via MARTA Rocks!

Saved By The Bell Building

By theatlplanner | | No Comments
I love a good historical relic, but having a purpose for it is even better. So, I’m not too happy with my Alma matter Georgia State University. It isn’t the school I remember going to, and it certainly isn’t heading in the direction of a truly “urban campus” like I had originally imagined before attending. […]

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Investments in Car-Free Transport Paying Off for Carrboro (City Beautiful 21)
  • Drop in Charlotte Transit Ridership Blamed on Lower Gas Prices (WECT)
  • Tennessee: You Can Not Build Your Way Out of Traffic (Tennessean)
  • Georgia DOT to Fund $42 Million Worth of Projects for Braves Stadium (MDJ)
  • Atlanta Hires Full-Time Urban Agriculture Director to Combat Food Deserts (Atl Biz Chronicle)
  • As a Delta City, NOLA Should Look More Like Amsterdam (CityLab)
  • New Orleans Ferries Extend Operating Hours for Four-Month Trial (WWL TV)
  • St. Charles Streetcar Returns to Full Service Sunday (WGNO)
  • Sigh. Martin and Indian River Challenge All Aboard Bonds (Bond Buyer)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Nashville Considers BRT as a Cheaper Solution to Traffic Woes (Nashville Biz Journal)
  • NOLA Needs Truly Regional Transit and Reliable Funding (Century Foundation)
  • Norfolk Southern Rolls Out Fleet of Eco-Locomotives in Atlanta (AJC)
  • City of Columbus to Buy New Buses, Extends Service Hours (WLTZ)
  • UGA Adds Bus Service to Farmers Market to Complement Athens Sunday Service (Flagpole)
  • All Aboard Closes on Final Two Acres of Land for Miami Development (Miami Today)
  • Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, and Fort Myers Join U.S. DOT Complete Streets Challenge (Florida Weekly)
  • Louisville Lifts Ban on Multifamily Units, Incentivizes Affordable Housing (Insider Louisville)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

Wasted Potential for Walkable Growth in Chamblee, GA

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
I’m not a regular Whole Paycheck shopper, but I was happy to read earlier this year that a Whole Foods-anchored shopping center was going up in Chamblee not far from their MARTA rail station. This is a little city with great potential for being a walkable place, much like Decatur which also lies on the immediate outskirts of the City of Atlanta.  But the newly-released renderings for the project are just sad. Take a look at this one: It’s obvious that all the entrances to stores (including good lcoal ones like Octane Coffee) are going to be focused inward toward a large surface parking lot. Look at the ridiculous image of people walking into this shopping center along a sidewalk that provides no buffer between pedestrians and cars. No one’s going to be walking here and that’s a shame.Family Friendly Cities blogger Bradley Calvert replied to my tweet about this project with a marked-up image highlighting everything in the rendering that shows a lack of regard for the true needs of pedestrians, including curbs walls and signage that are all designed at a scale for car drivers:The Atlanta Business Chronicle has the story on the project (which includes more renderings), and points out its proximity to a transit line that seems to be seeing a lot of new development nearby: Known as Peachtree Crossing, the project is taking shape…on what’s become an active stretch of Peachtree lined by MARTA’s Gold line. The area includes cities such as Chamblee just north of Atlanta’s tallest office and residential towers.What a shame that the train station, with its potential for spurring walkable growth here, was not enough to convince developers to design (and local government to demand) a form that would allow for safe, comfortable entry by pedestrians and cyclists. Grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants are the kinds of everyday urban amenities that can and should be reachable on foot and on bike just as easily as they can by car. And as I’ve noted before, I’m not making an anti-car argument with these complaints. I’m pointing out the way that convenience for cars is the dominant factor, by far, in many decisions we make about our built environment. That dominance squashed the potential we have to create a better balance in mobility, particularly in spot like this where a significant investment has been made in heavy rail transit.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • FRA Partners With NCDOT to Create Passenger Rail Vision for Southeast (Progressive Railroading)
  • CCT Rebranding Proposal Splits System Into Five Separate Services (MDJ)
  • Local Couple Offers For-Hire Bus Service in Transit-Deprived Forsyth, Georgia (WABE)
  • Memphis Transit Creates New Service to Attract Employers (Commercial Appeal)
  • Mississippi DOT Awards Nearly $1 Million in Transit Grants (WDAM)
  • Tri-Rail Ban on Smoking, E-Cigarettes Begins October 1 (Sun Sentinel)
  • Better! Cities & Towns Looks at How Katrina Cottages Became Walkable Development
  • Before “New Urbanism,” There Were Towns (Granola Shotgun)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Advocates Push for Amtrak Service to Be Restored 10 Years After Katrina (The Hill)
  • Intra-City Passenger Rail in Florida: It’s Happening (Sun Sentinel)
  • Atlanta Streetcar to Begin Accepting Breeze Cards (Saporta Report)
  • Tennessee Must Raise the Gas Tax Because Congress Has Been “Irresponsible” (Tennessean)
  • Clarksville City Council to Hear Update on Northwest Corridor Transit Study (Leaf-Chronicle)
  • Departing Lynx CEO: Orlando Needs to Get Serious About Transit (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Urban Edge Speaks With Sociologist on How Katrina Affected NOLA Demographics
  • CityLab Takes a Look at History of Public Housing in NOLA, Through Music Videos

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Charlotte City Council Initiates Bid to Changes Zoning Process, Code (Charlotte Observer)
  • Will Charlotte’s Streetcar Ridership Booming Success Push Forward Expansion? (Charlotte Biz Journal)
  • Catawba MPO Receives Federal Funding for Bike Lanes Project (Salisbury Post)
  • Tallahassee Uses Smart Growth to Become the Urban Area the Region Wants (WFSU)
  • WGNO Takes a Look at RTA’s $31 Million Recovery After Katrina
  • Atlanta’s Traffic Woes Stem From Poor Planning (WABE)
  • GRTA Partners With RouteMatch to Provide Real Time Information (Mass Transit)
  • Atlanta Streetcar Names Interim Chief While Searching for Permanent Leader (Atl Biz Chronicle)
  • And Your Headline Curator’s Namesake Cobb Community Transit Talks Rebranding (MDJ)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Atlanta and Miami Tie For Twelfth on Worst Commutes in America (Atl Biz Journal)
  • MARTA Says Agency Will Add Seven Bike Repair Stations (Neighbor Newspapers)
  • Megabus Holds Contest to Name Georgia Service (AJC)
  • Gwinnett Residents Move Forward With Transit Conversation (AJC)
  • The Marietta Daily Journal Tells the Tale of Two Stadiums
  • Houston Should Be Looking to Atlanta on How to Build Parks (Next City)
  • Southeast Alabama Rural Planning Organization Holds Public Meeting to Discuss Transit Needs (Sun)
  • CityLab Explores the Impossibility of Knowing Where Katrina Survivors Landed After Evacuation

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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