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Why the Beltline Transit Plan Is So Important

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Rail transit along the Atlanta Beltline path – and along many streets inside the loop – could soon be an official part of the city’s comprehensive transportation plan. A recent piece in the Saporta Report has the story: Atlanta poised to adopt $3.65 billion transit plan for Beltline, Streetcar.Atlanta’s $3.65 billion proposal for transit along the Atlanta Beltline and Atlanta Streetcar could soon be adopted into the city’s comprehensive transportation plan…the Beltline/Streetcar plan is envisioned as a 63-mile system priced at $3.65 billion, without including the cost of the existing Atlanta Streetcar system. The financial importance of putting these rail routes on the record as part of a city plan is indisputable – doing so puts the transit part of the Beltline into the  multi-layered process for funding application; without being in this process, it couldn’t be eligible for public dollars from the federal DOT and other avenues.But stepping back to look at the project as a whole, what is the importance of including rail transit at all in the Beltline transportation plan? Does it even need transit?Why a pedestrian/bicycle path isn’t enough when it comes to Beltline transportationSomething that has crossed my mind before, and I’ve seen others mention it in online comments here and there, is the question of why transit is even needed on the Beltline. The northeast trail is packed on weekends with people jogging and cycling and strolling. Restaurants are doing booming business nearby and apartments are popping up like weeds. Isn’t that success enough? Can’t we just save ourselves some money and let this remain as a path and series of parks?When I think about the issue long enough, I always come to the conclusion that the transit component is absolutely necessary and that, in the long term, we can’t let ourselves be satisfied with the Beltline’s current state a popular recreation trail (and, for some, a bicycle-commuting route). Ryan Gravel, who wrote the master’s thesis that was the foundation for the Beltline project, has a section on his blog that addresses the two main reasons that transit is an important piece of the plan. The first reason is equity; we need to make sure that everyone can benefit from the transportation aspects of the Beltline, at all times. If it ends up a route for only physically-able cyclists in good weather, then its service in respect to mobility is limited. Gravel writes: “Winter cold, summer humidity, pouring rain, driving snow, the dark of night, visual impairment, physical disability, physical injury, chronic pain, heavy or cumbersome loads, travel time, and long distances are all good reasons that we need transit service.”The second is volume. Atlanta’s current population is well below its peak in 1970, and market trends, population growth, and the constant shift of jobs from rural to urban areas all point to the probability of the city’s residential base growing considerably. With so many new apartments popping up around the project, the importance of having transit to carry large numbers of people is clear. As Gravel notes, “the need for the Atlanta Beltline to accommodate even greater volumes of people will become increasingly urgent. Only transit within a dedicated right-of-way can reliably and inclusively provide this service.”“Inclusively” is a good word here. Atlanta deserves a Beltline that is truly inclusive in its service to the city’s transportation needs. Rail transit will accomplish that in a way that a recreational path & bicycle-commuting route cannot.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Today: Atlanta City Council Expected to Approve Streetcar/Beltline Plan (Saporta Report)
  • Raleigh Council Votes Down Bike-Share, City Cautious of State Nixing Road Diets (Public Record)
  • Light Rail Could Solve Raleigh’s Traffic Woes (WJCL)
  • Mooresville Hosts Conference to Promote Hydrogen-Powered Rail Transportation (Charlotte Observer)
  • Impasse Between Lakeland Transit District and Florida Disability Group Means End of Free Rides (Ledger)
  • All Aboard Plans Student Rates, Shuttle to UCF to Attract Students (Palm Beach Post)
  • Port Canaveral Commission to Consider Orlando Maglev Route Study (Florida Today)
  • All Aboard Receives Bond Sale Extension From U.S. DOT (Palm Beach Post)
  • Should Atlanta Follow the Pope’s Request for Morally Driven Development? (AJC)
  • Ryan Gravel, Prime Mover Behind Beltline, Shares Atlanta Insights (CL)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

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  • NC Senate Approves Bill to Give City Tax Revenues to Rural Counties (Citizen-Times)
  • Charlotte Area Planner: “There Is No Highway Wide Enough” (Plan Charlotte)
  • Debate Over Charlotte Streetcar Funding Continues as Planning Moves Forward (Biz Journal)
  • Georgia Piedmont Technical College Receives Grant for Transit Maintenance Training Center (The News)
  • Transpo Professor at Nashville Summit: You’ve Got a Lot of Work Ahead (Nashville Biz Journal)
  • Aiken Planning Commission to Reconsider Sharrows for Short Stretch of Road (Aiken Standard)
  • All Aboard Revenue Study Indicates Ridership Boon With Tourist, Student Packages (Palm Beach Post)
  • Poll Finds Floridians Eager to Trade Driving for AAF Tickets (My Palm Beach)
  • NOLA Streetcar Expansion Already Getting People Out of Their Cars (WWLTV)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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Report: Transit-Rich, Walkable Parts of Atlanta Are Attracting Company Relocations

