, April 17.

The purpose of Ride MARTA Day is to bring all concerned Metro Atlantans into a community building activity that will boost ridership, expose new riders to useful routes, express solidarity with MARTA workers and regular commuters, and demonstrate that, as the backbone of our transportation system, MARTA must be fairly funded.

Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall is scheduled to participate. As of this writing, there are 118 confirmed guests for the event. UPDATE: The event also has an official site. Check it out here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The state just doesn’t seem to understand MARTA’s importance to metro Atlanta. The Atlanta Regional Commission, however, just might.

Ariel Hart of the AJC reports:

A committee of the Atlanta Regional Commission on Thursday recommended that ARC divert up to $25 million in stimulus funds to MARTA to meet operating shortfalls. The money had been intended for long-needed metro Atlanta transportation projects.

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MARTA will still have to follow through with less draconian cuts, General Manager Beverly Scott said Thursday. They will likely include furloughs, raising employee payments for health care and stopping bus and train service at midnight.

An ARC spokesman tells CL that the full board will vote on the recommendation in May. In the meantime, it’s working with MARTA staff to examine its financial situation and to see if the transit agency can use the stimulus funds for operational purposes.

It’ll also be interesting to see what transportation projects might get dropped if the plan goes through.

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After we spoke with lawmakers who attended last Wednesday’s sitdown with Gold Dome Republicans about helping MARTA avoid drastic budget cuts — a meeting during which one lawmaker allegedly said he “[lived] closer to Disney World than any MARTA station” and occasionally rode the metro region’s largest transit agency to “ball games” — we’re now able to report the elected official’s name.

State Rep. Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons. He’s also the House Majority Leader. Lobbyists this session showered him with everything from Cirque du Soleil tickets to a $303.60 dinner. What he really could use next year is an eTicket.

Keen, sadly, did not return our calls. (Keen does not return calls to CL. Ever.) We tried to be “journalists” and get his take on it, but oh well.

(Photo illustration by Brooke Hatfield)

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The following recent headlines were selected by me to make you angry.

Denver Post: Pace to pick up on West light-rail line

ProgressiveRailroading.com: WMATA outlines plans for $202 million in stimulus funds

San Francisco Business Times: California bullet train gets $29M loan

Daily Journal of Commerce: MAX light rail boosted by bond sale

Arizona Republic: New light-rail plans call for more track and expansion into Mesa

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio passenger rail chugs ahead

Even during the nation’s current economic disaster, other metro areas are growing and improving their mass transit networks.

Meanwhile Atlanta’s economy is held hostage by the city-hatin’, parochial idiots who run the state government.

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If you’ve ever ridden MARTA Route 115, chances are Oliver Hook has been your driver. For more than two decades, he’s shuttled riders to and fro, helping them deal with such issues as divorce, depression and — no joke — childbirth.

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me is to be prepared for whatever you may meet. Being a bus operator, you have to be a doctor, a psychiatrist and a counselor. You have to be everything being a bus operator. You have to be prepared for everything physically and mentally.

There have been a lot of times where people will get on with different things. You may have a male or female talking about their divorce. Sometimes, they may be talking about killing themselves. As bus operators, we’re all trained to be able to talk to them and they get off the bus feeling much better.

We like to be called bus operators. Anybody can drive, but it takes a special type of person to operate the vehicle that we operate and keep up with the constant demand.

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We all know that Senate Bill 120, the legislation that would’ve allowed MARTA to exercise control over its own finances and possibly prevent the transit agency from making drastic service cuts, failed on the final night of the legislative session. But why?

In a candid email to his constituents, State Rep. Ralph Long, III, D-Atlanta, says Georgia House Republicans used the bill as a “political football” and threatened to punt the measure if the Fulton and DeKalb delegations didn’t vote for a GOP-endorsed piece of legislation involving freezes on property values.

Long writes in the email:

I will always stay true to my commitment to keep my constituents educated about the pressing issues concerning us today.

