Vote on the cover for the new Bike Map of Athens!

VOTING CONCLUDED.

Pic # 2 won with 50% of the vote.

Your candidates:

Comment on MACORTS Transportation Improvement Program

The Madison Athens Clarke Occonee Regional Transportation committee is now seeking comments on the Transportation Improvement Program, the short list of local projects to be funded by federal, state and county budgets. Comments will be accepted through Wednesday, October 21, 2009.

Use our convenient webform to send your comments to MACORTS!

See this earlier post for more information.

Bus plans & greenway meetings

ABH Sunday reading:

A plan exists for improving transit, but will there be money to implement it?

Also, "the Athens-Clarke Leisure Services Department will hold two public meetings this week about its plans to build a greenway along the Middle Oconee River."

More about the TIP

ABH covers the Transportation Improvement Plan:

State funding for transportation is hard to come by lately as the Department of Transportation prioritizes a backlog of projects it cannot fund with declining fuel taxes. A proposed six-year transportation plan for Clarke, Oconee and Madison counties includes only a fraction of the projects listed in years past.

Among the projects that are scheduled to move forward over the next three years:

► Buying land for a new Athens Perimeter-Peter Street-Olympic Drive interchange scheduled for construction in 2014.

► Extending the North Oconee River Greenway from Oconee Street to College Station Road.

► Turning an abandoned East Athens railroad into a walking trail.

► Buying land to eventually widen Mars Hill Road.

► Completing Jennings Mill Parkway, which runs parallel to Atlanta Highway.

► Rebuilding the College Station Road bridge over the North Oconee River.

Those projects mostly are federally funded, but some also include funding from state and local governments.

red = not so much
green = yes, please

BikeAthens will host a TIP review & analysis meeting on Thursday, Oct. 1st, 6 pm at Trappeze.

All are welcome!

Regional Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan

The Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC; www.negplanning.org) has created the first in a series of two online surveys to help guide the planning process for the 2010 Northeast Georgia Regional Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan. This first survey is here .

It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and is available until Friday, October 30, 2009.


The Northeast Georgia region includes the following counties: Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton. Please help us gather as many responses as possible by sending the survey link to other residents in the 12-county Northeast Georgia region.


Thank you for your participation. Please pass this announcement forward to any individual or group within the 12-county region that may be interested.

Long Range Plan in the news

Banner-Herald reports.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment!

The Athens area "Long Range Transportation Plan" needs your input

The LRTP is a document which outlines the transportation plan for the Athens region for the next 25 years. Now is your chance to tell local planners what kind of transportation choices you would like to see in Athens.

Your input on this plan is critical!

Use our convenient comment form (with suggested comments), or download the hard copy form from MACORTS (pdf).

Comment deadline is August 18th.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts on this important document!

Welcome to Athens

Welcome to Athens, new UGA students! And welcome back, all who summered elsewhere.

Check out bikeathens.com or this blog for everything you need to know about transit, walking, and cycling in Athens. If you like to volunteer, we have plenty of opportunities! You can always check out the great local weekly, Flagpole, for transportation news and event announcements as well.

In its orientation-to-Athens issue, Flagpole generously mentions BikeAthens quite a few times...

* BikeAthens Co-Chair Amy Johnson is quoted in a story on the Long Range Transportation Plan.

Don't forget to come by Trappeze at 7 pm tonight! We'll be discussing the LRTP and finalizing BikeAthens' formal comment on the plan. If you can't make it, be sure to submit comment on the plan. If you haven't read it, don't worry! While we strongly advise you to read the plan, you can submit any comment you like on the future of transportation in Athens. It will all be considered. You can email comments to macorts@co.clarke.ga.us until August 18th. Or, stay tuned for our soon-to-be-live online comment form, where you can tailor your comments on the LRTP and submit them from a single web page.

* Also, City Dope talks sidewalks, Athens Rising covers downtown and parking decks, and a feature for new arrivals points folks to our free Bike Map.

* Finally, the events calendar reminds the volunteer-minded to consider our ongoing Bike Recycling Program.

