Maria 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!

Back in early February, Jim Galloway pointed out how the recent Republican representative shift from rural to suburb (think Perdue vs. Deal) played out during the 2011 legislative session with the passage of the Sunday alcohol sales bill.  “An interesting perspective”, I thought.  “I’ll have to see how this plays itself out in the coming months.”

Well, low and behold, give ‘em a couple months and suddenly, not only are ITP blue and OTP red purchasing Sunday liquor, but they’re standing side-by-side announcing that together, the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta had just convinced Porsche to consolidate its North American HQ at the old Ford Hapeville plant.

Maria Saporta notes the recent rarity of such an announcement…

For people in economic development circles, they couldn’t remember the last time that the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta had stood side-by-side to make such an announcement.

In fact, as best folks could remember, such a joint appearance may have dated back to when Atlanta was hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

…But both Deal and Reed said that the two governments ability to collaborate was critical in Georgia and Atlanta attracting an increased commitment from Porsche.

“We wouldn’t have gotten this done without us working together,” Reed said after the press conference. “There was strong coordination between the state and the city. We both stepped up to the table repeatedly.”

A reminder that while there may still be real and theoretical differences between the two parties running the state and city, common interest sometimes trumps all.  And as of 2011, there seems to be a lot more common interest between the city and state than there used to be.

Unsung or not, it’s already producing results.

Anonymous commenters whispering deep inside DM posts had been saying this would happen.

At first I was a bit skeptical that Mayor Kasim Reed would be added to the Transportation Roundtable executive committee, just days after the five members were announced.  But I followed up with a few contacts and eventually came across word of this Thursday meeting.  However, I’m no Maria Saporta, so I didn’t get any post-details of the event.

According a recent post on Saporta’s website, Reed will likely take the spot of Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson on the metro area’s five-person Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee after a Thursday meeting in House Speaker David Ralston’s office.  And in case you haven’t been following along and were wondering what was wrong with the current make-up of the committee, Saporta summarizes it nicely…

When the Roundtable selected its executive committee in mid-December, the only member in the three MARTA jurisdictions (Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb) was Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd. The other four members came from the suburbs. All five also were white.

That did not sit well with many people in the urban, transit-oriented areas of the region, an area that has nearly half of metro Atlanta’s population.

Reed will join Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd as a second Exec Committee member representing the populous Atlanta/Fulton/DeKalb area.

The only problem with trying to make reality fit your perception of the world is that sometimes reality doesn’t cooperate.

Rep. Jill Chambers has made it her personal mission to discredit MARTA, calling on a full audit last year in hopes to find evidence of financial impropriety and an inevitable, glorious “Ah Ha!” moment.  However, things didn’t work out that way.  Instead of expected incompetence – like that at say…GDOT – the state audit gave MARTA a clean bill of health.

With this news, long-time Atlanta business columnist Maria Saport is asking, nay telling, Chambers, to get over it and move on.

MARTA is facing enough challenges with declining sales tax revenues and increasing operating expenses without having to defend itself at every turn from a Chambers’ attack.

In fact, for the life of me, I don’t even understand why MARTOC exists in this day and age. Remember, the state of Georgia does not have any money in the game.

But will Chambers consent?

Jeanne Bonner reports over on Atlanta Unfiltered that Atlanta Business Chronicle reporter Maria Saporta laid into Atlanta’s mayoral candidates during a Citizen’s For Progressive Transit transportation forum last night, using some of those age old “you talk the talk, but do you walk the walk?” questions.

To rattle down Bonner’s compiled list of answers to questions asked by Saporta:

• none of the Atlanta mayoral candidates regularly take MARTA
• none of the candidates live in neighborhoods that traditionally have sidewalks
• none are avid cyclists or bike commuters

That said, all the candidates say they are strong supporters of alternative transit options in Atlanta.  However, it’s one thing to show support and another to live the life.  For people with the means to choose where they live that choice often can say more about a public figure than a stump speech or a kiss on your baby’s forehead.

So, if you’re an Atlanta voter and alternative transportation is your primary concern this election, find some other issue to be passionate about because transit isn’t a strong suit for any of these candidates.