March 2021
• City of Atlanta Approves Funding to Complete Atlanta BeltLine Multi-Use Trail Special Service District
• COOL MAP TO SEE WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE SSD
January 2021
Links to the City of Atlanta Office of Mobility Planning updates are broken but here are some functioning links:
• NEWS about Jackson Street Bridge from Jonathan DiGioia: COA is currently working with a design firm to work through some technical challenges related to anchoring the protected bike lane barriers to the bridge. They are also coordinating with Public Works about procuring a construction crew. There is not an updated timeline on construction yet.
• A plethora of information here! https://www.atlantabike.org/campaigns
• LAW PASSED: Atlanta is now a Vision Zero city and committed to its recommendations.
• LAW PASSED: Most fatal accidents are on higher speed roads: A 25 -35 m.p.h speed limit has been imposed on all local roads, excepted are collectors and arterials.
• IN PROCESS: Resolve that NACTO’s design will be the guide for all bike/LIT lanes and pedestrian improvements.
• Path Foundation Trails in Downtown Atlanta: https://maps.pathfoundation.org/
APRIL 2020
This month is the first read of a transportation agenda. There is strong support from all city councilors on the committee for the following 3 :
• Name Atlanta as a Vision Zero city and commit to its recommendations.
• Impose a 25 m.p.h speed limit on all local roads, excepted are collectors and arterials.
• Resolve that NACTO’s design will be the guide for all bike/LIT lanes and pedestrian improvements.
• Path Foundation Trails-New Trail Proctor Creek Trail Extension
MARCH 2020
OVERVIEW OF ATLANTA MOBILITY DEVELOPMENTS: https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/city-planning/office-of-mobility-planning
March 2 COA Chief Bicycle Officer, Cary B. Bearn, Office of Mobility Planning is giving a presentation at the FWW meeting on March 2 6:30-8:30 held at SouthFace 241 Pine Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308.
March 11 The City Council Transportation Committee will be voting to move forward with speed reductions for our city (not state or federal) streets.
FEBRUARY 2020
Feb 24 And the hits keep coming! Atlanta Department of Transportation just put out its list of infrastructure improvement projects on an interactive website. https://www.renewatlantabond.com/
Feb 6 TWEET from Jay Tribby @D2ChiefofStuff
Results from the City’s 2019 E-Scooter Survey were presented at an Open House last night: Link to the presentation boards .
JANUARY 2020
01/28/2020 Letter from COA Chief Bicycle Officer, Cary B. Bearn, Office of Mobility Planning
Flyer for Feb 3 meeting
Good map of projects
DOWNTOWNDECIDES.COM : (Ends 01/31/2020) City Council MemberAmir Farokhi wants NPU-M to decide how to spend 1 MILLION DOLLARS in funds tagged for transportation infrastructure downtown! A suggestion is to point the money to the Jackson Street Bridge Project to give it some “get up and go” which it isn’t getting now. (FYI Out of the prescribed territory so doesn’t show up, don’t waste time doing this) . But go to the website to enter another suggestion! Deadline is January 30 (site says Jan 15 which is incorrect).
INFO 2019
City’s new Department of Transportation: https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/11/13/20962991/renew-atlanta-marta-department-transportation
MAP OF ATLANTA “QUICK MORPHED STREETS” SLATED PROJECTS: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1K0C2bjA2hLtQjWnWISQH6qSxyKXbHOTN&ll=33.75534046252278%2C-84.38579941690852&z=13
MAP OF ROADS AND LAST MILE PROJECTS: http://garc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=763e1a5273f740b8a1cef85ea52cc83e
ARTICLE OF ROADS AND LAST MILE PROJECTS FROM WHATSNEXTATL.ORG: A $173 Billion Plan to Keep Metro ATL Moving – through 2050
PETITION FOR LIT LANES: https://www.atlantabike.org/lit_lanes_now
ATLANTA POLICE LIT CAMPAIGN: http://www.atlantapd.org/community/lit-lanes
SCOOTER LANE SAFETY: http://www.atlantapd.org/community/e-scooters-safety
SOME MOBILITY APPS:
https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/uber-bike/
http://relaybikeshare.com/
https://www.takewheels.com/
https://www.bird.co/how/
https://www.li.me/how-to-lime (left Atlanta 2019)
https://www.lyft.com/scooters/atlanta-ga (left Atlanta 2019)
https://jump.com/cities/atlanta/ = (SOBI/ Social Bikes) http://socialbicycles.com/
http://www.itsmarta.com/planatrip.aspx
https://www.boazbike.com/
BOARD A FAST TRAIN IN ATLANTA AND HEAD FOR CHARLOTTE, WASHINGTON, D.C. (AND ULTIMATELY BOSTON) !
