Happy Birthday Wishes

Thanks to all my friends who sent me Happy Birthday wishes today. 

Yep!  I am 40 again!

I spent most the day at City Hall at the Transportation Committee Meeting (it was much longer than usual) doing what I love:  advocating on behalf of residents for equity in local public projects.

After that, I reminded people in my path to early vote or vote on Tuesday, December 4 in the Georgia runoff elections.  The two items on the ballot, Secretary of State and Public Service Commission are very important offices.

For dinner, I ate at one of my favorite vegan restaurants (healthy meals and healthy living can translate into more birthdays!).

I also thanked The Lord for another awesome day and birthday.

 

MLK Medians, A Safety Hazard??

If you drive down MLKing Jr. Drive, you will see medians, that most of the community did not want, are being installed and lanes are being reduced from 4 to 2 with bike lanes.  Emergency vehicles, especially fire trucks may not be able to go around a MARTA bus, garbage truck, GA Power truck (working on power lines), etc. as MLKJr Drive between I-20 and Northside Drive.  This could be a huge public safety disaster. Yet, everyone is passing the buck.

Here are the facts:

MLKing Jr. Drive, a major thoroughfare and state highway, will now have medians that are “cute” yet dysfunctional.  They may actually impede the ability of emergency vehicles (especially fire trucks and ambulances) to navigate and will grossly impede traffic for delivery trucks (including UPS & FedEx), tractor trailers, utility service trucks (including GA Power, as power outages are on the rise), stalled vehicles, accident vehicles, police traffic stops, etc.

After I spoke to ReNew/TSPLOST spokesperson, Joshua Williams (newly appointed ATL Deputy COO) and Public Works Commissioner James Jackson, neither are not sure of the lane measurements.  Neither could assure me or the fire department if the lanes are wide enough….Are you kidding me?

Besides, there was a huge community meeting held at the Adamsville Rec Center to discuss this massive ReNew/TSPLOST expenditure about 2-3 years ago.  It was hosted by “then” City Councilman C.T. Martin.  It was jam packed with residents against the MLKJr Drive medians and reduction of lanes.  Other elected officials attended.  Outcome was: Since residents did not want the MLK medians, between I-20 (at Westview Cemetery) and Fulton Industrial Blvd, Martin said he would keep all four lanes.  Residents asked for sidewalks, street resurfacing, grass cutting & cleaning of highway entrance and exit ramps, etc.

Now it is truly evident this median project has major flaws and is WASTING OUR TAX DOLLARS:

1)  Median UNDER the I-20 overpass at MLK & Bolton Road.  Why is it there??

2) Median in front of Fire Station #5 had to be cut back after being installed because the fire engine could not clear it to turn left out of the station (fire department warned before it was done).

3) Median at shopping center at Lynhurst no longer allows left turn from MLK to this popular shopping center

4) NPU-H and others were against medians for reasons including City not having funds to keep the grass cut in the medians. They were right!  Often the grass gets knee high before the City cuts it.

BEFORE more money is wasted, this project needs a public safety check.  Both ReNew and Public Works say, “It should have been done.”  However, they are not sure if it was done.

Upon speaking in public comments at the City of Atlanta Public Safety meeting on Nov. 13 and the Transportation meeting on Nov. 14, I was told to contact Public Works & ReNew (PW&R). Unfortunately, it is clear that PW&R DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON!  ReNew is blaming their woes on increased construction costs. They:

1) are over budget

2) have pushed project dates on most south and southwest side projects forward by 2-4 years or they have no date at all.

In the meantime Campbellton Road between Dobson Drive and Bent Creek cannot get half a mile of sidewalks so the local kids can walk to the Adams Park Library and Young YMCA without walking in the treacherous street.

Also, Council President Moore, at the Nov. 14 Transportation Committee Meeting asked for a full accounting by District of all ReNew/TSPLOST funds spent, cost of projects currently underway, cost of projects pending on the list.