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
A new report from Smart Growth America charts what companies have been expanding in & relocating to “downtown” areas in the last few years across the US (downtown is defined very broadly here as walkable city centers). According to their data, Atlanta seems to be doing pretty well, attracting several relocations to the city near MARTA stations.(I’ll note that, in addition to the intown moves of companies like NCR Corp., WorldPay and Kaiser Permanente, there are some good things happening regionally in Atlanta; namely, State Farm building a huge new campus near a MARTA rail station just north of the city). Many of the companies in the national study were relocating to downtown areas from suburban campuses. Locally, we’ve got several high-profile examples of that happening. There’s an interactive map on the SGA website with the movements, and I’ve captured some of the Atlanta info below in a couple of images. This first one shows a few companies – in purple – moving to Midtown and Downtown from suburban campuses. The yellow dot is an expansion. Notice how close these are to MARTA rail stations, giving commuters an option for transit that they may not have in the suburbs, where 1990s job sprawl saw many drive-to jobs centers spread all around the metro.And here’s a look at activity in Buckhead, where a couple of relocations have happened. This area also lost one (in red), with Teavana moving to downtown Seattle. The report also includes a chart of select relocations that have seen a major upgrade in walk scores. Here are a few examples of companies that have relocated to intown Atlanta spots where their employees are now in much more walkable places. These people can now walk out to lunch and walk in from transit stations much more easily.The report includes a quote from Mike Hurst, Regional Development Coordinator of the SunTrust Bank in downtown Atlanta, that describes how beneficial it can be for companies to be located in proximity to each other instead of spread out in far-flung suburban campuses. He says: “In a city as large as Atlanta it’s important for us to be accessible to our clients, and being downtown puts us near other large businesses where we have significant relationships.”The report notes that the methodology is not scientific – SGA pulled relocation news items from trade journals and industry sources. This info is meant to highlight so good activity taking places in the centers of US cities. My hope is that, with these companies embracing intown Atlanta neighborhoods that are walkable and well-served by transit, we will also see a big boost in residential density in these places. The city’s population growth has been slow in comparison to that of the overall region. While it’s good to have this office activity, a healthy growth will include people living here. If the overall metro sees it’s residency continuing so largely in the pattern of car-centric suburban sprawl, then we’re only making partial strides in good urbanism with these company relocations.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • Business Leaders of Atlanta Lead the Debate Over Transit in Cobb County …
  • … While Chatham County Businesses Demand New Bus Routes
  • Taxpayers Must Fund New Road Because Tyler Perry Will Close Off Fort Mac (Atl Biz Journal)
  • Cobb BRT Infighting Continues While Resident Complains to Feds Over Funding (MDJ)
  • Durham Ghost Bikes Being Removed After Someone Complained That They’re Tacky (Indy Week)
  • Charlotte City Council Votes Monday on Budget for Streetcar Expansion Design (Charlotte Observer)
  • Car2GO Plans Nashville Expansion (Tennessean)
  • Congressman Posey: All Aboard Florida Concerns Should Delay Construction (Florida Today)
  • Last-Mile Connectivity Will Be Key to All Aboard Florida Success (Palm Beach Post)
  • Fine for Hitting a Pedestrian in Sarasota: $78 (Huffington Post)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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While U.S. Sprawl Generally Peaked Around 1994, Atlanta Kept Spreading Out

By ATL Urbanist | | No Comments
“A century of sprawl in the United States” is the title of a new study on urban sprawl from a professor at McGill University in Montreal.It measures the sprawling urban developments of 20th-century America, noting the way that this sprawl “exacerbates climate change, energy and material consumption, and public health challenges.” The measurement was done by way of analyzing the growth of street networks. “The urban street network is one of the most permanent features of cities. Once laid down, the pattern of streets determines urban form and the level of sprawl for decades to come.”Measuring street network growth from 1920 to 2012, the researchers found that when sprawl is defined strictly by street connectivity (regardless of density, architecture and other features of urban environment), it turns out that this growth pattern actually started before the ubiquity of car ownership. It then continued steadily until the mid-1990s, when it peaked nationally around 1994. Where Atlanta fits in to the story: a sprawling over-achieverBut when it comes to the Atlanta region, that mid-1990s peak doesn’t apply. A reporter with Atlanta’s WSB got a fascinating quote from from Christopher Barrington-Leigh, co-author of the study. He says: “According to our data, Atlanta not only has a lot of catching up to do but has been slow to turn that corner.”Take a look at this image from the report, below. It shows Atlanta’s street connectivity pattern as compared to that of Austin, TX. (See a larger version here.)Those blue areas have streets with better connections, while the red areas are sprawl hell. The Atlanta region, in this regard, is fairly hellish, with it’s outer areas marred by a lack of street connections (think cul-de-sacs, subdivisions, and long stretches of arterial roads with no intersections). This is a “hard to densify” area because, with low connectivity for streets, how can you build places that accommodate pedestrian-focused compact development? This is a pattern made for cars.The study documents include a ranking of the 50 largest US metropolitan areas that grew in the most sprawling manner from 1991-2013. Here are the top three sprawlers from that list:1.) Greenville, SC2.) Greensboro, NC3.) Atlanta, GAThese are the regions that expanded with the lowest amount of road connectivity. Transportation within that growth style is tailor made for long, winding car trips, while leaving safe and convenient pedestrian connections out of the picture. Where did we go wrong while others did right?So what did Atlanta (and these other sunbelt metros) do wrong during this period that many US cities did right when it comes to curbing sprawl? Why did most US metros start to grow in a more connected way during the 1990s (give or take) while Atlanta continued to boom in the car-centric pattern? It’s all about leadership. As the report says: “Local government policies impact sprawl, as the largest increases in connectivity [meaning the opposite of sprawl] have occurred in places with policies to promote gridded streets and similar New Urbanist design principles.”That’s what we need. Let’s get some of that. 