Transportation options are expanding as the City of Atlanta awakens to the energy of Gen X (1965-1980, including Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms), Millennials (1981-1996) and Post-millennials (1997-present). Mindsets are interconnected with enhanced information flow from schools, the internet and smartphones as mobility options in cities all over the world are becoming more granular and diverse.
This is not the first time Atlanta has evolved its streets to incorporate diversified mobility. Around 1910 streets were raised to separate car and pedestrian traffic from train traffic. Today this subterranean area is located from Underground Atlanta to the Gulch. Must have been a HUGE improvement to walking beside trains!
ABOVE: (1)Futuristic 1924 City of Atlanta idea for separating transport types when Underground Atlanta was created by raising the streets (more here) and (2) in 2019 from https://www.atlantadowntown.com/blog/downtown-atlanta-biketober-bike-challenge
3 SPEED STREETS: Fast-moving lethal cars and slower scooters/bicycles mixing on roads designed only for cars has proven to be fatal and tragic. The Atlanta transportation infrastructure of necessity is morphing new forms as 4 scooter riders have met their early deaths on the streets and pedestrians on sidewalks feel harassed as scooters, sanely seeking the safety of sidewalks, whiz past them. Thus 3-speed streets are evolving: (1) car lanes, (2) slower moving forms of LIT (light individual transport) such as scooters and bicycles and (3) pedestrian speed sidewalks.
NOVEMBER 2019
FROM CURBED ATLANTA: The new DOT (Department of Transportation) is absorbing the city’s Office of Mobility Planning and the Renew Atlanta Infrastructure Bond program, as well as all other transportation-related operations of the departments of Planning and Public Works, Mayor Bottoms said.
That means, among other duties, the new transportation department will be charged with regulating dockless mobility vehicles that have become ubiquitous in Atlanta and carrying out the goals of the $5 million mobility focused action plan the mayor announced in September.
The mayor also unveiled the One Atlanta Strategic Transportation Plan, which lays out a three-year framework to reach Vision Zero—the goal of having zero traffic fatalities or serious injuries—by way of more than $200 million of mobility infrastructure projects.
“We’re breaking records for pedestrian fatalities,” said Rowan at the press conference. “I don’t know how anyone can be comfortable with that.”
OCTOBER 2019
MAP OF ATLANTA “QUICK MORPHED STREETS” SLATED PROJECTS: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1K0C2bjA2hLtQjWnWISQH6qSxyKXbHOTN&ll=33.75534046252278%2C-84.38579941690852&z=13
FIRST MORPHED “POP-UP STREET” (for week-long study only): https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/10/8/20904682/atlanta-pop-up-bike-lane-midtown-10th-street
AUGUST 2019
COA Town Hall Meeting
A Town Hall meeting was held Monday 8/26 by Atlanta City Council Members Andres Dickens (Mobility Chair) and Dustin Hills (Public Safety Chair). Amir Farokhi was there as well. All the scooter companies were also in the crowd of several hundred people along with multiple news channels.
ABOVE: (1) Mobility meeting at City Hall Chambers and (2) Pictured are Ryan Gravel (father of the Beltline) and Tim Keane, strong advocates for urban design making the City a better place to live.
There was a very informative presentation by Tim Keane, Commissioner of City Planning for the City of Atlanta, at the following links.
TIM KEANE’S POWERPOINT:: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=2029
VIDEO:: https://www.facebook.com/atlcouncil/videos/358075248463718/
The conclusion is that Tim Keane is going to institute a “Quick Build Street Project” program in the next few weeks. Scooter riders are too fast for the sidewalks (where they are now illegal, like bicycles, unless the rider is a child) and too slow for car lanes. Here are some of the suggestions by people at the Town Hall:
1- Slowing cars Downtown to 25 MPH automatically makes Downtown safer. There is a much higher chance of survival if a slow car hits a person.
2- FLEXIBLE Multimodal Mobility, Road Diets, 3 lanes/3 speeds: Pedestrian, Scooter/Bike, Cars. These can be reconfigured as the culture changes in the future, say to flying cars. (No one said “flying cars” at the meeting but it’s going to happen, give it 20 years!)
3- Safety is # 1; 42% of accidents are on 6% of the roads, concentrate here.
4- Charge people $$$ if they don’t return the scooter to nests IE throw them in the street, block sidewalks, make it difficult for people to walk especially ADA people.
5- 3 people from the Shepherd Spine Center were there saying that the careless use of scooters made it much more difficult to maneuver the streets in wheelchairs.
6- Paris and Washington, DC have come up with solutions, Atlanta can too!
7- Doug Alexander, whose son was killed on a scooter, was there and promoting this needed change.
8- https://atlncs.org/community/commuter-camp-summer-2019/ Teaches kids how to travel the roads safely.
9- https://visionzeronetwork.org/ Worldwide Organization represented.