Athens-to-Atlanta rail lobbyists push Brain Train
Published in the Atlanta Journal Constitutionon: 12/11/06
Advocates of a proposed commuter rail line from Athens to downtown Atlanta have formed a political action committee to lobby Georgia lawmakers to support the project.
The group's first effort started Sunday and will conclude today in Athens. Members were to take lawmakers, who are in Athens for a training program in advance of the upcoming legislative session, to sites including the city's Multimodal Transportation Center. The center opened in August to provide a hub for the transit systems of Athens and the University of Georgia. It is designed to accommodate a potential regional bus system and the proposed commuter rail.
The proposed Athens-to-Atlanta rail line is called the Brain Train. Advocates envision it serving 12 rail stations that would provide access to nine state colleges and universities, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state Department of Transportation is considering starting commuter rail service between Atlanta and Lovejoy. The proposed Brain Train is the next likely route for rail service, if the state adopts commuter rail as a possible solution to traffic congestion.
— David Pendered
Clayton housing authority completes apartment upgrade
Clayton County's housing authority has completed an $850,000 renovation to a Riverdale area apartment complex.
They also gave the complex a new name.
Once known as The Advantages of Atlanta, the 432-unit Premier Garden Apartments has a new security gate access system, new stone-face signs at two entrances and a new management team. All 24 apartment buildings were re-roofed, several sidewalks were replaced and all 12 swimming pools were repaired.
The housing authority bought the 20-year-old complex in 1995 for $6.5 million.
— Eric Stirgus
Two projects would add condos, businesses to Midtown boom
Two proposed developments in Atlanta would bring a new office tower, hotel, about 670 condos and 55,000 square feet of shops to Midtown.
Daniel Corp. plans to build an office tower with 700,000 square feet at its proposed 1075 Peachtree St. development. Daniel also plans to build a 400-room hotel, 40,000 square feet of retail and 96 condos at the site between Peachtree and Juniper streets, and between 11th and 12th streets. The project is to be finished in April 2010.
Wood Partners proposes 570 condos and 15,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space at its planned development called Center Point/Trump Tower. It's located near the intersection of West Peachtree and 15th streets and is to be finished in 2012.
Both developers filed for permits with Atlanta, which forwarded the proposals last week to the Atlanta Regional Commission. The projects are large enough to qualify as developments of regional impact, which means they are reviewed to determine if they are in the best interest of the state.
— David Pendered
MARTA wants Emory to study transit line to Buckhead
MARTA plans to ask Emory University to fund a $1.8 million study that would explore building a transit line between the Druid Hills campus and the Lindbergh rail station in Buckhead.
The transit line would provide Emory with a long-sought link to the MARTA system, providing students with easy access to the city and giving employees an alternative way of getting to work. Emory, DeKalb County's largest employer, is not near a major highway or transit line and relies on a network of two-lane and four-lane surface roads.
The MARTA board voted last Wednesday to make the overture.
"In the scheme of things, Emory has more money than MARTA does," said Ed Wall, chairman of MARTA's board of directors. "It would help us if they fund the study for us."
Emory officials reached Friday said they had no immediate comment.
The MARTA study would be part of an effort to secure federal funding for the Emory project. The study, in part, would determine the type of transit that best fits the corridor, such as light rail, streetcar or bus.
A study already is under way that's looking at improving transit in the crowded Emory area, conducted by the Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association, which includes Emory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
The study includes an examination of how to provide transit in several corridors in the area, including Emory to Decatur and Emory to Lindbergh.
— Paul Donsky
Timmerman appointed to state beach, marshland committees
The Georgia Board of Natural Resources last week appointed H.E. "Sonny" Timmerman of Midway to the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee and Shore Protection Committee.
Timmerman is the executive director of the Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission, an agency that guides local governments in Liberty County through planning and development decisions.
He served on the state's Coastal Uplands Stakeholders group, which recommended changes to the way the state regulates coastal development.
Timmerman will be one of five members of the two state committees that issue permits for community docks, marinas, bridges and other structures built in tidal marshes and on beaches. He replaces Clark Alexander, a marine scientist with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography near Savannah.
Also at last week's DNR board meeting, the coastal committee directed the staff to write draft rules that would prohibit development within 25 feet of tidal marsh, with the exception of permitted structures. The Coastal Uplands Stakeholders had recommended 50 feet.
— Stacy Shelton
