Politics & Government
Several East Atlanta Patch Area Transportation Project Proposals Survive Round Of Cuts
Final list of recommendations due Oct. 15
The Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable, which has been studying a number of transportation ideas that could come to metro Atlanta, has whittled its lists of projects to 217 from 446, with a collective price tag of $12.2 billion.
The list, released Thursday, includes several potential transportation initiatives that would affect several neighborhoods in East Atlanta Patch. Here are the projects along with the funds requested for each:
- DeKalb Avenue from Jackson Street to Oxford Place ‐ Reversible Lane Equipment Modernization: $1.33 million
- SR 154 (Memorial Drive) from Pearl Street to Whitefoord Avenue ‐ Reversible Lane Equipment Modernization: $683,419
- Edgewood Avenue at Southern Rail Line (Future Belt Line) ‐ Bridge Replacement: $8.86 million
- Edgewood Avenue at Airline Street ‐ Bridge Upgrade: $2.17 million
- Atlanta Beltline Streetcar Circulator and Trail: $1.58 billion
- US 23 (Moreland Avenue) Bus Rapid Transit and Operational Improvements between Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA Station and Custer Avenue ‐ Includes Roadway Operational Improvements: $36 million
A group of planners was directed by the transportation roundtable to evaluate each of the proposals and rate them on several criteria including their ability to reduce traffic, economic impact and where they fall in terms of importance, based on community input.
Find out what's happening in East Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Ultimately, the 217 potential projects will have to be cut even more to a select few that would cost no more than a collective $6.1 billion by Oct.15.
A potential wrinkle: The roundtable could reject some or all these projects and bring back others that were cut, Jim Jaquish a spokesman with the Atlanta Regional Commission, told East Atlanta Patch.
Find out what's happening in East Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Nothing is out of play until the final list in October," Jaquish said.
Voters will then decide on a penny sales tax in a regional referendum in July of 2012. If voters approve, the tax could generate about $7.2 billion over a 10-year period — which would cover the $6.1 billion cost, he said.