BikeAthens encourages you to walk, ride a bike, or take transit whenever possible. It's easier than you think to get around without a car! It will save you money, keep you healthier, and reduce traffic all around.

When you do drive, watch for pedestrians and cyclists, and give them the right-of-way. It's not just neighborly, it's the law!

And when you bike or walk, just remember:

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Be visible
• Ride legally & predictably
• Wear a helmet
• Share the road with all users

Enjoy yourself, and take advantage of all that Athens offers. We hope you'll get involved with BikeAthens!

ACC taking public input on Oak/Oconee St & prince Ave

See the background details and let 'em know what you think here:
www.accplanning.com/corridorstudies.php

Public meeting: Oak Street/Oconee Street and the Prince Avenue Corridor

A community-wide public meeting regarding the Oak Street/Oconee Street and the Prince
Avenue Corridor Studies will take place on Thursday, April 30 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the
Planning Department Auditorium:

View Larger Map

The Mayor and Commission of Athens-Clarke County have requested that the Planning
Department evaluate the existing conditions along Prince Avenue and Oak Street/Oconee
Street. Based on what is discovered, recommendations will be prepared regarding the future
of these corridors. These recommendations can include changes or additions to public
policies and development regulations designed to improve, enhance, alter and/or conserve
the future quality of these corridors.

The primary focus of this project is on land use and design outside of the right-of-way, with a
secondary focus on right-of-way improvements as they relate to the land use and design
goals.

Planning Staff will give a short presentation at the beginning of the meeting and then again
at 6:30. Public comment on the future of these corridors will be welcomed and is
encouraged.

The Oak/Oconee Street study area boundary includes an area on either side of the corridor
from the intersection with Broad Street, east to the intersection with the Athens Perimeter.

The Prince Avenue study area includes an area on either side of the corridor from the
intersection of West Dougherty Street with North Hull Street, west to the intersection of Prince
Avenue with the Athens Perimeter.

For more information, contact the Planning Department at 706-613-3515, or visit our website
www.accplanning.com.

MACORTS surveying interest in rural bus routes

MACORTS, our regional transportation planning body, is conducting a survey to measure interest in running public transit to Madison & Oconee counties.

Officials said any rural transit system likely would consist of smaller vans that would, for example, ferry elderly residents from home to the doctor and back.

There are no plans to expand Athens-Clarke bus service into outlying counties, Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie said, but he does get requests from carless commuters in small towns like Winder, Danielsville, Watkinsville and Lexington for some form of public transit.

MACORTS hosting public transit feasibility meetings in Madison & Oconee counties

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Public Transportation Feasibility Study

The Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS) has contracted with Street Smarts to assess the need and evaluate the options available to provide public transportation service within the MACORTS region.

A public meeting will be conducted in both Madison County and in Oconee County to obtain public input on various service concepts for meeting public transportation needs in the community. The meetings will be held as follows:

Oconee County
Thursday, April 23 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Oconee Veterans Park Community Center
3500A Hog Mountain RoadWatkinsville, GA 30677

Madison County
Tuesday, April 28 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Madison County Government Complex
91 Albany AvenueDanielsville, GA 30633

Tell Athens Transit what you want

Athens Transit is taking public comment on its Long Range Plan for transit service in Athens.

Story in this week's Flagpole.

Local trans planning: get involved & be heard

MACORTS, the regional transportation coordination body, is currently updating its Long Range Transportation Plan.

It's a little difficult to find on the MACORTS main page, but the presentation given by the consultants who are handling the model for the LRTP is now online. The model is a representation, based on traffic conditions and socio-economic data, of the geographic distribution of traffic in the Athens region.

Here's the direct link to the model.

On the plus side, they've included public transit for the first time ever, so we may get a more accurate picture when we look at Athens Transit and UGA Campus Transit as part of the network. However, the 2035 projection was based on current ridership - today's raw numbers, not percentages - so with the projected 50% MACORTS-wide population growth and 47% UGA enrollment jump, this obviously needs some adjusting.

Stay tuned for information on how you can submit formal comments on the LRTP.

