Transportation referendum: Some basic questions answered
Last week, a coalition of business and civic groups launched an $8 million advertising campaign to promote "yes" votes in July’s transportation referendum. The campaign’s powerhouse list of corporate donors—among them Coke, Delta, Turner, Siemens, Wells Fargo, and GE —should tell you that city leaders are taking the referendum very seriously.
Transportation referendum: Is the AJC being a downer?
On Sunday, the AJC provided an in-depth look at how the proposed transportation sales tax will affect commute times. This being the Twitter age, it's safe to assume many readers delved only as far as the article's downer of a lede:
The Atlanta Streetcar is good for tourists. What about regular commuters?
There’s little doubt that the Atlanta Streetcar, which finally started service a few weeks ago, will be a good thing for the city’s tourism business. But what about everyday use? Is the streetcar a practical option for people who live and work within walking distance of its 12 stops? People like me?
Modal Citizen: Amanda Rhein, MARTA’s transit-oriented development maven
If you’ve paid attention to news out of MARTA the past several weeks, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase “transit-oriented development.” That’s urban-planner speak for the development of land surrounding transit stations. Lindbergh City Center, with its mix of residences and retail, is a prime example. MARTA has lately secured developers for massive mixed-use projects at the [King Memorial][1] and [Avondale][2] stations and solicited proposals for [Edgewood/Candler Park][3]. Seven other stations have made the [working short list][4] for similar projects.
Field Notes: Cocktails and a car wash at Auto Spa Bistro in Midtown
With a little restaurant and bar housed in what is usually a waiting room littered with outdated magazines, a mundane chore suddenly becomes a leisure activity. And in the Bistro, the only reminder that you’re even at a car wash comes from the framed photos customers’ hot rods hung on the walls. Purple and white snakeskin chairs, a wall of plush violet velvet, and a granite bar stocked with bottles of liquor give off more of an ultralounge vibe.
T-SPLOST project spotlight: Save GRTA Xpress and save your soul
Anyone who rides MARTA semi-regularly knows to keep eye contact to a minimum and avoid conversation except in the direst circumstance ("Is this Doraville or North Springs?"). It’s not rudeness. It’s just the way one behaves on public transit.
Sam Massell: It’s time to say “never again”
Last Tuesday night, huddled behind the steering wheel in an overcoat, gloves and a hat, Buckhead Coalition president Sam Massell was gridlocked on Atlanta’s main artery, stuck in the slush with the rest of us. As his usual 16-minute Buckhead commute down Peachtree Road slid into an hour, Massell, 86, had time to reflect on half a century of metro Atlanta's mass transit maladies.
Can CEO Keith Parker make MARTA cool?
This is a historic chapter in MARTA’s history: the first major expansion in four decades. Much of the credit goes to the transit authority’s general manager and CEO Keith Parker, who joined MARTA in December 2012 when the agency was beleaguered with a fiscal crisis and plummeting ridership.
T-SPLOST vote casts shadow on Multimodal Passenger Terminal meeting
The plan to transform Downtown's 120-acre "Gulch" into a multimodal passenger terminal (MMPT) literally took shape Wednesday when developers unveiled three possible design concepts at a packed public meeting.
Will the pandemic ruin MARTA’s plans for its biggest expansion in decades?
The Covid-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for public-transit agencies across the nation. Even when the pandemic does end, it’s possible that our work and travel patterns will be disrupted permanently. Then, there’s the economic impact of the pandemic and its corresponding effect on tax revenue, a major source of funding for many transit agencies, including MARTA.
