Transit

Open forum for Atlanta transportation coming up in September

Dan Whisenhunt 08/14/2017

Atlanta City Hall. Photo by Bbenrath, obtained via Wikimedia Commons

By Mary Margaret Stewart, assistant editor

From 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the public is invited to the open forum “Atlanta On The Move,” which will be held at the Loudermilk Conference Center, at 40 Courtland Street Northeast in Atlanta.

The event is headed up by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and its partners, and candidates for mayor will spend the three hours discussing transportation issues. The forum will allow for voters to differentiate between the candidates’ positions on improving Atlanta’s transportation methods.

Planned topics for the forum are:

– What would candidates do to make streets safe for people walking, biking, and waiting for the bus?

– What transportation related ideas do they have to keep Atlanta affordable?

– What investments are most pressing to realizing Atlanta’s potential for active transportation modes?

In addition to these topics, you can submit your own questions to be discussed at the forum.

For more information, click here and use the hashtags #TransportATL and #iBikeiVote to follow the discussion.

Beltline/ Crime and Public Safety/ Transit

MARTA Police arrest 538 people for not paying fares

Dan Whisenhunt 08/07/2017

A MARTA train passes over the mural at the corner of Dekalb Ave. and Arizona Ave. on Thursday, April 17, 2014. File Photo by Jonathan Phillips

MARTA has announced a crackdown on people who try to ride trains without paying.

The transit agency says MARTA’s police officers have arrested 538 “fare evaders” over the last six weeks.

“Our fare evasion task force has worked around the clock to focus our attention to those seeking to avoid paying fare at our stations,” Marta Police Department Chief Wanda Dunham said in a press release. “We have watched riders piggyback behind a person when the fare gates open and some even attempt to go over or under the gates.”

Plainclothes officers have been on the lookout for offenders at the agency’s 38 rail stations.

People who are arrested are suspended from MARTA buses and trains for 60 days. People who are arrested and don’t have ID are sent to jail, the press release from MARTA says.

Beltline/ Transit

More lane closures planned for downtown connector

Dan Whisenhunt 08/07/2017

Atlanta Downtown Connector. Source: Wikimedia commons

The Georgia Department of Transportation says its contractors are planning to continue working on lanes of the I-75/I-85 downtown connector.

“Motorists should expect delays while crews paint interstate shields on I-75/I-85 northbound and southbound,” the announcement from GDOT says.

The work begins at 9 p.m. on Aug. 7 and will continue until 5 a.m. nightly through Wednesday, Aug. 9. Contractors will be closing four right lanes and one outside shoulder on I-75/I-85 northbound from Fulton Street to North Avenue. Then, on Aug. 10 until Aug. 11, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. contractors will close four right lanes and one outside shoulder on I-75/I-85 southbound from North Avenue to Fulton Street.

“Exact dates may change due to weather or other factors,” the announcement from GDOT says. “Motorists are advised to expect delays, exercise caution, and reduce their speed while traveling through work zones. Before heading out, get real-time information on work status and traffic conditions. Call 511, visit511ga.org, or download the Georgia 511 app. ”

Beltline/ Transit

There will be closures on the downtown connector this week

Dan Whisenhunt 08/01/2017

The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning work on the downtown connector starting Aug. 1 through Aug. 4.

The work will last from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and will result in lane closures to allow for painting of the interstate shields. GDOT says four right lanes and one outside shoulder on I-75/I-85 northbound from Fulton Street to North Avenue will be closed

“Motorists are advised to expect delays, exercise caution, and reduce their speed while traveling through work zones,” the advisory from GDOT says. “Before heading out, get real-time information on work status and traffic conditions. Call 511, visit511ga.org, or download the Georgia 511 app.”

Beltline/ Transit

Atlanta removes bike lane and raises a lot of questions

Atlanta Loop 07/31/2017

Two weeks ago, the city removed 1,000 feet from a new 1-mile protected bike lane along Westview Drive. Now, just before that section, a sign alerts users to move from the bike lane to the street.
STEPHANNIE STOKES / WABE

By STEPHANNIE STOKES, WABE

The city of Atlanta recently removed a bike lane on the westside of town, and it’s left the community and cycling advocates with questions.

Zahra Alabanza looks at the section of Westview Drive, in front of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where the bike lane used to be.

“It was a typical bike lane,” she said. “It was protected so it had barriers between it and traffic, which tends to make people feel safe.”

As a resident of the neighborhood and co-founder of the black cycling collective Red Bike and Green, Alabanza’s been thinking about what led the bike lane to be taken out. Tension started a year ago when the city installed the lane using a grant from the outdoor retailer REI and the nonprofit PeopleForBikes.

“The main problem is that the church didn’t get any type of community engagement for the bike lanes,” Jonathan Whitfield said.

Whitfield, a minister at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, said the bike lane made parking difficult for churchgoers. And there was something else about it that bothered the church and the community.

“Most people feel like these bikes lanes are not for the people here,” he said. “It’s for the people to come.”

