Local and international transportation experts, business leaders and policy makers will explore solutions to Georgia’s growing transportation challenges in a three-part program covering:

• The Future of Georgia’s Transportation Grid
• What Choices Do We Have?
• Where Do We Go From Here?

Expert presentations will forecast our future traffic capacity and transportation demands. Outstanding examples of sustainable transportation solutions from Switzerland – a world leader in passenger rail – will be highlighted. Political realities and financial constraints will also be explored.

Many governing, advisory and informal bodies are looking at various travel modes, from high-speed trains, to commuter rail and buses, to streetcars – all intended to serve different purposes and various types of movement. Georgia Department of Transportation is undertaking studies for linking Atlanta and Chattanooga with a high-speed passenger rail line and has raised its Office of Intermodal Transportation to Division level.  The Transit Implementation Board has adopted a governing structure to implement its regional transit plan.  Application has been made for stimulus funds to begin the construction of a portion of the Peachtree Streetcar project.  MARTA has recently completed a new overview and drafted guidelines for transit oriented development.  Groups such as Citizens for Progressive Transit have been formed to advocate for regional transit.

What will it take to implement and build support for better transit services and transit oriented development in the region?  Who is on board and who must be won over?  How can transit help shape a more livable and satisfactory future?   Find some answers at the December Roundtable.

Here are the details:

• What: Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable’s monthly program for December: “Atlanta’s Transit Oriented Future”
• When: Friday, December 4th, 2009; doors open at 7 a.m. for networking and the program runs from 7:30 – 9 .m.
• Where: All Saints’ Episcopal Church at 634 West Peachtree, Atlanta
• How much: $15 for individuals, $10 for students, $20 for individuals receiving AIA CEUs and for all walk-ins; $5 for Southface members with a valid discount code
• Register online now!
  

You can also check out a map of combined existing and proposed transportation projects throughout the metro Atlanta area and beyond here on the Citizens for Progressive Transit website!

The Georgia Department of Transportation is competing for a slice of Obama’s $8 billion alloted for high speed rail projects across the country. GDOT is hoping that their partnership with Norfolk-Southern will help in winning the grant.

You can read my previous blog about the Brain Train here, which would be the line from Athens to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Macon.

The new solar panels will generate enough electricity to more than cover the Laredo Bus Maintenance Facility’s consumption each year and will become the largest photovoltaic system in Georgia. The transparent panels will let in light during the day and light up the facility at night.

Read the article from the Atlanta Business Chronicle here!

For Immediate Release, July 9, 2009

Contact: Ethan Davidson, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.
(404) 614-8325, edavidson@atlbeltline.org  

Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, Georgia Department of Transportation
(404) 631-1835 

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND ATLANTA BELTLINE, INC. REACH AGREEMENT ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO PURCHASE LAND IN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST CORRIDORS FOR BELTLINE

Agreements Advance BeltLine Transit and Trails

Atlanta, GA – Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Commissioner Vance Smith, Jr., and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) President and CEO Terri Montague today announced entering into a purchase option agreement that, if exercised, would give the BeltLine control of the Southwest and a portion of the Southeast Right of Way (ROW). The agreement gives the City the option to acquire all of the remaining GDOT ROW along the BeltLine Corridor as contemplated in the Five Year Work Plan. Under the terms of the agreement, GDOT will give ABI exclusive rights to purchase the property until June 30, 2012. In the meantime, ABI has secured a lease of the property in order to begin preparing it for public use in the coming years.

The BeltLine Five Year Work Plan called for acquiring 35 to 37 percent of the 22 mile BeltLine ROW by July 2011. Through this agreement, 48 percent of the corridor is now secure for use by the BeltLine. ABI completed the purchase of the 4.6 mile Northeast corridor in October, 2008.

 ”We are extremely pleased to participate in a project that will advance transit and mobility options in the city and the region,” Smith said.

