More Crime Prevention Cameras Coming To Midtown

Crime prevention and homeland security got a significant boost Monday after the Atlanta City Council agreed to purchase 112 cameras on behalf of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) for the Operation Shield Precinct Infrastructure Development Initiative.

Ninety-two cameras will be installed in Zone 5, which encompasses much of downtown and Midtown Atlanta, with the remaining 20 cameras evenly distributed among Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

The purchase was approved by a vote of 15-0. The state of art wireless mesh network cameras, including consulting, training, and installation, will cost $2.25 million.

Operation Shield seeks to leverage existing camera infrastructure installed by private entities throughout the city, ensuring a comprehensive and robust network that will eventually include thousands of cameras using both wireless and fiber optic infrastructure throughout the city.

The benefits of Operation Shield include real-time information sharing and availability to first responders, crime reduction in high crime areas, improved overall response times and improved threat detection and/or attack prevention.

The APD and the Atlanta Police Foundation, in partnership with the Atlanta Security Council, Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, and Midtown Alliance launched Operation Shield in April 2007. 

In September 2011, the Operation Shield Video Integration Center also came on-line. It enables APD to provide domain awareness for both public and private sector cameras via analytical software. 

17th Street Bridge Work Delays

Georgia Department of Transportation workers began installing a new railing across the 17^th Street bridge on Monday that could result in sporadic delays in the coming days and weeks ahead.

In August 2011, parts of the bridge railing fell onto the expressway and resulted in the temporary closing of the connector, but thankfully no injuries. Investigators later determined that a glue did not properly hold bolts in place.

11Alive News reports that the new railing is expected to be in place by the end of December.

BeltLine Eastside Trail Opens

The Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail was officially opened to the public during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

The Eastside Trail, which comprises a 2.25-mile-long section of the Atlanta BeltLine:

• runs from Irwin Street to 10th Street and Monroe Drive
• connects the neighborhoods of Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Midtown, Poncey Highland and Virginia Highland
• contains a 14-foot wide concrete trail and 30 acres of landscaped greenspace
• includes spaces for both public art and naturalistically designed exercise station
• connects Piedmont Park to Freedom Park and Historic Fourth Ward Park and Skatepark
• connects to the PATH Foundation trail running from Stone Mountain to downtown.

See here as FOX 5 tests as to which could get across town quicker: a bike, a car or a runner. Each starts in the Inman Park section of the Trail and heads to Piedmont Park – a 2.25 mile trip.

Premier Exhibitions Announces Q2 Profits

Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions, which presents museum-quality touring exhibitions such as “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,” and others found at Atlantic Station, announced Monday that produced a $3 million profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Among its exhibitions are “Bodies...The Exhibition,” “Bodies Revealed” and “Dialog in the Dark.” Key to the profit numbers were an average attendance spike of 28 percent, which helped boost revenue more than 63 percent to $13.4 million.

Said Premier Exhibitions Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Michael Little in a news release: 

“We are very pleased with our financial results, as they clearly demonstrate the leveraging opportunities inherent within our model. Exhibition revenues benefitted from a sharp increase in daily attendance, while our QVC relationship and e-commerce presence, along with the revamped product assortment showcased at our exhibits, facilitated significantly higher merchandise revenues.”

See here for more information.

APS Task Force for Inman Capacity Issues

The next Inman Task Force meeting is set for Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 9 a.m. in the Inman Middle School Media Center. The meeting is open to the public.

At its Oct. 2 meeting, the Task Force continued its discussion on the 6th grade vs. 8th grade academy options to ease crowding at Inman. At Tuesday’s meeting, the task force is expected to discuss the possible locations in greater detail, including acreage and buildability. 

For meeting minutes, schedule, and norms see here.