With the trail connecting to the BeltLine, he said, it became a symbol of gentrification. Still, Whitfield said, the church wanted to find a solution that accommodated cyclists. And after a public meeting together, they did reach compromises.

First, the city took out a few barriers to allow easier turns into the church lot. Later, the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance that sanctioned parking in the bike lane on Sundays.

But then two weeks ago, without public notice, the city went a step further.

“A community resident sent us a picture of the bike lane being removed,” said Rebecca Serna, executive director of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.

Getting rid of bike infrastructure in that way should require a City Council vote and, before that, a public hearing, Serna said. The fact that the city didn’t follow its own process, she said, “sends a message that bike lanes aren’t important.”

So, now, a lot of people are left asking, how could this all have happened?

Standing along Westview Drive, what Alabanza sees is a lack of discussion from the city. She said it should be talking about the underlying issues – displacement, the benefits of biking and the area’s future.

“Atlanta has an opportunity to broaden conversation and come up with real solutions,” she said. “Taking out a bike lane is not solving anything.”

In a statement, the city said it is “committed to making our streets safe and accessible for all users” and is exploring other options after the uproar over the bike lane’s removal.

For now, though, the 1,000-foot section of the bike lane in front of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church has been replaced by a few newly painted on-street parking spaces.

This story was provided by WABE.

Beltline/ Politics/ Transit

Sen. Fort: Emory’s Clifton Corridor project is ‘jumping in line’

Dan Whisenhunt 07/25/2017

Vincent Fort Photo obtained via Reporternewspapers.net

This story has been updated.

State Sen. Vincent Fort, who is running to become the next mayor of Atlanta, says that Emory University’s petition to annex into Atlanta and its pursuit of a dedicated MARTA rail corridor will be unfair to black neighborhoods in the city.

Fort thinks a vote on the annexation petitions filed by Emory, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Power, Villa International, Synod of South Atlantic & Presbyterian Church (USA) Inc. and the Centers for Disease Control, should be delayed. A vote on these petitions is expected as early as Sept. 5.

“This needs to wait,” Fort said. “It doesn’t need to be rushed through. This is a lack of transparency that I’ve never quite seen before.”

Emory’s pursuit of annexation is widely viewed as an effort to move forward with the Clifton Corridor Light Rail Project that would link MARTA’s Lindbergh and Avondale Stations and would service the Emory area. In November, Atlanta voters overwhelmingly approved a sales tax to expand MARTA.

Fort said there are other minority communities who need MARTA expansion, and they needed it before Emory began its push to join Atlanta,

“Not only is Emory jumping in line in the city of Atlanta, they’re jumping in line in front of a set of predominantly African American neighborhoods in DeKalb,” Fort said. “Emory is using its muscle.”

Atlanta Loop reached out to Emory University seeking comment and a spokesperson referred questions to the city of Atlanta. A spokesperson for the city of Atlanta said Fort is simply trying to drum up interest in his mayoral campaign.

“Sen. Vincent Fort is a failed candidate for mayor of the city of Atlanta,” the spokesperson said. “As his campaign spirals, he’s doing everything he can to remain relevant in the public conversation before he drops out of the race after failing to qualify. He has now gone to the length of fabricating falsehoods about the historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand MARTA within the city of Atlanta over the next 40 years.”

Beltline/ Transit

MARTA will test new fire alarms at Five Points Station over next two weeks

Atlanta Loop 07/16/2017

MARTA’s Five Points Station Westbound Platform. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons

By Ellie Ritter, contributor

Starting Monday, July 17, MARTA will be testing its newly upgraded fire alarm systems at the Five Points Station. Testing will last until July 28.

The alarm testing is required by the National Fire Protection Association, Federal Transit Authority and other local and federal transit governing guidelines, a press release from MARTA says.

Despite the inconvenience, MARTA hopes passengers can understand the importance of the fire alarm testing.

“We understand that this testing may be a slight nuisance to our patrons as well as surrounding businesses,” MARTA GM/CEO Keith Parker said. “However, we respectfully request everyone’s patience as we upgrade our fire alarm system over the coming weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience this disruption may cause as we work to ensure the ongoing safety of our customers and employees.”

Fire alarm testing will take place Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Alarms may sound continuously for up to five minutes, and the alarm sounds may be loud and frequent, so MARTA advises passengers to be prepared for the noise.

Beltline/ Business/ Crime and Public Safety/ Transit

Underground Atlanta developer says there will be no Walmart, but is scarce on specifics

Dan Whisenhunt 07/13/2017

The entrance to Underground Atlanta. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons.

This story has been updated.

WRS Real Estate Investments, the new owner of Underground Atlanta, is promising project that will transform four city blocks from an eye sore to a premiere mixed use development.

The details of that development are still being worked out, with one notable exception.

“We’re not putting a Walmart in Underground Atlanta,” Chief Operating Officer Steve Howe told an audience gathered at the company’s first public meeting on Thursday, July 13.

The meeting came about after pressure from residents, most notably the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association which had threatened to sue to stop the sale of the property. Representatives of the group said their goal wasn’t to scuttle the development completely, but to get the developer to communicate with the community about its plans.