“This is a great milestone for the BeltLine. I am extremely grateful to the board and staff of the Georgia Department of Transportation for making this BeltLine transaction a priority,” said Terri Montague, President and CEO of ABI. “By securing the Southwest corridor and a portion of the Southeast corridor, the BeltLine is now ahead of schedule on Right of Way acquisition, and controls close to 50 percent of the BeltLine corridor. This agreement will allow ABI to continue transit and trail planning activities and open parts of the corridor up to the public within the next year.”

The segments of ROW in this transaction run from Allene Avenue to Lena Street in the Southwest (3.12 miles) and from Wylie Street to Memorial Drive in the Southeast (.36 miles). Both former freight rail lines are unused and have been granted abandonment by the federal Surface Transportation Board, which will allow ABI to proceed with planning and implementation of transit and trails for these segments. At this time, ABI is partnering with MARTA to complete and Environmental Impact Statement by summer 2010 that will help to determine how the optioned property would ultimately be used for transit and trails.

###

About the BeltLine:

The Atlanta BeltLine is a $2.8 billion redevelopment project that will shape the way Atlanta grows over the next 25 years and beyond.  The project provides a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other. The BeltLine is the most comprehensive economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment projects currently underway in the United States. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI), formed by the Atlanta Development Authority, is the entity tasked with planning and executing the implementation of the BeltLine in partnership with other public and private organizations, including City of Atlanta departments. For more information about the BeltLine, please visit www.BeltLine.org.

About the Georgia Department of Transportation:

The Georgia Department of Transportation is committed to providing a safe, seamless and sustainable transportation system that supports Georgia’s economy and is sensitive to both its citizens and its environment.  For general information on the Georgia DOT, please visit our Web site (www.dot.ga.gov).

A few details:

• Open up a MAX Reward checking account with Buckhead Community Bank
• Apply for a 12-month, 0% APR loan towards a bike purchase of up to $2,500
• Earn 4% Annual Percentage yield on your checking account with no maintenance or ATM fees
• Make 10 signature-based debit card transactions
• Receive monthly statements electronically through online banking
• Make at least one direct deposit or automatic payment

In addition to a bike loan, BAMTA is also offering cash incentives for people to hop on their bikes to work. New bikers can earn $3 a day up to $100 over three months. And for commuting 3 or more days a week, you can earn a $20 gift card. Worried about the weather? You will also be rewarded with up to five free taxi rides in case of bad weather or emergencies.

Check out the article on Go Green Intown here! And for more on the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association, please visit www.BATMA.org. And for more on opening a MAX checking account, please visit www.UpgradeYourBank.com or call (404) 231-2265.

Sign up now!

Scroll down to the “staff BeltLine booth at festivals” where you can register for our volunteer management center (those of you that have volunteered before have probably already received emails from Sharron through the system, so you can use your email and password to log in). If you have any issues, just email me and let me know and I can help you out (jenny.p@mac.com).

#1

• What: Virginia Highland Summerfest
• When: Festival hours are from 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6th and 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 7th. Our volunteer shifts are in two hour blocks starting just before and ending just after the festival.
• Where: Virginia Avenue, in between North Highland and Inman Middle School. We’ll let you know where the BeltLine booth is going to be located within the festival!

#2

• What: Reynoldstown Wheelbarrow Festival
• When: Festival hours are from 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13th. Our volunteer shifts are in two hour blocks starting just before and ending just after the festival.
• Where: The festival will center on the intersection of Kirkwood Ave and Flat Shoals Ave (map it!). We’ll let you know where the BeltLine booth is going to be located within the festival!

#3

• What: Go Green Expo
• When: Festival hours are from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26th; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 27th.; and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 28th. Our volunteer shifts are in two or 2.5 hour blocks starting just before and ending just after the expo.
• Where: Cobb Galleria Centre, Two Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30339

We do ask that BeltLine volunteers attend a BeltLine 101 session to learn the basics of the BeltLine and to get the latest info on issues and developments. We have one coming up this Thursday, June 4th, at City Hall East at 6 p.m. Thank you in advance for your help!!

Overall, the BeltLine clean-up had over 200 people registered at 8 a.m. and had dozens more show up to help out. When we first gave our group the overview of the ambitious projects for the morning, I don’t think anyone had any idea how much we would accomplish. Our volunteers were amazing! We even had a girl walk up the tracks halfway through the morning and said she’d read about it and asked how she could help. And my Dad was out in full force (as he usually is to help out with volunteer events) and I eventually had to coax him to put down the pruning shears and come eat.

