Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • MARTA’s Keith Parker Wins APTA Outstanding Manager Award (AJC)
  • Tourists Are Headed to Atlanta and They Plan to Take MARTA (ATL Urbanist)
  • Sunday Athens Bus Service Hasn’t Started Yet But It’s Already on Probation (Banner-Herald)
  • Expressway Authority Uses Tolls to Give Pay Raises, Considers Transit Funding (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board: Transit Needs Dedicated Funding, But Not From Tolls
  • Affordable Housing Bill Advances in Nashville Metro Council (Tennessean)
  • Two Maps Show Effects of Gentrification, Economic Inequity in Charlotte (Charlotte Observer)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Plan Charlotte: How the Just-Completed I-485 Belt Triggered Decades of Unchecked Sprawl
  • CATS Looks to Pair HOV Lanes With Streetcar on Traffic-Choked Stroad (Charlotte Observer)
  • Parking Regs Would Require Bike Racks at New Developments in Forsyth County (Winston-Salem Journal)
  • Tampa Looks to Miami’s Issues as It Considers Its Own HOT Lanes (Tampa Tribune)
  • Atlanta Council Member Proposes MARTA-Served Recreational Hub (Atlanta InTown)
  • Georgia Courts to Decide If KKK Should Be Allowed to Adopt a Highway (AJC)
  • The Saddest Amtrak Stations in America, Featuring Stops in Georgia and Tennessee (CityLab)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

The Tourists Are Coming and They Want Our Trains

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
The tourists are coming and they want our trainsThe Travel Pulse website has some interesting info on transit usage from a new survey. About 89 million Americans are planning to use public transit at their domestic-travel destinations this year – a whopping 24 percent increase over the numbers for 2014. Here’s a quote:According to the American Public Transportation Association’s annual “Travel Like a Local” Summer Travel Survey, more than half (57 percent) of the more than 156 million Americans expected to visit a U.S. city this summer plan to utilize public transportation at one time or another.But the most interesting part is the destinations those travelers have chosen. The survey reports that the most popular U.S. cities for summer vacation this year are:1. New York2. Chicago3. Los Angeles 4. Atlanta 5. Las VegasWe beat Las Vegas? Look at us! The tourists are coming, Atlanta, and they want to ride MARTA. With our public transit system being such an important part of our economy, influencing job relocations and vacation decisions (with all of the economic activity that brings), how is it that we still lack state support for MARTA operations? Follow the money, state leaders. It’s time to support the transit system that supports your economy.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Tampa Bike-Share Boasts 10K Members in Seven Months, Plans Expansions (Tampa Tribune)
  • Florida Hospital Joins Orlando Juice Bike-Share Program (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Bicycle Funding in Florida Budget Is Something Everyone Can Agree On (Orlando Sentinel)
  • All Aboard Selects SunRail Construction Manager for Orlando Airport Connection (Biz Journal)
  • Georgia DOT Program Incentivizes Alternatives to Driving Alone in Atlanta (WABE)
  • MGM Considers Mega-Casino Project in Downtown Atlanta (Atlanta Curbed)
  • Curbed Atlanta Asks Readers How Empty Office Building Should Be Redeveloped

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Locals Fear Mayor Kasim Reed Is Rushing Deals for Turner Field Redevelopment (Saporta Report)
  • Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez: Toll Moneys Belong in Drivers’ Pockets, Not in Transit Budget (Herald)
  • South Florida Regional Transportation Authority Approves Boca Transit Study (Sun Sentinel)
  • Central Florida Pushes for Toll Revenue for SunRail and Lynx (Orlando Sentinel)
  • New GoTriangle CEO Advocates for Transit Funding and Expansion (Triangle Biz Journal)
  • Macon-Bibb Transit Authority Considering Proterra Electric Buses (WMGT)
  • MARTA Wants to Incorporate More Minority Businesses Into Contracts (Railway Age)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • MARTA Launches Farmers Market Pilot Program at West End Station (Atlanta Magazine)
  • All Aboard Florida Will Create Jobs While Taking Cars Off the Road (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Why Rail Travel Is The Future For South Florida (Palm Beach Post)
  • Jacksonville: Vibrant City Streets Bring Back Young Folks and Propel City Success
  • Among Bills Going Into Effect Last Week Was $25 Million For Bike/Ped Trails (Miami New Times)
  • Major Highway With No Pedestrian Crossing to Water Park “a Real Challenge” in Florida (Destin Log)
  • Foley to Build Pedestrian Bridge Across US 59 to Sports Complex (Alabama Live)
  • Raleigh Updating City Bicycle Plan (News & Observer)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • The Failure to Expand MARTA Is Atlanta’s “Mother of All Mistakes” (Atlanta Magazine)
  • Georgia DOT Considers “Innovative” Solutions for Downtown Connector – Except Transit (Atl Biz Journal)
  • MARTA to Hire 53 Bus Drivers to Meet Service Expansion Needs (Atl Biz Journal)
  • Florida Cycling Camp Helps Empower Riders With Disabilities (Sun Sentinel)
  • Orlando Mayor: Time to Talk About Toll Revenue for Transit Services (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Tri-Rail to Begin Free Shuttle to Palm Beach Airport This Fall (Sun Sentinel)
  • Charlotte Light Rail Extension Enters Home Stretch as Monumental Bridge Is Built (WCNC)
  • Costs Too High to Operate SunRail on Fourth of July (WESH)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via ATL Urbanist

Cost of Driving a Car Goes Up in Georgia

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
Unless you operate a non-motorized car like Fred (which may not be street legal), the cost of driving goes up today in Georgia.Drivers should expect about a 7 cent increase per gallon at the pump thanks to a new gas-tax set up – it’s part of an effort by the state to raise hundreds of millions of dollars per year to help fill the ailing coffers of transportation funds.  One study, earlier this year, found Georgia’s transportation funding gap to be in the billions of dollars.And drivers of electric cars are not immune. The state has done away with its popular $5,000 EV incentive, and now will actually charge a $200 annual fee for EV owners. (Speaking of…a sobering new study found that Atlanta is one many places in the US where EVs currently cause more pollution than gas-powered cars due to a lack of clean energy production.)Additionally, if you live in Atlanta, you’ll pay a higher price for settling traffic tickets out of court. It’s part of Mayor Reed’s effort to raise an extra $7 million in 2016 for the city through traffic fines.In related news, there is no increase in MARTA fare this year. Yay, me! I wish more people in the Atlanta region had the opportunity to commute via transit like I do, but our car-centric environment doesn’t allow it. It’s fair that driving should cost more so that we recoup at least part of the public costs we all pay for that sprawling development style, but I hope leaders are also thinking in terms of building new urban growth in a better pattern so that future generations don’t get saddled with the same problems.A recent analysis concluded that sprawl costs the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion every year. That price tag comes from a combination of higher-priced public services for spread-out home and businesses, plus the various costs of transportation-related energy consumption including air pollution, traffic congestion and more. These new, higher costs for driving will be a drop in the bucket toward correcting that damage, but you have to start somewhere.
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