Of particular concern was the city’s decision to abandon portions of lower and upper Alabama Street, Upper and Lower Pryor Street and Plaza Way to accommodate the developer. The neighborhood association opted to sign an agreement saying it would not sue the city if the developer does a better job of engaging with the public, Creative Loafing reported.

There’s already another meeting planned for Nov. 2 at 6 p.m., with a location to be determined. Thursday’s meeting was held at the Underground Atlanta Visitor Center theater.

Kipling “Kip” Dunlap, President of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association, said the meeting made him “cautiously optimistic.”

“They certainly learned the language,” Dunlap said. “They kenow what we want to hear. I am definitely used to developers saying, ‘Oh lenders, we can’t, we don’t know,’ and that’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not the answer we’re looking for. I guess they’re as far along in the process now as we should expect them to be. I’m certainly happy to start having real public engagement since there’s been almost none up to now. I like the direction things are going.”

Underground Atlanta is a run-down retail strip with loads of potential. The Five Points MARTA station below it is an amenity developers crave. That’s also a sticking point with downtown residents, who want the developer to find ways to reduce parking and make better use of the station. Earlier estimates published by Creative Loafing anticipated 2,000 new spaces there.

But WRS would not commit to a maximum number of spaces, saying it is challenging its design team to have as few spaces as possible. Twenty percent of the estimated 600 to 1000 apartment units will have to be affordable housing.

It’s likely one of the tenants will be a grocer. Kristi Rooks with Revel – the company in charges of the development’s merchandising, brand oversight and leasing – said there’s a need for a grocery store downtown. WRS is advertising 35,000 to 85,000 square feet as a “grocery opportunity. There will be about 270,000 square feet of retail space. Rooks also said that “it probably doesn’t need to be as much retail as before,” saying there will be more office space in the new Underground. Developers also said the public would be able to access the streets the city had abandoned to enable the project. There will also be an effort to preserve some of the structures on the site.

Reactions to the meeting were positive but guarded.

George Chidi, a local politician and journalist who is following the project, said people will likely know more of the details when the developer’s partners ramp up their involvement.

“It absolutely has to be redeveloped,” Chidi said. “I mean, whatever else is going on, Underground cannot remain as it is. In its current condition, it’s a magnet for crime. It’s anti-retail. It’s not just bad retail right now. It drives away other good retail. I don’t see it being fixed without a massive redevelopment, which is what we got, so I’m happy about that. I have some concerns about timing. I don’t know where we are in the market cycle. I want them to move aggressively.”

He said he was concerned the developers might wind up in a situation like Atlantic Station, which was setback when the economy crashed.

David Brown said he, “liked the meeting a lot.” He said he lived in the area from 2007 to 2010.

“It was terrible. It was scary,” he said. “It was not the best place to be a student, at Georgia State. But don’t get me wrong. I love it. I absolutely love it and now it’s so much more beautiful. Georgia State has done a lot of work and now Underground people are actually caring about it.”

Sojourner Grimmett, who works for an affordable senior housing developer said, she was “excited that they had a community forum, allowing residents or citizens to voice their opinions. … I hope to hear more about their plans for affordable housing at Underground Atlanta.”

Her friend, Monica Ponder, said she wanted more information than WRS provided.

“They did not provide enough statistics or information to allay the fears or concerns of residents, the artist community, students, people who have been invested in this community for years,” Ponder said. “Rhetoric is one thing, but the deal is done, it’s now time to put plans down.”

Here is a live video of Thursday’s presentation shot by Lauren Welsh.

Beltline/ Transit

MARTA says goodbye to blue Breeze cards, opts for safer silver cards

Atlanta Loop 07/09/2017

By Ellie Ritter, contributor

Beginning July 10, MARTA will stop accepting the old standard blue Breeze cards, instead switching over to silver Breeze cards that offer new security measures.

The new silver cards, which can be purchased for $2, help combat fraud and abuse, the release said, which is an issue MARTA has dealt with before. They also have stronger chip technology to prevent hacking and have been available since early 2016.

“Although we first introduced our new cards in January of last year, we still have a few remaining customers who haven’t fully converted to our new silver Breeze cards,” MARTA GM/CEO Keith Parker said in a press release. “We want to encourage everyone to upgrade to the silver Breeze card to help minimize any confusion on July 10.”

Unexpired balances from old cards must have been transferred by July 9, or all balances will be forfeited.

Despite the potential hassle, MARTA says the new cards are safer.

“We are pleased to offer this heightened technology that reflects current industry standards,” MARTA Chief Information Officer Ming Hsi said. “A more secure card decreases the likelihood of fraud or other abuse that can be detrimental to our customers.”

Additionally, the silver Breeze cards will be compatible with the other local and regional transit systems including CobbLinc, the Georgia Regional Transit Authority (GRTA), Gwinnett County Transit (GCT) and the Atlanta Streetcar.

The silver Breeze cards can be purchased at MARTA RideStores, online at breezecard.com, or at any Breeze vending machine located at all 38 rail stations.