Get Heard!: Georgians Asked to Contribute to State Transportation Strategy

Via our friends at Georgia Bikes!...

Georgians Asked to Contribute to State Transportation Strategy

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Contact: Office of Communications 404-651-7774, Ericka Davis, GDOT
404-656-5267, William Mecke, GRTA 404-463-3011


ATLANTA— Governor Sonny Perdue and state transportation leaders today
launched the Investing in Tomorrow’s Transportation Today (IT3) website –
www.IT3.GA.Gov. The site will provide all Georgians an opportunity to give
input on a major transportation initiative that state leaders will propose
in the coming months.

“Through IT3, we will transform Georgia’s transportation system,” said
Governor Sonny Perdue. “Working together, the State Transportation Board,
GDOT and GRTA are listening to the concerns and desires of the public, our
elected officials, the business community and other interested groups. With
this input, we will shape a comprehensive and effective strategy for
addressing Georgia’s transportation needs.”

To give Georgians a chance to speak directly with state transportation
leaders regarding the IT3 initiative, Georgia Department of Transportation
(GDOT) Commissioner Gena Abraham and Georgia Regional Transportation
Authority (GRTA) Executive Director Dick Anderson will hold listening
sessions across the state. The listening tour will be held during the week
of September 22 in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Macon, Savannah and
Valdosta.

“The website will provide regular updates of our work on IT3 as well as
the opportunity for members of the public to share information that will
help us shape Georgia’s transportation strategy,” said Commissioner Abraham.
“We encourage everyone to visit the site, learn about IT3 and its goals, and
to let us know their ideas for keeping Georgia’s transportation network the
best in the nation.”

“We are committed to listening to the public’s concerns and ideas,”
Anderson added. “In addition to meeting with community leaders throughout
the state, Commissioner Abraham and I will visit cities around the state to
hear, in person, what our citizens feel should be our strategic priorities.”

The Listening tour schedule is:

Monday, September 22, 4 -7 p.m., Macon, Commissioner Abraham

Tuesday, September 23, 4-7 p.m., Savannah, Commissioner Abraham, Mr.
Anderson

Wednesday, September 24, noon – 2 p.m., Dalton, Commissioner Abraham, Mr.
Anderson

Wednesday, September 24, 4-7 p.m., Atlanta, Commissioner Abraham, Mr.
Anderson

Thursday, September 25, noon – 2 p.m., Valdosta, Mr. Anderson

Thursday, September 25, 4-7 p.m., Columbus, Mr. Anderson

Friday, September 26, noon – 2 p.m., Augusta, Mr. Anderson

Specific locations in each city will be announced in early September.
# # #

Campus Transit runs it round the clock

From UGA's Columns magazine, good news for those who need campus-centered transit late night:

24-hour bus service
UGA’s Campus Transit System now offers bus services 24 hours per day.

A new bus route named UGA Overnight will operate from 1 a.m.–6:30 a.m. with stops from Family Housing all the way to the Arch. The route will serve stops similar to the Weekender route, except that the bus will not leave campus.

The bus will stop at Family Housing Building S, the East Campus parking deck, Snelling Dining Commons, Russell Hall, the Arch, the Tate Student Center, the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel and East Village Commons. Additional stops along the route may be made if requested.

Two buses will operate the route with approximately 15- 20 minutes between them so riders should have to wait no more than 20 minutes for a bus.

The new route will be offered on a trial basis fall semester to gauge demand for the service.

The route will run Mondays through early Saturday mornings with regular weekend bus service ­available from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Campus night routes, operating from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m., remain unchanged from last year.

Campus Transit also has extended the route hours for the Milledge Avenue bus service from 7 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. This route runs through Five Points and by the fraternity and sorority houses on Milledge Avenue.

For additional information on the new route, including a timetable and list of its stops, visit www.transit.uga.edu and click on the Full Service link, then the UGA Overnight link.

Also in transit news, ABH covers the debate over funding those funky bus shelters.

Funding Athens Transit: to ad or not to ad?

See the 3rd article down in this week's Flagpole, "How to Get The Bus More Money?," which covers recent discussions between Athens Transit, ACC staff, and the mayor & commission about whether or not to allow banner ads on the side of city buses as a revenue generator for transit services.

Sounds like a lot of money, but it also sounds like a slippery slope of marketing & branding our visible public space. Thoughts on this?

Art Bike Auction update

Final Art Bike Auction
8pm, Friday, September 5th.
The Globe, upstairs.

Buy beer, bid on art bikes, good times all around. Bring your kazoos and noisemakers. I have no idea if we'll use them, but this is your chance.

Details on art bikes and the auction here.

Cheers!

"Bike Ride for Youth" postponed

Dear cyclists and volunteers,
Due to bad weather from Tropical Storm Fay on Saturday, we were forced to postpone the Bike Ride for Youth. We will send out another announcement as soon as the date is set.

This does allow you more time to collect pledges of support, increasing your chances to win one of the raffle prizes. We can accept pledges at our website, www.athensbgca.com, and also at the Boys & Girls Club office (706-549-7017).

If you have not already done so, you may now pay your $15 registration fee online by clicking on "Make On-line Donation!" and choosing "Bike Ride for Youth - registration."

Thank you for your patience - more info will follow soon!
Laura Floyd
Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens

Thanks & Art Bikes

Many thanks to all who came out for our annual meeting last night at Cine'!
There's a short slide show below of pics from the event.

Don't forget that our Art Bike Auction is still in progress! Bids are down for all bikes, but we are accepting bids through the 30th.