On Wednesday, April 1st, two days before the end of the General Assembly’s 2009 session, the Fulton and DeKalb County delegations called a special meeting for the sole purpose of discussing MARTA. At that meeting, the Republican leadership approached the two counties with what they said was a deal. According to the Republican leader, they needed 20 votes to pass S.R. 1, an unpopular bill related to property valuation freezes.

We were told that we must support S.R. 1 in order to give the Republicans the votes they needed. In return, the MARTA bill would pass. If S.R 1 did not pass, we were told that the MARTA bill would die in committee and not be brought up for consideration before the end of sine die. The Republican leader said that he lives closer to Disney World than any MARTA train station, and that he only occasionally rides MARTA to ball games.

Emphasis ours, of course. Another Democrat lawmaker who was involved with the discussion referenced above corroborated the contents of the email to CL. He also named who allegedly made the “Disney World” remark, although we’re going to contact him first to give him a chance to respond.

The rest of the email, including comments from our conversation with Long, is after the jump.

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Gov. Sonny Perdue said earlier today he’d like to avoid a special legislative session to reconsider a bill that would give cash-strapped MARTA more control over its main source of revenue.

Well, State Rep. Rashad Taylor, D-Atlanta, has offered the governor another option. The freshman lawmaker today wrote Perdue urging him to issue an executive order to help MARTA. (Click here to view the letter.)

“Because of the House’s failure to pass SB 120, Metro Atlantans are now looking to you for leadership on this issue,” Taylor wrote. “If the law will allow, I urge you to issue an Executive Order suspending the capital reserve restrictions that currently tie MARTA’s hands. If you are unable to do this by Executive Order, I ask that you call a special session of the Legislature so that we can pass legislation that will give MARTA access to its capital reserves… We must do better for the capital city and for the citizens who rely on public transit to work for Georgia’s present and future.”

Taylor, who serves on the House MARTA Oversight Committee, will join other lawmakers tomorrow for a press conference about the issue at 2 p.m at downtown’s Five Points MARTA station.

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Governor Perdue takes questions from reporters after speaking on the floor of the House Friday night.

From the AJC’s Gold Dome Live:

Gov. Sonny Perdue told reporters that his staff met with MARTA officials Tuesday morning in hopes of coming up with a solution to the transit system’s funding problems.

However, it doesn’t sound like he will go along with MARTA’s call for a special session to pass legislation to help the system.

…

The governor mentioned several times that MARTA made no effort to get him involved in passing legislation that would have freed up funding for the system. The bill failed.

“It’s always unfortunate when people who depend on MARTA have their service cut, and I hope they (MARTA) can find a way …. to make it through the end of the year,” the governor said.

In the meantime, Citizens for Progressive Transit, a local grassroots group, is asking its members and other mobility-minded residents to contact Perdue’s office.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The MARTA board today called for Gov. Sonny Perdue to order state lawmakers back to the Gold Dome to consider legislation that might save the transit agency from implementing drastic service cuts.

MARTA General Manager Bev Scott says unless the General Assembly approves legislation that would ease restrictions on how MARTA spends a one-cent sales tax levied in Atlanta, Fulton County and DeKalb County — its main source of funding — the transit agency faces “Draconian budget cuts” and “Armaggedon.”

Possibly included in those cuts: No service on Fridays. Ariel Hart of the AJC reports decisions would probably be made in June and begin in September.

“Without access to this funding, we will essentially sever a critical economic engine in our state and no doubt send our economy into an even greater hole,” Scott said in a press release. “MARTA is simply requesting access to funding that already exists within our capital budget in order to maintain a reasonable level of service that will get us through the economic tsunami we have all had to deal with.”

State lawmakers bungled a chance to resolve the issue during the legislative session, which ended Friday.

Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports:

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said MARTA’s call for a special session is “premature” because the governor hasn’t seen details of the agency’s financial plight. While MARTA officials put that information together for lawmakers to consider as the bill went through the General Assembly, Brantley said, the governor didn’t receive a similar pitch.