The goal of this clean-up was to make the BeltLine tracks more walkable for people to check out and envision the greener future of Atlanta transportation. This clean-up came on the heels of a major effort last fall to clean up from Freedom Park to Piedmont Park, so now the tracks and trail are visible from DeKalb Avenue and Inman Park all the way up to Piedmont Park in Midtown. You should definitely check it out! And come out to volunteer with the Atlanta BeltLine anytime by clicking here! We’re still in need of volunteers to help with the BeltLine booth for the Sweet Auburn Festival, Go Green Get Rewards Festival, and Virginia Highland Summerfest in the next six weeks!

BeltLine progress! The photos on the left are looking south down the BeltLine from Lake to Edgewood, showing the growth over the second track, our group cutting and sawing, and me sitting on the tracks at the end. The right side shows another team cleaning kudzu off of the fence between Edgewood and DeKalb Avenue; cleaning up the bridge under Edgewood; and Gerard, Zack, Angel, and me hanging out at the after party (and Dad stopped for a minute to take this photo of us).

We have reached a pivotal time for transportation in metro Atlanta and Georgia, with exciting visions for future infrastructure investments, but severely constrained transportation funding. With competing proposals for new funding sources, a proposed restructuring of state transportation agencies, federal reauthorization and now stimulus funding… where will this leave is five years from now? Come hear the experts.

• What: Southface’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable discussion for May, “Metro Atlanta’s Transportation Destiny.” Moderated by Kevin Green, Executive Director of the Clean Air Campaign, and Tad Leithead, Chairman of the Transportation and Air Quality Commitee, Atlanta Regional Commission
• When: May 1st , 2009; 7 a.m. doors open for networking and the program runs from 7:30 – 9 a.m.
• Where: All Saints’ Episcopal Church (Ellis Hall); 634 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 30308 (map it!)
• Admission: $10 for  Southface members with registration and $15 for non-members with registration (must register online here by noon on the Thursday before the event); $20 for walk-ins the day of the roundtable

View of the Bellwood Quarry from the platform built for the tour. The excavated area will be filled in to become a water reservoir with a 30-day water supply for the city of Atlanta. (photo courtesy of Christopher Martin)

After months of eager discussion around the office, I finally managed to get the majority of our zac team real estate agents and staff on the 30-passenger charter van and seated for our first official BeltLine tour at the end of March. Thunderstorms derailed a few tour-goers, but most of us braved the weather and the watery windows on the bus.

As the Atlanta BeltLine gains more and more traction, the already-popular tours are capturing a wider audience – and repeat visitors. The BeltLine project captives real estate agents, developers, investors, local Atlanta neighbors, and curious city planners across the country as we all watch the largest Atlanta transportation project unfold since Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a front-page article yesterday on the BeltLine tours, which you can check out by clicking here!

Heather greeted our team as we boarded the bus with another group, but then Derrick Duckworth took over to relieve Heather to go tackle the bigger job of teaching a large group of young kids about the BeltLine project. The tour was wonderful – rain and all – and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the project and how it’s going to affect the face of Atlanta transit! I’ve been volunteering with the BeltLine for over a year now and following it for longer, and it was great to finally take the tour (although my family and I did the self-guided tour last year)!

Do it!

• What: guided tour of the Atlanta BeltLine
• When: Every Friday and Saturday morning from 9:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Where: the tour begins at the Inman Park MARTA station on Edgewood off of DeKalb Avenue and takes you on a charter bus around the anticipated 22 miles of transit and 33 miles of trails
• Sign up! Reserve your spot online on the Atlanta BeltLine website here!
• Can’t make the tour? Take the self-guided tour here!

Thanks to Heather Hussey-Coker, the author and director of the BeltLine tour and its guests, who worked with me over the course of a few months to reserve the seats for our team! And don’t forget, the BeltLine depends on the help of volunteers, so please consider

signing up to volunteer here!

