via The Raleigh Connoisseur

A Walk Around the Edison Block in Raleigh

By Leo Suarez | | No Comments
A worker looks out over a balcony at Skyhouse Raleigh. The flowers and leaves aren’t the only things that are growing in downtown Raleigh. I took a walk around the Edison block and snapped a few photos of the new and upcoming developments here. These include the apartment buildings of Skyhouse Raleigh, the Edison Apartments, […]

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • M-ART-A (Saporta Report)
  • NCDOT Awards Ten Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants (Stanley News & Press)
  • MARTA Hosts National “Stand Up for Transportation” Town Hall Thursday (Neighbor Newspaper)
  • Montgomery Hosts Two Day Transit Symposium for National Advocacy Day (Alabama Live)
  • Eight Out of Five Hundred Drivers Found Guilty of Three-Foot Rule in Florida (Bike Walk Lee)
  • Montgomery Bicycle Club Works to Shed Alabama’s Rep as an Awful Place to Bike (Roots Rated)
  • Vanilla Ice Accepts Plea Deal to Pay Estate and Perform Community Service For Bicycle Theft (AV Club)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Koch Brothers Behind Bill That Would Broaden BRT Ban in Nashville (PDA)
  • Tennessee GOP Justifies Guns in Park Bill Because Guns Are as Safe as Bikes (Nashville Post)
  • Tennessee Senator Pushes for Monorail as Railroad Resists Passenger Service (The Post)
  • Nashville Developers Bank on Desire for Intown Addresses (The Tennessean)
  • Over 12,000 Residents Review Nashville’s 25-Year Plan (The Tennessean)
  • CARTA Funding Needs Grow as Ridership Hits Milestone (The Post & Courier)
  • Anti-Tax Philosophy Bad For South Carolina Transportation (The Post & Courier)
  • Third Rail Studios to Develop Former GM Plant in Atlanta Suburb (Atlanta Business Journal)
  • Georgia Transportation Funding Bill Won’t Get You Out of Traffic (AJC)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • House Passes MARTA Freedom Bill Stripped of Provision to Raise MARTA Tax (AJC)
  • Beltline PPPs Pass Georgia Senate Last Night of Session (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
  • Five Key Points of Georgia Transportation Funding Bill (Mass Transit Mag)
  • Dekalb Voters Will Decide on Two New Cities in Atlanta Region (Creative Loafing)
  • MARTA Holds Public Hearings for Northern Expansion (Progressive Railroading)
  • Middle Tennessee Studies Transit Connection Between Nashville and Clarksville (Tennessean)
  • Volusia County Approves State Grants for 20 Miles of Regional Rail Trail (News Journal)
  • Coral Gables Police Increase Bike Safety Efforts to Attract New Riders (Coral Gable News)
  • Friday Is 100th Anniversary of Dixie Highway, Which Brought Paved Roads to South (Tallahassee Dem)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via The Raleigh Connoisseur

Construction Update, The L Building

By Leo Suarez | | No Comments
We haven’t looked at The L Building since the summer of 2014 and now this project is almost complete. The second floor offices appear to have tenants moving in and the sidewalks are being paved this week. The southwest corner of McDowell and Davie Street look very nice in my opinion. The building’s retail spaces […]

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Tri-Rail Service to Miami-Dade Airport Begins Sunday (Miami Herald)
  • Palm Beach County Mayors Promise to Make Streets Safer for Walking and Biking (Sun-Sentinel)
  • Indian River County Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging All-Aboard Florida Bonds (Palm Beach Post)
  • Georgia Transportation Bill Comes Up Short Overall (Creative Loafing, AJC)
  • Senate Passes MARTA Bill With Surprise Change to Allow For Sales Tax Increase (ATL Biz Chronicle)
  • Transit Could Solve Residents’ Traffic Concerns, If They Wouldn’t Oppose It (Connect Savannah)
  • Memphis Leaders Reverse Road Diet, Add Back Car Lanes on Riverside (Daily News)
  • Memphis Area Transit Authority Reveals Plans for Central Station (Daily News)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

