Florida is bracing for a slowdown in the film industry because the state Legislature voted in June to stop funding tax incentives. Georgia is winning some of the business, and the shift underscores Gov. Nathan Deal’s trade mission to Hollywood in May, and to England in January.
“Ride Along 2″ filmed scenes in Atlanta after shortening its stay in Florida because that state stopped funding incentives for the film industry, according to a published report. Credit: projectcasting.com
Florida started its incentive ...more
Priced at about $1 billion, the reconstruction of the interchange of I-285 and Ga. 400 is to cost almost a third of some estimates for building the $3.6 billion transit system envisioned for the Atlanta Streetcar and Atlanta BeltLine.
Placing those two figures side-by-side illustrates the enormous sums of money contemplated to maintain, if not improve, mobility in and around the city of Atlanta.
Atlanta’s planned transit systems are unfunded, for the most part. They’re intended to serve the city’s growing population, ...more
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is predicting in a draft report that climate change will eliminate habitat for some species by 2050, even as man-made “sprawl zones” create tremendous challenges for other critters and plants.
The DNR can hardly be described as reactionary or left-leaning. The department has a history of granting considerable leeway to property owners. That’s one reason the predictions contained in the proposed “State Wildlife Action Plan” can be viewed as alarming.
The report DNR is completing is ...more
In a new approach to road construction in Georgia, the state is adding 52 miles of managed lanes in metro Atlanta with the intention of using them to serve a growing number of transit buses filled with passengers.
The state’s three major transportation agencies are working together to create a system that is to help provide reliable trip times. The system is to serve commuters traveling from home in Atlanta’s suburbs to destinations mainly in downtown Atlanta, Midtown and the Perimeter ...more
Georgia is likely to provide money in the future to support transit, in addition to the $75 million the Legislature provided this year, Jay Roberts, the state’s recently appointed transportation planning director, said Wednesday.
In other transit news, Georgia’s transit agencies should be notified in January as to whether they will get a share of that $75 million, said GRTA Executive Director Chris Tomlinson. In addition to Tomlinson’s work at GRTA, he serves as executive director of the state entity that’s ...more
The first official step toward the first major overhaul of GRTA’s Xpress bus service in a decade is on track to be presented Wednesday to the board that oversees the regional transit agency. The board is to vote on a draft plan that’s slated for a final vote in August.
These service changes are to be implemented next year over a period of time. The changes are part of a broader effort by GRTA to boost ridership.
Other plans call for ...more
Atlanta is moving forward with plans to create a pleasant place to walk and cycle along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, all the way from the future Falcons stadium to Fulton Industrial Boulevard. A new linear park is to be built.
The 7.2-mile stretch of roadway is the latest of the city’s efforts to retool heavily used corridors into complete streets. The notion is that streets are not complete until they serve pedestrians and cyclists and transit, as well as automobiles ...more
Captain Herb Emory’s longtime contributions to metro Atlanta commuters are to be recognized with a bridge dedicated to his honor, if a proposal pending in the Georgia Senate is approved.
Senate Resolution 40 would put Emory’s name on a flyover bridge that links Ga. 400 with I-85.
The noted WSB traffic reporter died on April 12, just 10 days after state and local officials dedicated the flyover bridge. Emory was 61 when he died of a massive heart attack after helping at ...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
It comes as no surprise that Moody’s Investors Service views Mercedes-Benz’s relocation to metro Atlanta as a “credit positive” for Atlanta and Fulton County.
What is interesting is the set of reasons for the relocation that are cited in Moody’s report. “Quality of life” ranks on the list of motives to move from New Jersey.
Incidentally, although the Jan. 15 credit outlook issued by Moody’s emphasizes the decision by Mercedes-Benz, it also mentions three other companies that have left New Jersey for ...more