What are your thoughts??

MARTA Releases New Funding Plan

The MARTA Board of Directors will vote on Thursday, October 4 on how the Atlanta half-penny sales tax will be used over the next 40 years.  See the full plan overview in the 9/27/18 AJC.

Here are my thoughts on this updated thoughts on MARTA’s updated funding plan:

1)  The Campbellton Rd Light Rail Transit (LRT) & Greenbriar Transit Center can be a win for transit dependent riders and will draw “choice riders” from that corridor, City of South Fulton, Camp Creek and beyond. However, it needs to be the #1 project on that list for implementation and use an accelerated schedule (remember The I-85 bridge?). Since the #83 Campbellton Rd/Greenbriar bus Route is #1, it should be prioritized as #1 in project scheduling and completion. That

would be the start of unprecedented equity in this major project.

2)  Emory will always secure funding for what it wants. Bravo MARTA for realizing they could reallocate some of their originally designated funding. Perhaps this is a move toward equity.

3)  BeltLine. I agree with Councilmen Dickens and Hillis who said in Wednesday’s Transportation Committee meeting that the south end of the Beltline needs to be done before other BeltLine areas to insure it gets done. They discussed how south side projects are always done last and if funding run out, those areas suffer most. That would be a real equity move!  Besides, the folks who live on the BeltLine are mostly choice riders, they won’t suffer any loss other than pride. They will get other funding including from their own financial portfolios, if they choose.

4) I still believe the Fulton Industrial Blvd. (FIB) MARTA Station should be added. The extra funding that went to the BeltLine should go here. This is a key regional job corridor as well as the gateway to Cobb County. Cobb residents overwhelmingly used the H.E.Holmes MARTA station when originally opened (as the Hightower station). Today, on Falcons and other game days, Cobb residents fill that station to capacity.

5) The FIB station would be the gateway to the future Cobb County MARTA connection and take thousands of cars off the I-20 FIB corridor daily as well as help Six Flags employees and visitors; both UPS distribution centers and more. The #73 FIB bus route, out of the Holmes station, ranks #6 in MARTA ridership.  Another reason to add this station.  Cobb County’s Planning and Division Manager, Eric Meyer, said after a recent ARC meeting that he is all for the FIB station and would be happy to work with stakeholders to make it happen.

6) If we can’t get FIB right now, “At least give us the Holmes heavy rail extension to I-285 at MLKing. That way, drivers would exit there and take MARTA into the city” says Councilman Dickens. That extension was supposed to be done about eight years ago. According to MARTA, ‘There was a glitch in funding for that project.’ Yet another prime example of why south and west side projects need to be done first!

7) The state of Georgia needs to step up their game. They benefit from everything that happens in metro Atlanta.  They use all that Metro Atlanta has to offer to sell prospective companies on why they need to expand or relocate here.  Yet, other than $100 million for a transit funding along GA 400, on the north side, no other funding has been allocated.  Shame on you!  Metro Atlantans pay state taxes.  A portion of that should go to MARTA expansion to give is any chance of decreasing our ridiculous traffic woes.

And, perhaps in 2019, our legislators will introduce and pass legislation to allow for a portion of Georgia’s fuel tax to be used for MARTA… something other than expanding our roads by adding more lanes.  We are among very few states who do not fund public transit from the fuel tax because this state was controlled by the auto industry for so long (they wanted people to buy cars, not take public transit.).  With Ford and GM assembly plants long gone, Georgia is still operating as if those plants are still here.  What’s up with that??  Being 18 years into the new millennium, what are our legislators waiting for??

Here is an updated article with thoughts from a GSU researcher, Chris Wyczalkowski on MARTA’s current funding challenges (click on the MARTA article if it does not automatically load.):

https://epaper.ajc.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=Atlanta%20Journal-Constitution&pubid=8e0858ee-1443-484d-9e94-f8b8a1eaaaff