The first-ever Bus Rapid Transit system for the region surrounding Atlanta is making progress, and ready to hire consultants.
"MARTA’s planned Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit project – a potential game-changer in metro Atlanta transit – is poised to take a major step forward with the hiring of a consultant to oversee final engineering and design," reports David Pendered.
"This project is the first foray into bus rapid transit for both MARTA and other regional transit operators considering BRT programs," according to Pendered. With this historic moment in transit history from the region, comes the hope that this initial effort could be duplicated in the future. "MARTA’s first instruction to contractors reminds them of their role in making history. MARTA asks that all the architectural and engineering services be prepared so that they 'could be replicated in future BRT corridors.'"
A November 2019 article by Sean Richard Keenan provides more planning details about the Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit Project. The three-mile route would connect the Georgia State Stadium in Summerhill to the Arts Center train station in Midtown Atlanta.
At the time, MARTA was checking in with federal regulators to make sure revisions they'd made to the route of the new BRT line were acceptable. "The revised plan—the “Locally Preferred Alternative”—calls for a BRT route that runs from the Southside Trail north along Hank Aaron Drive, which turns into Capitol Avenue as it nears the Georgia State Capitol," according to Keenan.
The more recent article by Pendered digs into the challenges that project will have to overcome in planning—like utility relocation, stormwater infrastructure improvements, and traffic signal changes.
FULL STORY: MARTA’s BRT plans advance along Summerhill route in Downtown Atlanta
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association