• What: Monthly meeting of the Metro Atlanta Group of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club
• Topics: Biking, walking, and transit as part of the community transportation plan for the City of Decatur with Fred Boykin
• When: Tuesday, April 14th; 7 p.m. refreshments and 7:30 p.m. the meeting begins (to join the group for dinner before, meet at Twain’s in Decatur at the intersection of Trinity and Church streets)
• Where: Church of the Epiphany, 2089 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE in Atlanta

The new Comprehensive Plan is a policy document that guides future development of the county. Rezoning is a way to implement the Comprehensive Plan by putting regulations into place that will make it easier to bring recommendations into reality. The updated ordinance will also provide design controls and unique land development options for achieving the vision adopted by the county.

• When: April 16th, 2009 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
• Where: DeKalb Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 (map it!)
• Hosted by: DeKalb County Planning and Development Department
• What: The second round of community workshops with a presentation for DeKalb citizens, including an overview of zoning and the status of the project. Preliminary recommendations will also be provided. Residents will be encouraged to give their feedback during the meetings (there will be one more community workshop after this one).

Below is an excerpt from an email sent out to our Laurel Ridge yahoo group:

Generating public awareness and creating partnerships with residents, elected officials, local agencies, businesses, educational organizations and civic associations are critical to the success of the DeKalb County Zoning Update Project.

In early December 2008, approximately 120 people attended the first series of community input workshops designed to gather input from the public on the current zoning code for DeKalb County. The first of three workshops targeting land developers and property owners was held in mid-January 2009.

The workshop gathered input from more than 60 individuals regarding the residential and commercial aspects of the code, as well as issues with actual zoning and rezoning processes.

To learn more information the public is encouraged to view the project website at www.co.dekalb.ga.us/planning/zoningCode.html. Comments may also be submitted online, and citizens may join the project mailing list to receive mailings. For more information, please contact Arthur F. Duncan at afduncan@co.dekalb.ga.us.

• 

  Click here to view the full Sustainable Atlanta report!

  Increase water awareness through the Sustainable Atlanta’s 50-year water plan. This will manifest itself in the toilet rebate program, sewer upgrades (including relining 2.5 miles of pipe every month), and tracking water usage (including water that our Atlanta communities recycle). This will also include the goal of a 5% decrease in water usage in general fund facilities.

• Reduce Atlanta’s carbon footprint by 7% over the next three years, down from the current 540,000 metric tons. If implemented in full, all of the innovative ideas for government buildings could result in a $1 million savings in operating costs.
• Dedication to the Architecture 2030 Challenge to set goals for fossil fuel reduction in new construction and in renovation of existing buildings with the goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030. This will be overseen by the Atlanta Sustainable Building Task Force.
• Continue to encourage carpooling and use of public transportation (see the Clean Air Campaign for ideas). Statistics show that where MARTA is available, Atlanta residents do use transit. The goal is to increase this usage while tracking the number of green cars the the percentage of carpoolers.
• More green space! To quote from the report, “protect a minimum of 20% of Atlanta’s land area as green space; provide a minimum of 10 acres of core city parkland per 1,000 residents [we currently have 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents]; and protect at least 75% of environmentally sensitive lands through ownership and / or development regulations.”
• Utilize the Recycling and Materials Management Task Force formed in 2008 to draft policy to encourage and support recycling in business and residences throughout Atlanta.

Want more?

• Get more info and opinions of project leadership on Southeast Green‘s website.
• Read an article from the Atlanta Business Chronicle here!

Sustainable Atlanta’s mission statement:
As an agent for developing the blueprint for ensuring Atlanta’s world-class environmental sustainability, Sustainable Atlanta connects business, organizations, institutions and residents to develop solutions and implement action plans to address the challenges and opportunities inherent in the relationship between environment, equity and the economy.

From the development of strategies to help achieve sustainable building and abundant water to zero waste, Sustainable Atlanta focuses on increasing commitment, capacity and velocity to advance Atlanta’s sustainability.