A New Plaza in Place of a Broad Street Block

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
A new plaza in place of a Broad Street block, Downtown Atlanta In Downtown, the northernmost block of Broad Street is now closed to car traffic. The planters went up just this evening. It’s like Streets Alive every day! But just for one block. It will certainly make it easier to cross here as a pedestrian. I have to wonder if that “Do Not Enter” sign is needed, given the planters. The sign kinda gacks up an otherwise nice urban vista here. Broad Street is the prettiest street in the city in my highly biased opinion. The city plans to eventually turn this block into a plaza. I have mixed feelings — we have a *lot* of plazas nearby already and they aren’t all being used well. But it will be very interesting to see how this new car-free public space gets used. GSU student hangout? Office worker lunch zone? An extension of the Woodruff Park plaza that’s largely used by people experiencing homelessness? All of the above? I know that I for one will have my street hockey league sign-up sheet posted soon. BTW, those dumpsters in the background are for the renovation work happening at the Flatiron Building. Very excited about that project. My neighborhood is changing before my eyes! Streetcar; Renovated old buildings; Beautiful new GSU law school; New plaza. What next?

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • East Durham Group Proposes Floating Light-Rail Terminal Station (News & Observer)
  • Columbus Receives Knight Cities Challenge Grant to Remove All Car Lanes (Ledger-Enquirer)
  • Georgia Legislators Pass $900 Million Water Canal Funding Package (Miami-Herald)
  • Georgia General Assembly Budget Includes $75 Trillion for MARTA Line to Vidalia (WSAV)
  • Republicans Allow Controversial Use of Hotel Taxes for Pony Rides (AJC)
  • Tax Scandal Reveals Whale Sharks, Pandas, T-Rex Receive Big Breaks (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
  • Should Bikes Be Required to Move Over for Little Old Ladies Walking Toy Dogs? (News-Press)
  • Gulfport Library Plans Fish Exhibit (Sun Herald)
  • Uber Will Brings Oxen Wagons to Huntsville (Birmingham Business Journal)
  • Schwinn Releases Bicycle Made Out of Pecans (Stockhouse)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

Atlanta Streetcar Service to Remain Free Through End of 2015

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced at the Central Atlanta Progress meeting this week that rides on the Atlanta Streetcar will remain free through the end of 2015. The original plan was for pay service to start in April.This is a smart move. The streetcar is experiencing, from what I’ve seen, high ridership on weekends as it shuttles people between the King Historic District, Sweet Auburn Curb Market and Centennial Olympic Park. I think it’s good for the city to keep up that ridership for now, particularly in the face of challenges around the route — and challenges for streetcars in general.Foggy future for streetcar-expansion  fundingThis recent NY Times piece echoes something that’s been explored in several other recent news articles: the streetcar revival in US cities of recent years is taking a hit, mostly due to the expense of building the lines. Here’s a quote:Even the most ardent streetcar supporters acknowledge that the challenges are daunting, though they argue that the rewards far outweigh the costs in terms of the economic development and quality of life that make cities more livable and attractive.The completion of Atlanta’s streetcar is a stroke of luck for us. It may have just squeaked through during the tail end of a trend that saw significant political support for the economic benefits of these rail lines to cities. The thing I’m wondering: will be be able to get money for expanding our little 2.7 mile loop? Can we stretch this streetcar to the Beltline and beyond?With future funding prospects potentially diminished, thanks to the end of this trend of support, it’s increasingly important for city leaders to ensure that the economic impact of Atlanta’s streetcar is solid, far-reaching and apparent to all. The expense of expanding our short line will require incredible political will to undertake — meaning that a quantifiable return on that major investment is going to be essential. And it has to be *everywhere* on the route, not just in spots.Facing up to challenges on the Atlanta Streetcar routeOne of the major tests for Atlanta’s line is whether or not it can revive long-troubled Auburn Avenue. Doing so would fulfill the streetcar’s stated goals from the application for federal TIGER grant money — which funded half of the build out.As I’ve noted before, there is a lot of blight still on Auburn Avenue. At three of the stops on Auburn you can see plenty of empty spaces going unused except as occasional parking lots, abandoned buildings boarded up waiting for either use or demolition, and empty lots that are doing little but holding up billboards. And yet if you ask the city, you’ll hear that all is well — that the streetcar has produced hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. From the City of Atlanta website:"If you want to get a look at revitalization in the making, hop on the new Atlanta Street Car.  At every stop along the 2.7 mile route, you will see how over $300 million in development has infused new life in Atlanta’s historic neighborhoods." If the first step in solving a problem is admitting that one exists, the city is having trouble taking that first step. There may be $300 million in investment that’s gone into places elsewhere on the route — perhaps in the way of office tower upgrades or new GSU construction or events facilities — but seeing that money in action on Auburn Avenue, in the blocks just west of Martin Luther King Jr.’s final resting place and birth home, will mean true success. At least we’ll have free rides for now, and maybe some of those riders will help nudge property owners into a better land use that fills in Auburn Avenue blight with uses that are more appropriate for accompanying new street rail.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Light Rail, But No Subways, in Store for Nashville (Nashville Business Journal)
  • Two Memphis Council Members Oppose Bike Lanes as Part of Road Diet (WATN)
  • Can Chattanooga Diversify as It Densifies? (Rooflines)
  • North Carolina Legislators Approve Gas Tax Changes (WRAL)
  • Durham-Based Company Developing On-Demand Bus App (WRAL)
  • As Meridian Restores Transit Service, Plan in Place to Expand (WTOK)
  • Pascagoula Pushes to Be Designated “Bicycle-Friendly” (Gulf Live)
  • Florida Police Ramp Up Ticketing at Rail Crossings (WFTV)
  • Meet the Man on a Mission to Make Florida Walkable and Bikeable (Streetsblog USA)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

