After residents rejected transit expansion proposals in 2019 and 2020, local officials went back to the drawing board, removing heavy rail plans and focusing on microtransit and local buses.
Georgia’s Gwinnett County is asking its voters to approve an ambitious $17 billion Transit Development Plan that would expand on-demand transit and bus service and create a new 26-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) line.
According to an article by Jared Brey in Governing, the plan would be funded via a one-cent sales tax increase. Brey points out that “It’s a proposal with a lot of uncertainty, given that county voters rejected a similar tax in both 2019 and 2020, and voted against transit expansions in the 1990s and the 1970s.”
However, the new plan focuses on improving mobility within the county, rather than making connections to the city of Atlanta, which many in the county have long opposed. Brey explains that “residents made it clear they don’t want to be part of MARTA, and the new plan favors countywide microtransit service along with lower-cost bus rapid transit, instead of rail.”
County officials say the microtransit expansion would benefit all residents, even those who don’t use transit, by reducing congestion on local roads. A referendum has not been scheduled, but could be on the ballot next November.
FULL STORY: Atlanta Suburbs Will Try Again to Expand Public Transit
West Memphis to launch new transit system
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El Paso launches improved bus network, new microtransit service
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South Florida Microtransit Nears 1.5 Million Rides
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New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
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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
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Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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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