The BeltLine Quarterly Briefing drew a crowded full house for the February 2009 meeting

On Friday, March 6th, AMTRAK laid down its sword in the battle over the Northeast Corridor (or “Decatur Belt”) of the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Yay! The BeltLine is no stranger to controversy or roadblocks, but to face a federal organization on the scale of AMTRAK (while the Georgia DOT did a 180 degree turn against the BeltLine) was a bit unnerving. So this is great news and the BeltLine is moving forward as planned!

Of course, at the Quarterly Briefing the week prior to the decision, you could hardly guess that the BeltLine was up against such a potentially damaging decision. As the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. closes in on its first five-year planning phase, plans are as ambitious as ever. President and CEO Terri Montague outlined the BeltLine’s current priorities:

• To receive stimulus money. The BeltLine is a very versatile project of “regional and national significance,” with transit, housing, parks, etc. – all worthy of federal funds and reauthorization.
• Community benefits framework. This includes working with the TAD Advisory Board on first-source hiring when creating jobs around the BeltLine.
• Refinancing. The time is coming up to refinance the $64 million in bonds sold last October and to sell the next $60 million installment.
• BeltLine Master Planning. As the end approaches for the first five-year planning phase, it’s time to plan the next five years (including continued transit planning).
• Community Land Trusts. The goal is to set up an orgaization to head up community land trust development for both the BeltLine and the city of Atlanta.
• More parks & trails. Get ready for more ground-breaking on parks and trails this year! Some of the parks underway right now:

1. Historic Fourth Ward
2. Boulevard Crossing
3. DL Stanton
4. Four Corners
5. Murphy’s Crossing
6. Enota
7. Westside Reservoir (which will rival Piedmont Park in size with ~200 acres)

Of course, Terri did address the issue of AMTRAK and its threat to the BeltLine, but that’s a mute point now.

Rob Brawner and I have been working together for almost a year now on having volunteers help get the word out about the BeltLine by having the booth set up at local festivals. If you are interested in helping staff the booth, please email me! jenny.p@mac.com (Here we are in front of the wall of the booth)

Rob Brawner from the BeltLine Partnership presented the segment on the Capital Campaign (you can donate online on the BeltLine’s website) as well as upcoming events and the Equitable Development Plan (to ensure geographic balance, incentives for growth, advanced transit options, and affordable housing along all neighborhoods on the BeltLine). For more on the Partnership’s plans for 2009, please click here for a blog I posted previously!

We’re always looking for volunteers to help us spread the word about the BeltLine by manning the BeltLine booth at local festivals! We have an ambitious schedule this year and will need a lot of help. If you’re interested, please email me for more information (jenny.p@mac.com) or sign up on the BeltLine’s volunteer page here!

Mark your calendar for these upcoming events!

April 18th: BeltLine Clean-Up Day (click here to register!)
April 26th, 1-4 p.m.: BeltLine Bike Ride (click here to sign up!)
April 25th-26th: the BeltLine booth with be at the Inman Park Festival (click here for more information about volunteering for a shift at the BeltLine booth!)

Stay tuned for more details!

DeKalb County’s North Druid Hills Road Corridor will be the focus of a $120,000 study grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The ARC recently announced that it is awarding six communities, including North Druid Hills, a total of $596,000 in grants to promote quality growth and enhance livability throughout the region.

The grants, issued through the ARC’s award-winning Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) program, are also being awarded to the cities of Atlanta, Griffin, Winder and Loganville, along with Cobb, and Henry counties. According to the ARC, these LCI grants will help the local governments design plans that will make these communities or corridors more mobile, walkable, livable and connected to a range of
services. Once plans are completed, these communities are then eligible for a larger pot of federal funding to implement their projects.

The study area for the North Druid Hills project encompasses a 2.5-mile stretch of the North Druid Hills corridor from Buford Highway to Clairmont Road. Over the past 60 years, North Druid Hills Road has evolved from a rural byway, to a suburban arterial, to a regional
commuter corridor between east metro Atlanta and employment centers in the Clifton Corridor and Buckhead. Locations along the corridor are facing substantial redevelopment pressure driven by the area’s centrality within the region, household income, density and a strong and growing local employment base. The LCI study will bring a shared vision for future direction in this corridor, taking into account the public interest and other opinions on the proper extent and location of new development and redevelopment. This study will directly address the density and transportation dilemmas facing residential and commercial developers. It will also look at traffic patterns, transportation alternatives and the need for educated involvement in decision-making along the North Druid Hills corridor.

