Fresh Loaf

Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine managed to lose the two or three intown Atlanta supporters he had on Aug. 31 with a proposal to “talk about” building “parallel downtown connector” that, if made a reality, could potentially slice through much of Inman Park, East Atlanta and other popular neighborhoods.

Inman Park residents, familiar with such ideas after they successfully helped squash I-485 in the 1970s, demanded he drop the idea. The frontrunners in the Atlanta mayoral race say it’s a terrible concept.

Well, The Ox© hath responded:

“I love East Atlanta, Morningside, Grant Park, Inman Park and that entire wonderful part of our great state,” said Oxendine. “But I know we must find a way to move Georgia forward towards “greener” roads, mass transit, light rail—every option must be on the table.”

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Few neighborhood groups have been as vocally opposed to Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine’s proposal of a “parallel downtown connector” than the Inman Park Neighborhood Association. Since Oxendine’s proposal to “talk” about an east-of-Atlanta interstate that could help motorists avoid driving through the city received attention late last week, the neighborhood’s message board has been filled with discussions about the candidate’s pie-in-the-sky idea.

Many of its members still remember the bitter battle over Stone Mountain Freeway/I-485, the proposed interstate that would’ve converted Inman Park and nearby vibrant hamlets, at the least, into “exits” rather than “neighborhoods.” Through an intense showing of community engagement and opposition, residents helped kill that proposal.

And if Oxendine’s proposed road were to ever be built, it could potentially displace many of the intown  residents and impact their quality of life. It would also cost the state an arm and a leg.

Inman Park Neighborhood Association President Lisa Burnette has sent a letter to Oxendine demanding that he retract his statement. The missive is beautiful in a scathing type of way — she gives him an Inman Park history lesson and takes him to task for his “build-more-roads” strategy. She leaves the candidate with this warning:

These Atlanta neighborhoods, including Inman Park, most soundly defeated this highway proposal decades ago, at a time when they had little organization and little resources. Today, we are highly organized and closely networked. We have neighbors and friends in many high places, and we have a lot of money, set aside specifically to protect ourselves against these kinds of proposals.

Burnette’s full letter after the jump.

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Good morning, John Oxendine, Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate. What bad ideas do you have for us this morning? Oh, you think we should talk about building a “parallel downtown connector” that could plow through most of East Atlanta! OK. Lemme just first clean up all this coffee I spit all over my desk.

Oxendine pitches the idea — along with a Western Bypass, a new Northern Arc, and a couple of other projects that will most likely never get built — in this campaign video.

Building a massive asphalt artery through some of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods isn’t going to win Oxendine any support inside the perimeter.

But this pie-in-the-sky idea, which will most likely never happen, could win the gubernatorial hopeful points with the North Fulton crowd, a tried and true Republican enclave that’s thought to most likely favor Karen Handel. The Ox says that people who live in the Ga. 400 and I-85 corridors — unlike potential voters in Cobb County — don’t have the luxury of bypassing the city.

But anything to get Georgia out of gridlock, right?

(H/T to Jim Galloway)

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David Schaengold of the Witherspoon Institute published a thought-provoking essay this month titled “Why Conservatives Should Care About Transit.”

Schaengold says ‘mass transit vs. more roads’ became a ‘Democrats vs Republicans’ battle during the 1970s:

This association can be traced to the ’70s, when cities became associated with social dysfunction and suburbs remained bastions of ‘normalcy.’

Schaengold argues that the Republican Party’s love of asphalt undermines core conservative values:

Pro-highway, anti-transit, anti-pedestrian policies work against the core beliefs of American conservatives in another and even more important way: they create social environments that are hostile to real community . . . [d]ense, walkable settlements are not just a pleasant lifestyle choice. They are a precondition of the strong, inter-connected communities that social conservatives desire.

Are you listening, Jerry Keen?

(I would tip my hat to Andrew Sullivan for the link, but someone on MARTA stole it. I’m pressing charges.)

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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.

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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.

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No one loves “free” money more than state and local governments. And Georgia’s are no exception.

Anticipation surrounding  President-elect Barack Obama’s $500-billion proposal to re-invest in the nation’s infrastructure continues to build, and cities, counties and states are already starting to drool.

In Georgia, the state DOT has already outlined $3.4 billion worth of road, bridge and rail projects — including more than $1 billion for cash-strapped MARTA.