“They didn’t come up and ask for help on the bill to begin with,” he said.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

MARTA’s full press release, which includes talk of fare and parking-rate increases, is posted after the jump.
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On Friday, the state legislature let die a bill that would have allowed MARTA to spend money from its $65 million capital improvement fund to help plug its $20 million operating shortfall.

Because of the city-phobic legislature’s malicious inaction, MARTA will be forced to cut vital services. The transit system’s board is scheduled to meet today to discuss service cuts. Among the options being considered: shutting down MARTA on Fridays.

I’m in a spiteful mood today and would love it if MARTA targets its service cuts in ways that maximize their impact on voters and businesses who support the Redneckocrats who dominate the statehouse.

For example, Home Depot founder and sashimi collector Bernie Marcus backs the state Republican Party. Maybe MARTA should cease operating near Home Depot stores. Maybe MARTA could also run shuttle buses to Lowes. I’d also like it if APD resources assigned to the area around the Georgia Aquarium were reassigned to the West End or Sylvan Hills.

And I definitely want MARTA to shut all north side operations during sporting events and country music concerts. Let it serve as a reminder to north-side suburban voters that their support of city-hatin’ Republicans has consequences.

My examples may not be serious, but my overall point is very serious. If the Republican-dominated state legislature continues trying to destroy the city, the city should fight back.

Or secede.

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In other words, nothing was accomplished.

Last night, Scott Henry and I embedded ourselves in the Gold Dome, risking life and limb to chronicle the final night of the legislative session. Thanks to the House press box’s Internet service acting screwy, we weren’t able to offer you minute-by-minute updates on the shenanigans.

That might’ve been a good thing. If you’re a fan of transit and getting around, you would’ve been disappointed with the news.

Despite piss-poor travel times and a mountain of studies that show the state needs more cash to build roads, bridges and transit, the General Assembly — for the second straight year — failed to pass a transportation funding bill. The Metro Chamber’s Sam Williams pointed the blame at the state’s “lack of leadership.”

The bill that would’ve allowed MARTA to have control over the one-cent sales tax in Atlanta, Fulton County and DeKalb County — its main source of funding — to fund daily operations? Failed. MARTA officials, who looked like they were at a wake after they heard the news, said drastic cuts to bus and train service were on the way. Veteran lobbyists called the move “irresponsible.”

Yet the lawmakers still had something to smile about, and as is the tradition, tossed shredded paper in the air as Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle gaveled the legislative session to a close at midnight. CL shutterbug Joeff Davis noted it earlier — lawmakers made a mess that someone else will now have to clean up.

We’re gonna let this one soak in and pore over what passed and what failed. More to come later.

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MARTA officials recently asked the Georgia General Assembly to ease a state-mandated spending restriction on the transit agency’s main source of funding — a one-cent sales tax in Atlanta, Fulton County and DeKalb County. If not, the cash-strapped agency could face drastic service cuts. Some lawmakers responded that the agency instead needs to change its governance structure and raise fares. In the op-ed below, Mayor Shirley Franklin, Fulton County Chairman John Eaves and DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis echo MARTA’s plea.

For more than 30 years, visitors and residents of Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb counties have paid an extra penny in sales taxes so our region might have mass transit. Needless to say, the benefits of mass transit have extended far beyond the borders of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb. Can you imagine the Centennial Olympic Games choosing Atlanta without a means of moving millions of people? Or that major conventions, the lifeblood of our local economy, would locate here if their attendees were unable to move around? MARTA has been a major economic generator not just for Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb, but for our region and the entire state.

Which is why we are asking, in a time of severe economic crisis, for the Georgia General Assembly to help MARTA. This year, we are not asking that the General Assembly commit one extra dime to help MARTA — though other state governments across the nation promote the economic benefits of public transit and routinely appropriate millions for both operations and expansion. We are only asking the Legislature to give MARTA the ability to use the funds it already has at its disposal during this time of great economic need.

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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.

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Jim Galloway reports that MARTA officials recently distributed a memo to state lawmakers outlining the transit agency’s dire situation. Even with cost-cutting measures and fare and parking increases, the memo says, MARTA still runs the risk of drastically cutting service.