Go here for details on bidding and pics of the frames. They are amazing.

Transportation news roundup

In today's ABH, a piece on the undeniable growth of scooter & moped use in Athens.

FYI: "Moped drivers who scoot along in bike lanes will be ticketed."

Another article in the ABH discusses plans to ease traffic on Mitchell Bridge Rd by moving cars to Athens West Pkwy.

And from last week's Flagpole, coverage of delays with UGA's Alternative Transportation Program:

With the start of UGA's fall semester this month, perhaps no section of the University's staff is more anxious - or busier - than Parking Services. August has typically been "a zoo," in the words of Parking Services chief Don Walter. After getting parking permits sold and distributed to faculty, staff and students for the year, Walter's staff then has to enforce regulations, assist confused customers and otherwise try to keep the campus's parking system - which has been in a process of refinement through great effort over the past several years - working smoothly.

As of the first week of August, though, Walter could already begin his tally of aggravated individuals: at least a couple of users of Parking Services' Alternative Transportation Program, or ATP, who were told that the program will not exist in the month of August this year.

Don't forget our Annual Meeting is tomorrow at Cine, 7 pm- Come for the food, friends, films, and our first Art Bike Auction!

Art Bikes for auction

Watch the slide show below to see our collection of "Art Bikes," classic road bike frames featuring the original work of local artists, including:Lou Kregel, John Hinkameyer, David Hale, and Toby Cole.
Frame prep and final coating was done by Airglow from Washington, GA.
The frames were initially refurbished by BikeAthens’ Bike Recycling Shop and Ben’s Bikes.

The bikes include these brands: men's older model Schwinn, men's Specialized Rockhopper, women's Free Spirit Brittany, women's Magna, and a men's Murry.

Come to the annual meeting this Thursday at Cine (7 pm) to make your first bid, or see the frames on dsplay at The Globe and The National, or call 706-714-8450.

BikeAthens Annual Meeting & Party

We are hosting our Annual Membership Meeting and Party this year at Cine Bar-Cafe downtown.
We'll get started at 7 pm.
We'll have food, a screening of our "Tour de Sprawl 2003" film, and the introduction of our Art Bike Auction!
Renew your membership or join, come hear what we have accomplished, and watch a documentary film featuring Athens' cyclists and cycles.

Plus, meet & socialize with your neighbors who support our mission of transportation choices in Athens.

We hope to see you there!

Emory Univ selling low cost bikes

Check out this article from CNN. Our neighbors down at Emory are really encouraging bicycle use!
UGA, take note and follow the leader!

Excerpt:

The school is selling discounted bicycles to students and faculty, adding bike lanes to campus roads and stocking bikes that can be borrowed for free.

The university is pushing its $250,000 "Bike Emory" initiative, launched a year ago, in hopes of convincing students and faculty that the eco-friendly bikes are a better alternative to their four-wheeled, gas-guzzling counterparts.

Cycling already has a foothold at many colleges, where hefty parking fees, sprawling campuses and limited roads make it tough to travel. Still, most students are reluctant to leave their cars parked.

"They're using them to drive from residence halls to class, which is a two- or three-block commute," said Ric Damm, an administrator and cycling coach at Ripon College, which is giving away $300 bikes to freshmen who leave their cars at home. "We thought, 'How can we provide an incentive to get them out of that behavior?"'

Moving drunks around

In a piece in today's Flagpole, outlining the stricter stance the ACC Solicitor is taking toward underage drinking, editor Ben Emanuel notes some possible transportation solutions to the motorcade of drunkards leaving downtown every night between 10 and 3:00 a.m.:

Also at the meeting, bar owners heard from Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie, who noted that late-night bus service for downtown hasn’t been discussed much since a brief attempt foundered a few years ago. In a sign of the good that might yet come out of the revived HRP, though, the newly-assembled group was unanimous in its enthusiasm to renew planning discussions for late-night transit service to get downtown-goers home safely.

The group heard, too, from Matt Presnell, who with his brother started a local outfit of the company Zingo this spring. Zingo, now operating in eight cities across the country according to its website, offers customers an insured, sober driver with a fold-up mini-motor-scooter that fits in a car’s trunk for the ride home, giving the hired driver a way back downtown after getting the car and its occupants home safely.

Northeast Georgia Regional Transportation Forum

An announcement from The Northeast Georgia Self Advocacy Network:

The Northeast Georgia Self Advocacy Network in cooperation with the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities is sponsoring the Northeast Georgia Regional Transportation Forum hosted by the Multiple Choices Center for Independent Living, Inc. The intent of the forum is to educate the citizens of region 5, (Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oglethorpe, Oconee, and Walton counties), about cross county transportation efforts thru out the state of Georgia.

If you are a resident of Northeast Georgia with a concern about transportation including: reasonable accommodations, getting to appointments , shopping, social events, traffic, or the high cost of gas, please join us on August 21, 2008.

A panel of representatives from the Department of Transportation, Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, and others will be asking questions to develop a strategy for a statewide strategic transportation plan.
* Date: August 21, 2008
* Time; 6:00 PM
* Place: Multiple Choices Center for Independent Living, Inc.
850 Gaines School Road, Athens, Georgia 30605

If you need further information please contact (706) 549-1020.

ATP delays

It is our understanding that parking passes for those in UGA's Alternate Transportation Program (ATP) will not be available until September. Clients have been told to use the pay lots until then.

Parking Services has previously indicated that there are insufficient parking spaces to accommodate demand. Those who subscribe to ATP are partners in reducing that demand.

UGA parking services can be reached at parking@uga.edu