After the jump, read about some of the projects Peach State lawmakers hope the incoming president will deem worthy of the taxpayer coin. We’ll have more on Atlanta’s potential projects later, as well as some interesting thoughts from one Democratic insider who says we — or more like some of our elected officials — may have already shot ourselves in the foot when it comes to trying to kiss Obama’s ring. (If you’d like to know what’s on the wish lists of 427 U.S. mayors, including six in Georgia, visit this PDF.)

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Sorry, Andisheh. A $110-million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be used for high-occupancy toll lanes along a section of I-85 primarily in Gwinnett County.

I pass the mic to Ariel of the AJC:

The 14-mile project, from the Perimeter in DeKalb County to Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett, is seen as a seed that would spread to all 44 miles of Atlanta’s HOV lanes.

The tolls will be electronic, with sensors pinging a transponder in each car on the toll lane, and no stopping for toll booths. The toll price would rise and fall with congestion on the main highway: a higher price when traffic congestion is high, lower when traffic is light. Officials said questions like how much the toll price would be required more study. A similar project in California costs drivers about $1 a mile at the most congested time of the week.

And as usual, the comments are the best part.

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In anticipation of the large number of people who plan to attend this weekend’s BET Hip Hop Awards, the city’s shutting down some roads. Here’s the list from the city:

Saturday: From 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight the following streets will be closed:

Piedmont Ave. from Baker St. to Pine St.
Ralph McGill from Central Park to Courtland Ave.
Pine St. from Central Park to Courtland Ave.
Currier St. from Courtland Ave, to Piedmont Ave.

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In this week’s paper, CL takes a look at privatized roads, an increasingly popular practice in which a for-profit company takes control of or builds a new road, raises tolls, and usually makes a jaw-dropping windfall from the agreement. States love ‘em because they get a big bag o’ cash upfront that they can in turn invest in other projects. Sounds attractive but they’re rife with risk.

We received word from a trusted tipster that Perdue would meet with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company considered a global leader in privatized roads, during an upcoming jaunt to Europe sponsored by the state’s Department of Economic Development. At press time, department officials weren’t able to confirm if that was the case.

Now they can. From the governor’s office:

The Madrid portion of the trip includes a number of transportation-related meetings, including a visit with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company that is a world leader in developing transportation infrastructure. The delegation will also tour two Spanish public/private road projects and meet with SEOPAN, the Spanish Transportation Association. Governor Perdue will also call on a number of Spanish companies in the region.

Full release follows after the jump.

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What current Georgia governor is leavin’ on a jet plane at the end of the month for the sandy beaches of Spain? Sources say the state’s jovial chief executive is being joined by Dick Anderson, the executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. We’re sure it’ll be a nice couple days of handshakes and back slaps, maybe a bullfight or two.

But the interesting item apparently on their agenda? A sit-down with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company that’s considered the tops when it comes to privatized roads. (That’s when a company gives a big bag o’ cash to the state and either takes over operations of a well-traveled road or builds a new one, sets tolls, and reaps the revenue.)

Maybe the firm would just handle the HOV-to-HOT lane conversion of which the AJC’s Ariel Hart broke the news today. Regardless, it wouldn’t be a new topic for this current state governor. Sources say this particular resident of West Paces Ferry braved the wild winds during Hurricane Ike to visit Dallas, Texas, a city that recently dipped its toes in the “privatized road” morass. Word is that this outgoing bigwig from the executive branch is eager to end his two terms with a bang — and toss a life preserver to the state that’s nearly $1.6 billion in the hole.

But at what cost, Gov. Punny Serdoo?

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S. Heather Duncan at the Macon Telegraph has an excellent article today about the always-sexy, superhot XXX topic of “project prioritization” — in other words, what projects the state Department of Transportation decides to do and when they decide to do ‘em. An agency spokesperson says the days of “kissing the ring” — local officials would make their way to DOT’s dilapidated headquarters to beg for this or that — are over.

And if you want to know why that four-lane road that was supposed to lead you to Uncle Turbo’s Bait Shack is still unfinished, this article may give you some answers.

From the article:

When DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham took over the department nine months ago, she discovered more than 9,000 projects on the books and a $1 billion budget shortfall. Road projects that weren’t already under building contracts were put on ice until the state could reprioritize.

The department can only complete about 270 projects a year, said Mark McKinnon, a DOT spokesman.

Projects will be ranked. Those that aren’t high enough on the priority list to be completed within about six years will be eliminated, said DOT spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan. The DOT will no longer keep projects on the books that can’t be finished for half a century, she said.

But as always, the comments give me chuckles:

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