“The LCI program has been transformative for many communities across the metro region,” said ARC Chairman Sam Olens. “LCI has helped these areas become quality magnets for residents and businesses alike, acting as a catalyst for positive change all around them.”

Since the first LCI grants were awarded in 2000, more than 84,506 residential units, 20 million square feet of commercial space and 35 million square feet of office space are either planned, under construction or complete in these areas. Region-wide, 67 percent of
all new office space has been built within LCI areas. And, LCI areas have attracted 8.5 percent of all new residential units and 21 percent of all new commercial development built in the region.

The goal of the LCI program, created in 1999, is to help local governments devise strategies that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by better connecting homes, shops and offices, enhancing streetscapes and pedestrian amenities and improving access to transit options. With this latest round of grants, LCI has assisted 96 communities with more than $140 million in grant awards.

The other five 2009 LCI grant winners are:

• City of Atlanta with Cobb County (DL Hollowell-Veterans Memorial Corridor) $120,000
• City of Griffin (West Griffin Activity Center) $80,000
• City of Winder (Winder Town Center) $96,000
• City of Loganville (Loganville Town Center) $80,000
• Henry County (Hudson Bridge-Jonesboro Road Connector Activity Center) $100,000

The LCI program recently received two national awards: In January of this year, the American Planning Association (APA) bestowed its
National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation to the LCI
program. The award, considered by U.S. planners to be the
profession’s highest honor, will be presented at the association’s
annual conference in Minneapolis in April. In November, 2008, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized LCI with its 2008 National Award for Smart Growth.

I was shocked when I found out that one (or more) of my brother’s professors at the University of Georgia lived in Atlanta and commuted to Athens every day. What?!?! So the Brain Train could afford people the opportunity to live anywhere from Atlanta to Athens (and Macon) and conveniently travel to work along the train line. Not to mention alleviating some of the insane game day traffic that happens during UGA football season!

Map of the proposed stops along the Georgia Brain Train

So what is the latest status of the Brain Train? Is it actually happening? Last year, the Georgia House passed HR 1631 stating that “the members of the Georgia Transportation Board are urged to help ensure that the existing plans for the Macon to Atlanta to Athens commuter rail lines are implemented with urgency.” In March 2007, they unanimously passed SR 263, urging Congress “to provide funding for the engineering, construction, land acquisition, and other necessary costs for commuter rail connecting Athens to Atlanta.” Wikipedia reports in it’s Brain Train entry (which has some good info) that in June 2008, Governor Sonny Perdue backed the Atlanta to Lovejoy section of the rail (ironic, since most of Atlanta’s traffic congestion seems to come from the north), but other than that, I haven’t come across a great deal of updated information on the project. Does anyone have more updated info?

This is one of the first public transportation projects that would have a direct impact on my life as the Brain Train would literally run through my back yard. I live on the CSX rail line and thought at first that the Brain Train would eventually replace the CSX heavy rail line until I talked to one of my neighbors. She said that no, the plan would be to build a parallel track for the commuter rail since this CSX line is one of the most active in the southeast. And since the other side of the tracks from my house is Burnt Fork Creek, that would mean the rail line would take over part of my yard. Luckily, I have a fairly large yard and would love to see action taken to relieve Atlanta’s traffic problems. Plus, it could be an added benefit to live along a commuter rail line (although right now, there’s not a projected stop close to my house).

The current CSX track that is the path for the future Georgia Brain Train. To the right is Burnt Fork Creek, so the parallel commuter rail would be built on the lefthand side (where I could wave to the riders from my living room).