Atlanta’s Retro 80s Downtown Finds a Future in Movies

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
I though this was a pretty fascinating article in The Atlantic:How 1980s Atlanta Became the Backdrop for the Future: The Southern capital has set the scene for dystopian thrillers such as Divergent and The Walking Dead, most notably via buildings designed by the architect John Portman.John Portman designed many of the buildings of downtown’s Peachtree Center such as the massive Marriott Marquis hotel, the Peachtree Westin, the Hyatt Regency, and several nearby office buildings. These structures make for a marvelous skyline, particularly when viewed from the Jackson Street Bridge (the Portman ones are on the right side of this skyline view):But their blank street-level walls and their focus on interior usage, via malls and elevated ‘gerbil tube’ pedestrian tunnels, create dead spaces on the outside. This style of construction may have been a good match for the suburban car commuters of the 1980s, but it leaves a lot to be desired for believers in more modern ideas of good urbanism. The “Portman Zone,” as I call it, is not something that generates lively sidewalk activity. It’s more of a place that you experience on the inside of the buildings, avoiding sidewalks by way of the many sky bridges. It’s kind of fitting that location scouts would look at this outdated development style and find it to look like a harsh, sterile, dystopian future world in movies like Hunger Games and Divergent. The area has been vexing pedestrians for decades, giving people who expect a vibrant set of streets a set of empty ones instead. As the article notes:Portman has faced choruses of critics over the years, many of whom say his insular structures “turn their backs” on the true vibrancy and community of city life.This zone takes up a large amount of space in Downtown Atlanta. For a modern urbanist like me, they can be hard to love — but I try to embrace them on a retro level. They really do tell a story about the way we though about cities in the 1980s. And I think you could put together a decent pub crawl of hotel bars using the pedestrian sky bridges. Photos by me

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • SC DOT Commissioner Attacks Environmentalists’ Ability to Challenge Projects (The State)
  • Beltline Bill to Allow PPPs Passes Georgia House (AJC)
  • Transpo Funding Questions Remain as GA Legislative Session Wraps (WJXT)
  • Doral Developers Bank on Mixed-Use Projects and Walkability for City’s Future (Miami Herald)
  • With Reckless Drivers Under Control, Florida DOT Focuses on “Distracted Walking” (Sun-Sentinel)
  • Opponents Say Miami to Naples Greenway Threatens the Everglades (Newsweek)
  • After Pedestrian Deaths, Corolla, NC, Residents Push for Highway Bike-Ped Path (Pilot Online)
  • Meridian Transit Service Begins Today Thanks to Partnership with Choctaw Tribe (WTOK)
  • Inaugural Alabama Bicycle Summit Promotes Bike Tourism (Montgomery Advertiser)
  • At 87, Life-Long Advocate Says Viable Transit Service Is Alabama’s Moral Obligation (AL.Com)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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