2009 to be an exciting year for rail!

[netdragon]

As if the articles I already found haven't been exciting, there's more. Momentum is really building!

New articles for 2009 on the ARC page
http://www.atlantaregional.com/html/15.aspx

Will 2009 be the year of rail?
http://theenergycollective.com/TheEn...llective/32260

[sabino86]

Originally Posted by netdragon

As if the articles I already found haven't been exciting, there's more. Momentum is really building!

New articles for 2009 on the ARC page
http://www.atlantaregional.com/html/15.aspx

Will 2009 be the year of rail?
http://theenergycollective.com/TheEn...llective/32260

Let's hope so.

[Mike D]

I hope so too. Atlanta and its suburbs need more passenger rail service, not silly projects like expensive underground expressways.

[Atlwest281]

Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 2:51pm EST
House passes transportation funding measure
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Dave Williams Staff Writer

The Georgia House overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday calling for a statewide sales tax increase to pay for a series of transportation improvements.

The legislation, which passed 151-15, would let Georgia voters decide in a November 2010 referendum whether to raise sales taxes by 1 percent to fund highway and transit projects across the state.

A separate bill, which the House also passed on Tuesday, contains a long list of projects that would be financed with the additional revenue. In metro Atlanta, the list includes a network of interstate highway toll lanes and widening of arterial roads throughout the region.

On the transit side, the legislation calls for building two commuter rail lines linking Atlanta to Athens and the Georgia capital to Lovejoy in southern Clayton County.

The House transportation funding initiative is in competition with a version passed by the Senate earlier in the 2009 General Assembly session.

The Senate legislation would authorize the 10 counties that make up the Atlanta Regional Commission to propose a regional sales tax increase for transportation and submit it to voters in those counties. Outside of metro Atlanta, counties would be free to form their own regions to develop sales tax proposals for their voters.

The transportation funding issue is likely to come down to the final days of the session, when a House-Senate conference committee would try to reach a compromise.

[CT340]

Originally Posted by Atlwest281

Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 2:51pm EST
House passes transportation funding measure
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Dave Williams Staff Writer

The Georgia House overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday calling for a statewide sales tax increase to pay for a series of transportation improvements.

The legislation, which passed 151-15, would let Georgia voters decide in a November 2010 referendum whether to raise sales taxes by 1 percent to fund highway and transit projects across the state.

A separate bill, which the House also passed on Tuesday, contains a long list of projects that would be financed with the additional revenue. In metro Atlanta, the list includes a network of interstate highway toll lanes and widening of arterial roads throughout the region.

On the transit side, the legislation calls for building two commuter rail lines linking Atlanta to Athens and the Georgia capital to Lovejoy in southern Clayton County.

The House transportation funding initiative is in competition with a version passed by the Senate earlier in the 2009 General Assembly session.

The Senate legislation would authorize the 10 counties that make up the Atlanta Regional Commission to propose a regional sales tax increase for transportation and submit it to voters in those counties. Outside of metro Atlanta, counties would be free to form their own regions to develop sales tax proposals for their voters.

The transportation funding issue is likely to come down to the final days of the session, when a House-Senate conference committee would try to reach a compromise.

So is this a yay or nay on the beltline situation? And also why does the Concept 3 plan include LRT to be used to reach places like north of Atlanta. From my understanding LRT are slower so I think a sister heavy rail transit should be used instead.

[WestsideATL]

Originally Posted by CT340

So is this a yay or nay on the beltline situation? And also why does the Concept 3 plan include LRT to be used to reach places like north of Atlanta. From my understanding LRT are slower so I think a sister heavy rail transit should be used instead.

It's a kind-of yay for the BeltLine. The bill offers "all or part" of the costs of some transit projects, including the BeltLine. It's the "part" part that worries me as there's no clear committment of funding...

