Atlanta on Tuesday took another step toward improving the environment just west of the future Falcons stadium in the Proctor Creek basin.
The gist of the plan is to restore the land’s ability to handle stormwater runoff along a portion of Joseph E. Boone. In addtion, the street will be narrowed and bicycle and turn lanes will be installed.
The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to allocate up to $387,747 for the project. The money will match an anticipated grant from the ...more
An uptick in the sale of new vehicles that’s been linked to lower gas prices spells more trouble for state road funding.
Georgia’s collection of motor fuel taxes fell by 2 percent in the last three months of 2014. Revenues from tag, title, and fees rose by 2.7 percent during that period, according to a tabulation of monthly reports from the Georgia Department of Revenue.
If the trend continues, an ever-increasing number of new, fuel efficient vehicles will be on the road ...more
Gov. Nathan Deal sought Wednesday to cast a hopeful tone over the future of transportation. The current reality is grim. For starters, starting June 1, Georgia is facing a $367.2 million shortfall in necessary federal transportation funds in the
“We are currently operating at a rate that requires over 50 years to resurface every state road in Georgia. If your road is paved when you graduate high school, by the time it is paved again you will be eligible for Social ...more
By David Pendered
Forsyth County is quietly going about its business of building $200 million of road projects, and on Thursday commissioners discussed plans for new interchange at Ga. 400.
To keep this sum in perspective, Atlanta voters on March 15 will have a chance to cast their ballots on a proposed $252 million bond issue to improve transportation and city buildings.
In addition, Forsyth County on Monday received the highest credit rating possible from Moody’s Investors Service for an upcoming bond issue ...more
Georgia lawmakers should be mindful of the state’s tourism industry as they deliberate proposed religious freedom bills, leaders of the state’s hospitality industry told a House panel Tuesday.
But with supporters rallying in the Capitol’s Rotunda and then spilling to the ceremonial front door Atlanta City Hall, the proposals already have a lot of momentum. A Republican committee member indicated advocates won’t go quietly into the night.
“We hear this a lot – ‘You guys shouldn’t do that because it will ...more
The first segment of the PATH400 trail is officially open, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony that recognized an historic city-state agreement to create green space in Buckhead.
Eventually, the trail will wind beneath and alongside Ga. 400 because the Georgia Department of Transportation granted unprecedented access to unused right of way. The trail will begin near a cemetery and is to connect near Piedmont Hospital with the Atlanta BeltLine.
The wind chill took temperatures to 24 degrees at the ribbon cutting of ...more
The Georgia Legislature’s new report on transportation funding recognizes the need to improve the state’s freight handling systems, but goes into little detail.
The report does observe that freight must be accommodated. The report does not note that up to $20 billion is needed to improve roads and rail for the exclusive purpose of moving freight on rails and roads, according to a consultant’s report released in 2011 by the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The new report created by the Legislature’s joint ...more
The Georgia Legislature’s committee report on transportation funding does not appear to acknowledge the one financing method being employed to ease two major bottlenecks in metro Atlanta.
The words, “public private partnership,” seem to appear nowhere in 12 potential solutions named in the report. It’s as if the P3 approach that’s successfully underway in the Northwest Corridor, and planned for the I-285/Ga. 400 area, didn’t warrant mention in the final report.
That said, P3 is still at the top-of-mind at the Georgia ...more
Just minutes after he was named GRTA’s executive director, Chris Tomlinson was busy Wednesday talking about potential synergy between GRTA and the state agency that oversees managed lanes.
“We’ll roll out incentives to get more people to take advantage of transit,” Tomlinson said. “We hope to shift people out of vehicles, especially at the peaks, and take advantage of what transit providers already are doing.”
This outlook, of merging two state agencies that oversee alternate modes of transit, evidently is what Gov. ...more
MARTA’s latest contract negotiation with its labor union could help MARTA curb its personnel costs by reducing absenteeism and the overtime costs it creates.
Absent workers represent one of the main categories where MARTA could cut costs, according to the management audit conducted in 2012 by the consulting firm KPMG. MARTA covers for absent workers by approving overtime pay for their replacements.
KPMG recommended MARTA implement programs to ensure employees show up for work. MARTA followed the recommendation in the first contract ...more
