Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Atlanta

Atlanta’s Raising $2.5 Billion to Invest in Transit. Will It Be Money Well-Spent?

By Yonah Freemark | Jun 2, 2017 | No Comments

The city seems to have learned from mistakes like its mixed-traffic streetcar and is looking to give future transit lines dedicated rights of way. Still, there are many more decisions ahead that will determine whether the city spends $2.5 billion in new transit revenue well or not.

Racial segregation in housing and transportation policy hobbled Atlanta's transit system for generations. Photo via Darin Givens

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How Racial Discrimination Shaped Atlanta’s Transportation Mess

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 8, 2017 | No Comments

Atlanta is a poster child for sprawl, and its transportation system certainly isn't what you would call resilient.

Last year's winner: Queens Boulevard. Photo: NYC DOT

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Vote for the Best Street Transformation of 2016

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 23, 2016 | No Comments

Street redesigns from Oakland, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, San Francisco, Rochester and Chicago are competing for the title.

Two-thirds of the Untokening attendees were people of color. Photo: Argenis Apolinario

“The Untokening” Was a Frank Discussion of the Livable Streets Movement’s Equity Challenges

By Jean Khut | Dec 14, 2016 | 7 Comments

When mobility-related social justice issues, such as gentrification and police abuse, come up, it often makes relatively privileged people uncomfortable.

If Not for Trump, Last Night Would Have Been Great for Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 9, 2016 | No Comments

Last night had the makings of a historic election for transit. Voters in cities as varied as Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles turned out to support ballot measures to dramatically expand bus and rail service. But the election of Donald Trump and the retention of GOP majorities in both houses of Congress cast a pall of uncertainty over transit agencies […]

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Atlanta Looks for Options Where Bidirectional Protected Bike Lanes Intersect

By Michael Andersen | Jul 25, 2016 | No Comments

Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities connect high-comfort biking networks. Bidirectional protected bike lanes, which put both directions of bike traffic on the same side of a street, aren’t ideal. But they can be useful in a pinch. Like all protected bike lanes, well-designed bidirectionals are […]

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Reminder: Just Laying Track Is No Guarantee Riders Will Come

By Angie Schmitt | May 12, 2016 | No Comments

Laying track isn’t enough to build a successful transit system — as some cities are learning the hard way. A slate of new rail projects — mostly mixed-traffic streetcars, but that’s not the only way to mess up — are attracting embarrassingly few passengers. Some of these projects may be salvageable to some extent, but for now, they don’t […]

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BeltLine Visionary: It’s Time to Radically Reconceive Urban Infrastructure

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 11, 2016 | No Comments

Ryan Gravel was just a graduate student at Georgia State University when he came up with the idea for the Atlanta BeltLine — a ring of parks, trails, and transit that would encircle the city, repurposing derelict space around abandoned train tracks. The first phases of trails and parks are now underway, and the Beltline has already catalyzed […]

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Georgia Lawmakers Won’t Even Let Atlanta Vote on Transit Expansion

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 1, 2016 | No Comments

Once again, state lawmakers in Georgia have undermined urban transport in Atlanta. A bill to allow residents Fulton and DeKalb counties to vote on a half-cent sales tax to fund transit died in the Georgia Senate this week when leaders refused to bring it to the floor for a vote. A successful referendum would have raised $8 […]

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Here’s What a Billion-Dollar Interchange Expansion Looks Like

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 12, 2015 | No Comments

In case you were wondering what a $1.1 billion highway interchange looks like, feast your eyes on this rendering from the Georgia Department of Transportation. In an effort to “ease congestion” on this confluence of highways north of the city, Georgia will spend three-and-a-half years widening about four miles of I-285 and about one mile of SR 400, […]

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Major MARTA Expansion Could Transform the Atlanta Region

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 22, 2015 | No Comments

Transit planners in the Atlanta area are getting serious about the largest expansion in MARTA’s history. MARTA officials have proposed new, high-capacity service into North Fulton County and east into DeKalb County that could link important job centers by rail for the first time. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says it could “change the face of Atlanta.” The new […]

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