Transit projects identified in HB 277:

(18) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a suburban light rail transit system in the commission area to include: an East Line proceeding along I-20 from the Garnett Station to Turner Hill Road; a North Suburban Line beginning on or adjacent to the campus of Kennesaw State University proceeding south along I-75 to Smyrna; the North Perimeter Line along I-285 with a link to connect to the Dunwoody Station continuing along I-285 to the Doraville Station; and a Northeast Line proceeding north along I-85 to the general vicinity of Sugarloaf Parkway;
(19) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a commuter rail line linking the area encompassed by the consolidated government of Athens-Clarke County with the commission area;
(20) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a commuter rail line linking Atlanta with Cartersville, subject to the availability of federal funds;
(21) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a commuter rail line linking Atlanta with Lovejoy;
(22) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a commuter rail line linking Lovejoy with Griffin, subject to the availability of federal funds;
(23) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a multimodal transportation hub integrating regional and state-wide modes of transportation within the City of Atlanta;
(24) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating one or more streetcar lines within the City of Atlanta;
(25) On a program to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, and operating a circulator transit system or 'Beltline' within the City of Atlanta;
(26) On a program to provide for improved nonmotorized access to destinations served by transportation facilities; and
(27) On a program to study the feasibility of a high-speed or magnetic levitation rail line for movement of passengers and freight linking the commission area to the Georgia Ports Authority Facilities on the Savannah River.

[Mike D]

That is good news! Nice to see the Georgia legislature passing bills like this. The I-20 line makes the most sense as light rail because it will run partially in Atlanta and connect to the South Line at Garnett. The Kennesaw State line should continue into Atlanta. It doesn't make sense to run it entirely within the suburbs. The Doraville-to-Dunwoody line would sort of be like the proposed Purple Line light rail in Maryland, in that it would run between two MARTA rail stations on different lines in the suburbs. Also, I'm glad they have streetcar lines on there. While I'm not so sure about the Peachtree line, because it seems to duplicate existing MARTA rail service, I think there are other places where streetcars can and should operate in the city.

Encouraging news.

[netdragon]

Based on information on the ARC site, it looks like the stimulus funds will help along projects that were jeopardized due to the GDOT shortfall. Transit will also benefit since there is around $10 billion nationally set aside for transit. I looked over the list, and it looks like a lot of it will be used to modernize stations, build park-and-rides, and purchase new busses along with some new starts for BRT and MARTA extensions. The approx $100 - $200 million the Atlanta region will get won't in and of itself make rail a reality however it will keep us from getting so far into the hole that it becomes an impossibility.

Keep in mind that streetcars don't replace heavy rail. They have a completely different purpose. Someone working in Buckhead living in College Park hops on MARTA heavy rail to get to Buckhead. Then they may take a streetcar to get to the side-street their job is on. It doesn't make sense to have a MARTA station every 3 blocks. Busses and light rail fill the rest in, however light rail usually has dedicated rights-of-way, making them more efficient and predictable. Also, as far as development goes, adding in a streetcar line is giving the appearance of greater permanence and will attract development more than just a bus, especially if the streetcars can run on a median or a dedicated lane like I see in many European cities.

Another example: If BRT is run along I-75 North of the perimeter, then it will provide a way to get to the general area of their job. However, if the station is on I-75 at Windy Hill, for instance, and their job is near Terrell Mill on Cobb Parkway, then that would still be an awful long way to walk without a trolley. I know people do walk that far, however you'll get more people working and living in the area if they could hop on a streetcar and ride that from the station to their job. Specifically with Cobb Parkway, the intersections are so spread out that a streetcar makes a lot of sense.

[WestsideATL]

I hate to break it to you but Atlanta isn't getting any New Starts money anytime soon. We just don't have any projects in the pipeline (and based on the recent lack of political will in the legislature, we couldn't afford to operate them right now if we did).

The 75/575 BRT project was close but FTA didn't agree with the ridership forecasts and never signed off on the the AA/DEIS. The BeltLine DEIS is only a Phase I, which, if approved, just gives BeltLine Inc the approval to purchase right-of-way. It's still a long ways away from entry into the New Starts process.

[urbanactivist]

What is prompting all of the recent MARTA cutbacks?? I'd assume that 2008 was a very good year for MARTA's ridership (like it was in almost all large metros thanks to gas prices). I'm at a loss to understand why the transit group is threatening to cut service days.

[Fiorenza]

The NYC MTA, for one, has similar problems.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by urbanactivistTX

What is prompting all of the recent MARTA cutbacks?? I'd assume that 2008 was a very good year for MARTA's ridership (like it was in almost all large metros thanks to gas prices). I'm at a loss to understand why the transit group is threatening to cut service days.

urban - Sadly, MARTA has been set up to fail by the State since its inception.

This is basically what's going on in a nutshell: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...stic_cuts.html