http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news ColumbusUnderground.com Messageboard en-US Sun, 19 May 2013 21:58:13 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/search.php http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-502393 Tue, 14 May 2013 19:53:32 +0000 News 502393@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>Streetcar is cool, but will it be useful?</strong><br /> Posted: 1:18 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2013<br /> BY JARRETT WALKER</p> <p><em>When a new public transit technology comes to a city, it’s a chance for everyone to think again about transit. People who think they’d never ride transit often give the new technology a try. Sometimes, the results can change the city for the better, and create new possibilities for transit all over the city.<br /> </em><br /> READ MORE: <a href="http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/streetcar-is-cool-but-will-it-be-useful/nXp6Y/" rel="nofollow">http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/streetcar-is-cool-but-will-it-be-useful/nXp6Y/</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-494820 Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:46:03 +0000 News 494820@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>City to study new streetcar routes connecting to Georgia Tech, Beltline</strong><br /> Posted by Thomas Wheatley<br /> Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:49 PM</p> <p><img src="http://clatl.com/binary/2b2c/1363710228-screen_shot_2013-03-19_at_12.12.42_pm.png" /></p> <p><em>Despite the failure of last summer's transportation tax vote, the city is taking steps to expand Atlanta's streetcar network that could connect more than just tourists, students, residents, and workers between Centennial Olympic Park and the King Center.<br /> </em><br /> <em>This morning, Invest Atlanta's board approved doling out more than $1.4 million to Atlanta Beltline Inc., the nonprofit that plans and develops the 22-mile loop of parks, trails, and transit, to pay for studies to expand the city's streetcar network to North Avenue and the Beltline's Eastside Trail in the Old Fourth Ward.<br /> </em><br /> READ MORE: <a href="http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2013/03/19/city-to-study-new-streetcar-routes-connecting-to-georgia-tech-beltline" rel="nofollow">http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2013/03/19/city-to-study-new-streetcar-routes-connecting-to-georgia-tech-beltline</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-453973 Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:04:37 +0000 News 453973@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p>Thursday, August 2, 2012<br /> <strong>Metro Atlanta’s Sales Tax “Savings” Will Come at a High Price</strong><br /> by Angie Schmitt</p> <p><img src="http://streetsblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/traffic_study_vmed_6a_widec_o-206x300.jpg" /></p> <p>It’s rare that a region attempts a transportation vote as potentially transformative as the one that took place Tuesday in Atlanta. And even though voters elected not to act — voting down a package of 157 transit and road projects totaling more than $7 billion — that doesn’t mean nothing’s going to change for this sprawling, southeastern metropolis.</p> <p>Many are sorting through the possible implications. The Naked City blog, reporting from Charlotte, called the defeat “terribly disheartening,” but predicted the region’s leaders wouldn’t give up on the issue. The Congress for New Urbanism and Richard Layman focused on where the campaign went wrong. Adie Tomer at The New Republic and the Brookings Institution says residents of greater Atlanta are going to find themselves paying for this decision, even without the tax hike:</p> <p>READ MORE: <a href="http://streetsblog.net/2012/08/02/metro-atlantas-sales-tax-savings-will-come-at-a-high-price/" rel="nofollow">http://streetsblog.net/2012/08/02/metro-atlantas-sales-tax-savings-will-come-at-a-high-price/</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-449513 Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:24:25 +0000 News 449513@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>Atlanta Voters to Decide on Future of Region’s Transportation Network</strong><br /> Atlanta | 07/17/2012 7:00am | 1<br /> MILTON LINDSAY | NEXT AMERICAN CITY</p> <p><img src="http://americancity.org/images/daily/_resized/bi_1110-08-Transit_02.03.jpeg" /></p> <p><em>Later this month, residents across the Atlanta metropolitan area will vote on a referendum that, if passed, would put in place a 10-year, 1-cent sales tax intended to raise $8.5 billion for investments in transportation infrastructure in the region, the New York Times reported this week.<br /> </em><br /> <em>The referendum is just another chapter in the five-decade-long battle between city officials in Atlanta, residents and politicians from surrounding suburbs, and the Georgia legislature over funding for transportation — and specifically, financial assistance for Atlanta’s chronically underfunded public transportation agency, MARTA.