DeKalb Avenue and Other Atlanta Roads May Receive Upgrades with T-SPLOST
Decatur Metro | February 27, 2012 | 12:30 pmMaria Saporta is quite correct when she notes that the main focus of reporting on T-SPLOST funding thus far has been on the big name projects, which make up 85% of total funding. But what about the other 15% (approx. $1.1 billion), which will be divided up amongst the metro’s local communities?
Saporta reports that the City of Atlanta is talking about dividing its share of the $1.1 billion into three categories: “High Profile” projects, individual district projects and “opportunistic reserves”. The floated DeKalb Avenue project would fall into the first category. According to the article, upgrades for these “high profile projects” would include…
…pavement resurfacing, sidewalk repair and installation, streetscape improvements, lighting, bicycle facilities, pedestrian crossings, on-street parking and transit amenities.
There are obviously a lot of ifs and maybes before anything would happen, not least of which is the T-SPLOST passing in July, but it’s certainly nice to at least know about these things. Or maybe you don’t want to be teased/taunted with the info?
Either way, I’m checking with Decatur’s city staff to see if we already have a plan in place for how our chunk of the funding would be spent inside the city’s borders. And how much that chunk would be!
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I think some of Decatur’s money, which I recall as being on the order or $400K to $500K, is targeted for the Commerce/Clairmont and Commerce/Church intersections. I will, however, defer to Ms Thompson for the definitive answer.
Somehow spending fantasy T-Splost money is a lot like spending fantasy lottery money. Ain’t gonna happen.
Sorry, I don’t understand. If the thing passes, the money will be there. It hasn’t been spent yet.
I think AMB is saying TSPLOST ain’t gonna pass. I think he/she is probably correct.
The city of Decatur’s plans were included in a recent story for the Georgia Municipal Association:
To set priorities for discretionary funding, the city of Decatur set its eyes on recent (2008, 2010) city wide transportation and strategic planning efforts, which included extensive public input and resulted in a list of transportation improvements and adoption of a complete streets policy that encourages the use of walking, bicycling and transit.
“Through the use of workshops and phone surveys residents prioritized a list of transportation improvements and programs,” Decatur Planning Director Amanda Thompson said. “The top priorities were redesigning intersections, improving signal timing, building sidewalks and supporting the Safe Routes to Schools program.”
With public input in hand, Decatur decided to use the TIA discretionary funds as grant matches for funds it received from the Transportation Enhancement and Livable Centers Initiative programs.
“In years where grants are not awarded, the funds will be used for maintenance of existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities,” Thompson explained. “Each year during the annual budget process, city staff and commission will determine the exact project that the TIA funds will be used for; however, the project must come from the 2008 Community Transportation Plan or the 2010 Strategic Plan.”
http://www.gmanet.com/Paper.aspx?CNID=68838
Seriously though, with the reference to fantasy money, does anyone have the slightest idea what will happen if the TSPLOST does not pass? It seems to me that as the vote gets closer a lot of people are coming out against it. It seems like the planners would have some alternative ready to go if this does not happen but I have yet to hear anything.
If it doesn’t pass, Georgia and the Atlanta area will be viewed as sinking deeper into the lack of transportation swamp. Much has been written about the negative long term economic impact that would result. It’s a fact that employers are selecting other locations now due to a declining transportation network and Georgia’s seemingly inability to do anything about it.
No alternatives are “ready” because there is no other way proposed to raise the money. Georgia has the lowest motor fuel tax in the country, but don’t you dare touch that !
If it doesn’t pass, we could adapt to “new” realities.
It’s unfortunate that fear and dogma are presiding on the question.
If it doesn’t pass it would be a 1-2 year setback for a few positive projects in the metro region, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
From a Decatur perspective, to some degree we actually benefit from the dysfunction of the rest of the region, as we become a more desirable alternative to the soul-crushing traffic issues pretty much everywhere else in Metro ATL.
Just putting a glass-half-full version out there.
Yeah, but eventually dysfunction around us seeps into Decatur. COD doesn’t have enough jobs and telework isn’t prevalent enough, to employ all of us who need salaries to pay the rent/mortgage. So we have to venture outside of our fair city and deal with traffic….
All you gotta do is look at the DM traffic map to see how much of the Decatur population works outside the city limits!
My point is that we have shorter commutes and better transit options than most of the rest of Metro ATL. It’s all relative.