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • NashvilleNext Regional Plan Likely to Be Adopted Next Week (Tennessean)
  • Falcons Owner Asks Atlanta to Believe In the Neighborhood Where He’s Building His Stadium (Saporta)
  • MARTA and Georgia Commute Options Bring “Dump the Pump Day” to Atlanta (CBS Atlanta)
  • Georgia Fools Atlanta Into Accepting Managed Lanes Project as Transit (Saporta Report)
  • Cobb Chairman Commits to Holding Referendum on BRT Project (MDJ)
  • CAT Will Once Again Attempt to Spread Transit Services Throughout Chatham County (Savannah Now)
  • AAF Will Announce Award of Construction Management Contract by Month’s End (Orlando Biz Journal)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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Atlanta Region Could Get Managed Lanes for Commuter Bus Lines

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Atlanta region could get 52 miles of managed lanes for commuter bus linesA good article in the Saporta Report this week takes a look at a bold plan to  help commuters get to their jobs around metro Atlanta via public transit. Read it here. In a nutshell: pending approval by the GRTA (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority) board later this year, the state will add 52 miles of managed lanes to interstates around the Atlanta region in order to serve commuter bus lines.The need for region-wide improvement on access to public transit, particularly when it comes to commuting, is well established. A Brookings study from recent years ranked Atlanta #87 out of the 100 largest US metros when it comes to transit access to jobs. Considering this, the managed-lane plan is very welcome news. And while I applaud the plan, I’ll also point out that this is not something that will, in itself, be likely to take a great number of cars off of suburban roads during rush hour, due to the fact that most riders will still be driving on those arterial and side roads in order to get to and from the bus. Here’s a quote from the article that exemplifies the kind of challenges faced when planning transit in areas that are so largely car-dependent. “This is a critical project for GRTA,” [GRTA executive director Chris Tomlinson] said. “We’re working with access points to the managed lanes, ensuring that park and ride lots are in the right places, or if we need additional park and rides.”Once people park those cars, there will be fewer solo drivers on the interstate and that in itself is very beneficial. But in the long run, the region needs to consider the sustainability of park-and-ride transit use given population growth. It’s an issue that also pops up this week in regard to suburban Cobb County’s plans for building a new Bus Rapid Transit service. Read about that in this Marietta Daily Journal piece. A quote from there shows the problem with park-and-ride service in suburbs already dealing with surface road congestion: “I can’t detect hardly any support for it in my district. Rank-and-file voters don’t see how it will make their quality of life any better,” [State Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-west Cobb)] told Around Town. Congestion on county roads is so bad that merely getting to the transit points poses the bigger problem, he said.“The issue we have is getting to where the transit would be,” Tippins said. “If I can get to I-75 at Windy Hill Road, I can get to downtown Atlanta with no problem, but getting to Windy Hill Road is the challenge.”This all points to the difficulty with efficiently serving car-centric sprawl with public transportation. BRT and managed lanes for commuter buses are both good ideas for now, and I hope they pan out. In the end, though, the best idea will be to combine these new bus routes with a plan for walkable infill development – the kind that would eliminate such a major reliance on park-and-ride service.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | | No Comments
  • NC Lawmakers Set to Vote on Giving State Veto Power Over Local Bike Lanes (NC Policy Watch)
  • Alabama Towns Looking to Rescind Safety Regulations to Appease Uber (News Courier)
  • With Transit Taking a Back Seat, Tampa Transportation Tax Measure Gains Support (Next City)
  • SunRail Claims Bike Paths Aren’t Compatible Along Rail Line (Orlando Sentinel)
  • Next Two Years of Transportation Policy in Georgia Could Drive the Next 50 (Saporta Report)
  • Smyrna City Council Approves Bike-Share Pilot in City Budget (MDJ)
  • Anti-Transit Officials Want to Force Referendum to Kill Cobb County BRT (MDJ)
  • Nashville Region Holds Transportation Summit (Tennessean)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

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