Rail lovers and transit wonks take note.

At Monday’s City Commission meeting, Commissioner Scott Drake mentioned a revision under consideration by the Clifton Corridor committee that “wasn’t on the table a month ago”.

The committee is now considering an option that would extend the transit line all the way down North Decatur to Suburban Plaza, instead of the previous plan to tunnel under Clair/emont Ave/Rd and then turn east onto Scott Boulevard to Suburban Plaza.  While the changed route would be less costly (no tunneling/shorter route), it would limit the impact the transit line would have on Decatur to just that little North Decatur/Superior Ave nub at the north end of the city.

Commissioner Drake said that there’s one more meeting of this committee before it pushes forward with a final plan.

Without a direct connection to downtown Decatur, it’s easy to see how the committee might not see the cost-benefit of extending the transit line barely into Decatur and just turn left and head right on out of the city again.

Emory announces a cutback in incentives for Emory bike and walk commuters…

The Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association (CCTMA) recently announced they will no longer offer MARTA passes to bike commute program participants after December 29, 2009. The CCTMA, through funding provided by regional partners, provides certain commute option incentives for Emory staff commuters. According to the CCTMA, due to federal and state changes to policies governing how funding can be spent and regional transportation agency budget constraints, the decision was made to cut the MARTA incentive currently offered to Emory and Emory Healthcare staff cycling commuters.

The program provided 20 one-way MARTA rides monthly to bike/walk participants.

h/t: wcdarling (via Twitter)