That could include shutting down entire rail lines. (The system’s rail spine basically consists of an east-west and north-south line.) Galloway says a decision about those potential cuts could come at MARTA’s next board meeting on March 30.

MARTA is lobbying for the state to ease restrictions over the one-cent sales tax levied in Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb Counties that provides much of the transit agency’s funding. Under current law, MARTA — considered by mobility mavens as the transit “spine” of the metro region — can only use 50 percent of the generated revenue on operating costs. It bears mentioning, once again, that MARTA is the largest transit agency in the United States that does not receive operating assistance from the state.

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MARTA, the little transit agency that could, is rolling out a new website. It hasn’t launched yet, but a little birdie was kind enough to land on my cubicle sill and point me toward the beta site.

Check it out, mull it over, find bugs and let ‘em know what you think.

After the jump, a comparison of the two designs.

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The state Senate yesterday passed two bills that could give MARTA more choices about its funding — as well as an opportunity to earn some extra cash.

The first, Senate Bill 120, would allow the transit agency to decide how it uses the one-cent sales tax it collects in Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb Counties. (Currently, that sales tax — which accounts for more than half MARTA’s funding — must be split evenly on capital projects and operating costs.)

Senate Bill 89 would allow the food and drinks to be consumed at transit stations. If passed, the measure would allow MARTA to contract with vendors who could sell items at stations. Riders would still be prohibited from eating or drinking on MARTA buses and trains. You can still bring a gun on the train, though.

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Current amount, in dollars, of President Obama’s stimulus plan aimed to create jobs and spur the economy: 827 billion

Amount, in dollars, Mayor Shirley Franklin recently requested for Atlanta projects: 1.88 billion

Estimated number of city jobs Franklin says the federal stimulus plan could create: 40,000

Number of police officers Franklin wants to add with stimulus money: 200

Dollar value of sewer projects the city wants to build using stimulus funds: 801 million

Amount, in dollars, the city requested to build the International Terminal at Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport: 500 million

Number of federal dollars Franklin says would go to offset the city’s budget deficit: 0

Amount, in dollars, the Georgia Department of Transportation has requested for state projects: 3.4 billion

Estimated number of jobs Georgia could gain because of the stimulus package: 143,000

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Conference of Mayors

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1. MARTA mugging victim fights back … now on YouTube (Move over, Soulja Girl.)

2. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ fulfills its ‘Oath’ with latest episode (In times of economic distress such as these, it’s best to bury oneself in sci-fi fantasy.)

3. Tussle with Amtrak and GDOT could kill Beltline vision (How many more blows below the belt can the Beltline take?)

4. How Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric got so awesome (Embracing discomfort, irony and randomness)

5. Atlanta sex club stirs up trouble in D.C. (Pig sex, anyone?)

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First there was “Soulja Girl.” Now, meet “mugging gone wrong.”

A video in which a young man in a MARTA station appears to turn the tables on a would-be mugger is the latest slice of drama to hit YouTube. Early in the morning on May 3, 2008, a station security camera captured the following footage (I’ve loaded the victim’s video of the event, which includes his comments):

After the jump, some details about the video.

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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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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.

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MARTA riders this weekend were treated to a surprise: Pants-less straphangers.

On Saturday, more than 35 participants responded to an email that urged them to meet at downtown’s Five Points station, board a northbound train, and remove their pants. The group hopped off at stops, went about their business, and reboarded a following train. Upon arriving at the Lindbergh station two hours later, the bare-legged brigade took the train back downtown. MARTA Police, though baffled, didn’t interrupt the trouser-less troupe.

Alfredo Aponte is a product industrial designer who helped organize the “flash mob” event. (He’s also one of the brains behind Atlanta Pecha Kucha.) Aponte says Saturday’s experiment — which was Atlanta’s first foray into “No Pants Day” — was inspired by similar gatherings in New York City. (It even made a few fanboys out of message board denizens.)

To view photos of the event, visit the Sideshow.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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