- Cityhood showdown pending at state Capitol [AJC]
- Atlanta Streetcar to remain free for rest of 2015 [CL]
- Transportation Bill passes House just before midnight [AJC]
- Atlanta: Deadly Hot Spot of Twisting Highways and Truck Rollovers [Bloomberg]
- Part of Downtown Atlanta’s Broad Street now closed to car traffic [ATL Urbanist]
- How 1980s Atlanta Became the Backdrop for the Future [The Atlantic]
- Philip Rafshoon impacts literary culture, first at Outwrite, now at Decatur Book Festival [ArtsATL]
2009 Book Fest Photo Taken by DM
Re the Bloomberg article, I have an in-law who worked as a dispatcher for one of the major carriers. Says truck drivers absolutely hate metro Atlanta.
Hurrah for closing off that block of Broad Street to cars. It’s a perfect spot for a peds-only zone, with all of the restaurants, sidewalk dining, people milling about, and trees. It was already one of my favorite areas downtown beforehand.
+1. Will be even more pleasant to sit outside and have lunch there.
And so the financial projections used to promote the streetcar are officially garbage (as if they weren’t already) . Shocker that this sort of thing would end up costing multiples of what the politicians told us.
I wish the streetcar was an “April Fool’s” joke. The streetcar plan was always garbage and just a work project. I said it would be a boondoggle when it was announced and that has proven to be true. It goes no where and takes forever to get there. Who in the right mind would wait 15 minutes for a train that covers a route that you can walk to in less time? It will never come close to generating the fare box that it was projected to do and it will cost more to operate than the government estimated. Once again, your tax dollars at work. Nice job federal and ATL governments in spending our money in another wasteful manner.
Do you feel the same way about the MARTA rail lines? (a boondoggle that is)
No. MARTA actually takes people (not all, but many) to places they need to go. I am well aware of MARTA’s shortcomings (my wife uses it every workday); but given its problems (particularly with no state funding), I think the rail system is fine.
I also understand that the fare box only pays for ~40% of rail operations (is that right?). However, if the streetcar ever starts charging a fare, I predict the fare box will not come close to MARTA’s revenue to cost ratio.
Re the streetcar, my theory is C.A.P. wanted it so that tourists can avoid walking to the places it does go and thus not be panhandled as much.
Not only is it not an April Fool’s joke, they actually want to expand it, even as costs soar over budget and revenues fail to materialize. Oh Streetcar, thy failure will be richly rewarded!
I think the transportation bill ends the EV State Tax Credit as of July 1st, and adds a 200/annual fee on EV’s as their way of contributing to road stuff.. Don’t disagree EV drivers should pay for the upkeep of the roads like everyone else, but 200 a year seems high for a vehicle that can only go 90 miles on a charge.
I guess anyone on the fence about a leaf should grab one soon.
Doesn’t the tax credit get split over the term of the lease? May be too late to get a sweet deal on a Leaf if leasing is the method of purchase.
The way I understand it is the Federal Tax Credit comes off the overall cost of the leaf (or any EV I guess), and that savings is spread out over the course of the lease. The State Credit, which is/was $5,000 you get when you file your state taxes for the year. It more or less off-sets the down payment such that one can end with a lease for a leaf having essentially put nothing down, and spending 200-225/month for 3 years. So if you can get by with a vehicle that only goes 90 or so miles per charge, and spend more than 225 a month on gas, it is probably a good deal. Plus no oil changes and other such maintenance.
What is the plural of leaf I wonder when one is referring to the car? Is it “look at all the Nissan Leafs parked in Decatur” or “Look at all the Nissan leaves parked in Decatur?”
Re the plural form, I believe LEAF is actually an acronym, so I think the plural is just a lowercase “s”.
“The State Credit, which is/was $5,000 you get when you file your state taxes for the year.”
The issue with that, though, is that some people would not be able to maximize a $5000 state tax credit in one year, so the state was allowing the credit to be applied to up to 5 years of tax bills. But for those in higher tax brackets, yes, now might be the time to buy (assuming the credit is still good for cars purchased before the credit is officially repealed).
What about many Senior Citizens who pay no state income tax? No advantage for them anyway.