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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Transit / Roads Multi-use paths between parks, raised medians along Boulevard, and bike lanes aplenty: a look at Atlanta's draft list of projects to be funded with local T-SPLOST cash

Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 10:52 AM

City would receive roughly $90 million over 10 years to spend on local projects

City of Atlanta
City would receive roughly $90 million over 10 years to spend on local projects

City Hall officials tonight will brief residents on what bike, road, and sidewalk projects they'd like to build over the next five years with millions of dollars in funding Atlanta will receive if voters approve the regional transportation tax on July 31. We were able to snag a copy of that list prior to the meeting, which you can download here (PDF).

The city's divided the list of projects - which include streetscape improvements, bridge repairs, and bike lanes, road repavings, and other fixes - into four categories. The city appears to have embraced the idea that they might as well add bike lanes and pedestrian improvements where it makes sense and respect motorists, cyclists, and walkers alike: many of the proposed projects conform to Complete Streets criteria.

Roughly $20 million over five years would be spent on "high-priority" projects, which are marked in green. On that list is: a Complete Street overhaul on DeKalb Avenue between Hurt Street and the City Limits; bicycle and pedestrian improvements in Chastain Park and Grant Park; traffic safety improvements between Bolton Road from Marietta Boulevard to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway; milling and repaving and "intersection capacity" improvements (widening? ) along Mount Paran Road from I-75 North to Paces Ferry Road, which would include a bike trail along the road's eastern side that ostensibly would lead to the Chattahoochee River; among others.

Projects listed in blue were pulled from Livable Centers Initiative studies and could be matched with federal funding. City officials would focus on many streetscape and road improvements and use the cash - roughly $9 million over five years - to help secure federal funding for an overhaul of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard from Joseph Lowery Boulevard to Northside Drive replete with bike lanes and streetscape and sidewalk improvements; streetscape improvements and pedestrian improvements along Moreland Avenue between Mansfield Street and DeKalb Avenue including a lane conversion between Little Five Points and DeKalb Avenue to add bicycle facilities, median, or on-street parking and pedestrian improvements.

Purple projects are neighborhood-level fixes, which were complied by consulting transportation plans, the public, and Atlanta City Councilmembers. Tax funding might be able to cover most of the cost or could be used to secure federal funds. City officials want to dedicate 35 percent of Atlanta's discretionary cash - approximately $16 million - to these projects, which include: construction of the Atlanta BeltLine Trail from Dellwood Drive to Peachtree Road; a multi-use path from Mecaslin Street from Loring Heights to Atlantic Station; and adding raised median areas and other pedestrian safety improvements on Boulevard between Ponce de Leon Avenue and DeKalb Avenue; sidewalk and ADA ramp installation and repair in Oakland City; and pedestrian safety improvements along Cleveland Avenue between Metropolitan Parkway and Browns Mill Road; a new street connection on Monroe Drive at 8th Street to Ponce de Leon Avenue at Ponce City Market; and many others.

Projects in red were selected by metro Atlanta elected officials during the roundtable process to be funded if the 1 percent sales tax measure is approved. Those include $601 million to build transit along parts of the Atlanta Beltline and into Midtown and new bridges.

Note that the project list would be reviewed every year and that city officials have not outlined how the remaining cash - almost $50 million - would be spent.

Tags: regional transportation tax, regional transportation funding, T-SPLOST

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