Click here for a presentation from the Georgia Brain Train with photos and facts! (not sure what date it was published)

Some Brain Train facts and tidbits (courtesy of Wikipedia and ATL Trail + Rail blog):

• The rail line is estimated to divert 1.8 million drivers from Georgia highways by 2025
• As many as 8,000 individuals or more could conceivably ride the train every day
• Potentially 5,300 cars daily could be removed from already overtaxed roadways during peak travel times
• AAA estimates the cost of operating an automobile on a one-way trip between Athens and Atlanta (70 miles x 52.2 cents per mile) at $36.54. The cost of a one-way ticket on the Brain Train is estimated between $8.30 and $10.40.
• Federal studies have shown that commuter rail is 25 times safer than driving
• For every one percent of transportation shifted from the automobile to public transit, regional income increases by $2.9 million and creates 226 jobs (Miller, Robinson & Lahr, 1999).
• Commuter rail service in the Athens-Atlanta-Macon corridor further removes more than 5.4 million annual automobile trips, and connects six commercial airports and more than a dozen colleges, schools and research centers.

View of Burnt Fork Creek as it flows south into Mason Mill Park and Melton Park in Decatur, along the western side of the proposed Brain Train route

A photo of my boyfriend's & my first date with 400 other people on the inaugural BeltLine Bike Ride. He's in the picture to the far right in the black shirt. I got cut off on the other side of him. (photo by Todd R. McQueen for the AJC)

In order to make it happen, though, the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (who’s teaming up with the BeltLine for our biking pleasure) is looking for sponsors for this event. If you or your business would like to sponsor this awesome activity, please click here for more information and sponsorship form on the ABC website!

On a side note, the first BeltLine Bike Ride in 2008 was my boyfriend’s and my first date (although he contends it was when we went to dinner at La Tavola later in the week; I vote bike ride) and was a great ride! The AJC ran a front page article with a huge picture of the bike riders. My boyfriend made it in the picture and I was riding to his left, but I got cropped out of the photo! But there it is for posterity anyway.

With a showing of almost 400 people, I encourage everyone to come out and top that number this year! Whether or not you can sponsor or participate in the bike ride, the BeltLine can always use your help volunteering!!! Please sign up on the BeltLine website for more information, updates, and calls for volunteers from the Volunteer Management Center. Volunteer here!! (You can also email me, Jenny Pittam, at jenny.p@mac.com.)

Why is it that people do not feel responsible for picking up their car parts after getting in a wreck? More than likely, someone was driving like an asshole (as people tend to do periodically), got in a fender bender, and had to call a tow truck to come pick the car up. So who picks up the trash? There’s no magical sanitation fairy that trolls up and down the streets of Atlanta looking for spare parts to claim.

So, for those of you who get into these little pickles, please pick up your mangled car bits along with the rest of your vehicle and cart it off so it doesn’t leave an unsightly mess in our city’s parks and streets!

Thank you!

• When: Thursday, February 26th, 2009 from 6-8 p.m.
• Where: 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303

Topic will include:

The BeltLine clean-up of the northeast "Decatur" corridor in Nov. 2008 with the City Hall East in the background (photo by Christopher Martin)

• 2009 BeltLine priorities
• BeltLine Partnership Capital Campaign update (in 2008, the capital campaign raised $30 million raised and invested $10.9 million in parks and trails)
• BeltLine implementation update
• Affordable Housing Trust Fund update

Plus, what to expect in 2009!

• More money raised toward $60 million capital campaign goal
• Additional investments in parks & trails
• BeltLine Earth Day clean-up (April 18th)
• BeltLine Bike Ride (April 26th)
• More groundbreakings and grand openings
• More BeltLine tours and monthly BeltLine 101 sessions
• BeltLine booth at 10-12 neighborhood festivals (if you’re interested in volunteering, please email me! jenny.p@mac.com. I help the BeltLine coordinate volunteers for these festivals and it’s a ton of fun!)
  

  BeltLine clean-up along a stretch of track that is currently in dispute with AMTRAK and the Georgia DOT (photo by Christopher Martin)

• Expanded volunteer opportunities at www.BeltLine.org
• Social networking and other opportunites to engage with the BeltLine online
• Creation of an independent Community Land Trust organization
• Distribution of resource guide for residents of being economically displaced
• Strategy to connect residents with new jobs created along the BeltLine