not quite rock bottom

The League of American Bicyclists, a national bike advocacy group, has published their ranking of states, based on their commitment to supporting cycling as a safe & effective form of transportation and recreation.

The League of American Bicyclists has announced our first annual ranking of Bicycle Friendly States, scoring all 50 states on more than 70 factors. The states were scored on responses to a questionnaire evaluating their commitment to bicycling and covering 6 key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement. The highest and lowest scoring states overall were:

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Arizona
4. Oregon
5. Minnesota

Bottom 5

46. North Dakota
47. Mississippi
48. Alabama
49. Georgia
50. West Virginia

Way to be, Georgia! We're not the absolute worst! Good grief.

While this ranking is probably accurate for the state overall, our happy town is making some decent headway toward being friendlier and safer for all modes of transportation, including bicycles.

Obviously, plenty of work remains to be done!

Transportation news a-plenty in Flagpole

The Flagpole that hit the streets today is chock full of transportation-related articles: get up to speed on downtown parking rates, the Pulaski Creek Greenway, and plans for a downtown parking deck next to the Georgia Theatre.

There's also a humbly submitted comment piece by yours truly on sharing the streets. Enjoy!

Getting closer to ad revenue for transit

See today's article in ABH.

Four Athens-Clarke commissioners said Tuesday they want to experiment with the ads within limits, hoping they'll bring in revenue to market Athens Transit or add more bus service.

"We're going to try this," Commissioner Carl Jordan said. "We can reverse direction at any time."

County officials had said they were concerned about free-speech lawsuits if they rejected an ad because of its offensive content, but by only selling ads to commercial entities and banning all political ads, the county can protect itself from lawsuits, county Attorney Bill Berryman said.

If officials allowed some nonprofit advocacy [link added]or political groups to run ads, they'd have to allow all of them, Berryman said.

Take the Transit Survey

GCA, Inc. has been contracted by Athens Transit to obtain feedback from the public on Athens Transit services and rider attitudes. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey:

Fillable PDF form of survey

When complete, return the survey to:

Ellen Keys Shellabarger
Director of Planning
GCA, Inc.
1800 Peachtree St., Suite 825
404.355.0604 (f)
ekeys@gcaeng.com

Thank you! Your feedback will help local planners and elected officials understand the demand for expanded transit service in Athens.

http://bikeathens.com/transportation/transit/Transit_survey.pdf

Bus news

Flagpole's got a couple of bus-related stories this week in "City Pages."

Go here, then scroll to the 2nd and 3rd articles, about night service and more art shelters, respectively.

Increased parking fees for downtown discussed

From today's ABH:

The Athens Downtown Development Authority will ask the Athens-Clarke Commission to raise parking fees and fines to encourage drivers to turn over on-street spaces more quickly or to use downtown decks, as well as generate more revenue for the ADDA.

Full story.

Award for Multi-Modal Center!

http://www.athensinbox.com/2008/09/athens-multi-modal-station-up-for-big.html

New Rail-Trail/Greenway in Athens!

Great news in the ABH today!

Athens-Clarke officials are beginning to plan a new park and trail north of downtown Athens.

The $1 million Pulaski Creek Greenway would link the Athens Community Council on Aging, the Bethel Midtown Village housing project and the Pulaski Heights and Newtown neighborhoods, the Denney Tower retirement home, Lay Park and the North Oconee River Greenway.

"It gets into all the interconnectivity we've been talking about for years," said Kent Kilpatrick, interim director of the Athens-Clarke Leisure Services Department.

Officials will show preliminary plans to the Athens-Clarke Commission at a Tuesday work session and to the public Thursday at a 5:30 p.m. drop-in hearing at the council on aging. They call for a small park near the council on aging's Hoyt Street building and a trail running north along an unused railroad connecting to the North Oconee River Greenway near the College Avenue bridge crossing the river.

California sets an example

Good news from the west coast: pending legislative efforts to curb sprawl and greenhouse gas emissions.
From the NYT:

SAN FRANCISCO — California, known for its far-ranging suburbs and jam-packed traffic, is close to adopting a law intended to slow the increase in emissions of heat-trapping gases by encouraging housing close to job sites, rail lines and bus stops to shorten the time people spend in their cars.

The measure, which the State Assembly passed on Monday and awaits final approval by the Senate, would be the nation’s most comprehensive effort to reduce sprawl. It would loosely tie tens of billions of dollars in state and federal transportation subsidies to cities’ and counties’ compliance with efforts to slow the inexorable increase in driving. The goal is to encourage housing near current development and to reduce commutes to work.

OK, Sonny. You said you were committed to fixing GA's traffic congestion crisis. Are we gonna have more of the same, or are we gonna get on board with real solutions?

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.
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