<br /> </em><br /> READ MORE: <a href="http://americancity.org/daily/entry/atlanta-voters-to-decide-on-future-of-regions-transportation-network" rel="nofollow">http://americancity.org/daily/entry/atlanta-voters-to-decide-on-future-of-regions-transportation-network</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-430137 Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:49:05 +0000 News 430137@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>In an Atlanta Desperate for More Transit Options, New Rail Plans for Eastern Suburbs</strong><br /> Yonah Freemark<br /> April 17th, 2012 | Comments</p> <p><img src="http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Atlanta-2012-Update.jpg" /></p> <p><em>The Atlanta Region Commission (ARC) is already fighting to convince a skeptical electorate of the necessity of increasing the local sales tax to pay for transportation improvement projects — an issue that will be put before voters on July 31. The Transportation Investment Act (TIA) would raise the sales tax across regional counties by 1% over the course of 10 years. ARC’s announced list of priority investments would bring new rail and bus links throughout the region thanks to more than $8.5 billion expected to be raised (about half of which will go to roads projects). MARTA, the operator of urban bus services and the city’s metro rail line, would be the single greatest beneficiary of the funds thanks to line extensions and renovations of the existing network.<br /> </em><br /> READ MORE: <a href="http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/04/17/in-an-atlanta-desperate-for-more-transit-options-new-rail-plans-for-eastern-suburbs/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/04/17/in-an-atlanta-desperate-for-more-transit-options-new-rail-plans-for-eastern-suburbs/</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-422063 Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:25:36 +0000 News 422063@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>In the Atlanta Region, Disagreements about Investment Priorities Spur Discord Over a Planned Transit Tax</strong><br /> Yonah Freemark<br /> March 1st, 2012 | 7 Comments</p> <p><img src="http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MARTA.png" /></p> <p><em>Getting the residents of the 10-county Atlanta region to agree on anything was always going to be a difficult effort. The newest controversy about which projects to fund with a new sales tax there raises questions about what to do when a lot of money is available for transit — but there isn’t enough for every proposed project.<br /> </em></p> <p>READ MORE: <a href="http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/03/01/in-the-atlanta-region-disagreements-about-investment-priorities-spur-discord-over-a-planned-transit-tax/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/03/01/in-the-atlanta-region-disagreements-about-investment-priorities-spur-discord-over-a-planned-transit-tax/</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-346773 Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:06:06 +0000 Walker 346773@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>Can a New Streetcar Save Atlanta's MARTA?</strong><br /> Mary Jones | Dec 21st, 2010</p> <p><img src="http://americancity.org/images/buzz/marta.jpg" /></p> <p><em>The City of Atlanta recently received a $47 million grant from the federal government to install a streetcar network in its downtown area. Construction will begin in 2012 with service to begin sometime the following year. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)-run line will transport riders between the Midtown and Downtown areas and will connect some of Atlanta's most popular attractions, including the King Center, CNN and the Coca-Cola museum. Proponents of the project say it will create 930 jobs during construction and an additional 5,000 following the start of service.</em></p> <p>READ MORE: <a href="http://americancity.org/buzz/entry/2807/" rel="nofollow">http://americancity.org/buzz/entry/2807/</a> </p> http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/atlanta-streetcar-news#post-326135 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:24:50 +0000 Walker 326135@http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/ <p><strong>In Atlanta's TIGER Bid, Innovative Beltline Takes Backseat to Streetcar</strong><br /> by Angie Schmitt on August 24, 2010</p> <p><em>For years, the city of Atlanta has been developing ambitious plans to connect its radial transit lines with a circular "beltline." As envisioned, the $2.8 billion project would include 22 miles of light rail and recreational amenities, circling the central city, taking advantage of existing freight lines. For now, however, those plans are getting less attention from city leaders than a 2.6-mile streetcar line that would serve as an east-west connector for downtown.</em></p> <p>READ MORE: <a href="http://streetsblog.net/2010/08/24/in-atlantas-tiger-bid-innovative-beltline-takes-backseat-to-streetcar/" rel="nofollow">http://streetsblog.net/2010/08/24/in-atlantas-tiger-bid-innovative-beltline-takes-backseat-to-streetcar/</a></p> <p><img src="http://streetsblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2010_8_23/Atlanta_Streetcar.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>In Support of Atlanta’s Streetcar Proposal</strong><br /> by Angie Schmitt on August 25, 2010</p> <p><em>Yesterday, we featured a post from Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic about Atlanta's decision to put a streetcar project in line for federal TIGER funds before another local transit proposal known as the Beltline. Yonah argued that the Beltline -- a ring of recreational amenities and transit features that would circle the city -- was the more innovative of the two projects. He questioned whether the city would be able to move forward with such an ambitious idea while simultaneously pouring resources into a streetcar downtown.</em></p> <p><img src="http://streetsblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2010_8_23/AtlantaStreetcar5Budapest.jpg" /></p> <p>READ MORE: <a href="http://streetsblog.net/2010/08/25/in-support-of-atlantas-streetcar-proposal/" rel="nofollow">http://streetsblog.net/2010/08/25/in-support-of-atlantas-streetcar-proposal/</a> </p>