Public Hearing: Jefferson Rd Publix development

What: Public hearing regarding proposed development of a mixed-use shopping center, anchored by a Publix grocery store, to be located on Jefferson Road between Trinity Place and Moss Side. Map of proposal below (click to enlarge)

Where: Christian Life Worship Center, corner of Kathwood and Old Jefferson Road

When: Monday, March 30th, 6:30 pm

GA Senate moving on transportation funding overhaul

"Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to reorganize transportation spending passed the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday," reports the AJC.

The bill (Senate Bill 200) would give the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House of Representatives more control over the more than $2 billion in state transportation spending.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), would shift many of the powers now held by the state Department of Transportation to a new agency called the State Transportation Authority. The authority, which would choose most state road projects, would be controlled by a board that was hand-picked by the state’s top three elected officials.

Three people hand-picking the decision-makers, eh? GDOT might be broke and mired in 1950s planning perspectives, but this bill will lead to an unprecedented politicization of transportation funding decisions. Good luck convincing the three good ole boys at the dome to fund greenways, rail-trails, transit, commuter rail, bike paths, sidewalks...

Contact your senator.

500K follow-up

Flagpole provides further coverage of the $500K available for bike/ped/bus projects.

Tell us what you want: poll to your right -->

$500K available for alt trans projects in Athens

Athens-Clarke County has $500,000 to spend on bike, pedestrian, and transit projects, and we want to hear from you on which projects you'd like to see happen.

Read the post below and then please fill out the poll on our blog home page.

Details & project descriptions via the ABH:

A standing committee of five commissioners is deciding how to spend $500,000 the commission earmarked for alternative transportation - walking, biking and buses - in 2006.

Officials said they want to spend $75,000 to update a plan for future bike lanes written in 2001, expanding it beyond the three-mile radius from downtown that was mapped out eight years ago. They also want to hold back $25,000 for incidental expenses.

Projects that parks, transportation and Athens Transit officials said could be funded with the remaining money include:

► $400,000 to buy land for a future expansion of a planned, federally funded park-and-ride lot at Oconee Street and the Athens Perimeter.

► $400,000 to widen College Station Road between Research Drive and Barnett Shoals Road to add lanes for bike riders.

► $400,000 to build 1.3 miles of sidewalks along Oglethorpe Avenue, Whit Davis Road, Cherokee Road, Research Road and Cedar Shoals Drive.

► $400,000 to build a trail connecting the Multimodal Transportation Center to a planned rail-trail project in East Athens.

► $400,000 to supplement sales tax revenue earmarked for the North Oconee River Greenway.

► $400,000 to build paths in a proposed park along Pulaski Creek.

► $400,000 to build a bike lane along West Broad Street/Atlanta Highway from Alps Road to greenspace near the Middle Oconee River.

► $400,000 to build an off-road path connecting Milledge Avenue and Milledge Avenue Extension.

► $200,000 to buy land for bus shelters at stops where the local government does not own right-of-way.

► $50,000 to promote Athens Transit bus service.

► $20,000 to buy and install 40 bike racks around Athens.

ACC gov't to discuss transportation projects

Banner-Herald reports:

The Athens-Clarke Commission is gearing up again after a monthslong break for elections and the holidays.

The Government Operations Committee, another five-member group that considers internal policies, will set out Tuesday to revise a plan for future bicycle lanes across the county, said Commissioner Kelly Girtz, the committee's chairman.

Committee members also will discuss how to spend $500,000 the commission earmarked in 2006 for alternative transportation - walking, biking or buses.

Commissioners set aside the money as part of a deal to build a portion of a West Athens road, Jennings Mill Parkway, when state funding unexpectedly became available.

Commissioner contact information.

No rail funds in state budget (%$!!!?)

AJC reports:

Congressman David Scott accused Gov. Sonny Perdue of stalling the state’s commuter rail project and threatening millions in federal aid when he chose not to include the train in budget proposal.

The Georgia Department of Transportation requested $15.1 million to start a commuter rail from Atlanta to Griffin. However, Perdue included no money in this year’s budget for the train.

Argh.
Seriously, Perdue? What about this?

Contact him and your other elected officials.