Residents Invited to Attend Six Flags LCI Study Kick-Off Meeting

On Thursday, South Cobb residents can take part in the kick-off for the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative study of the Six Flags area.

The purpose of this $125,000 study is to develop a plan to improve the area’s transportation infrastructure, while encouraging “viable land use planning” to “energize economic development,” according to a fact sheet from the Cobb Department of Transportation.

The study is funded by a $100,000 planning grant from and a $25,000 contribution from the county. The Cobb DOT manages the study, with support from the Cobb County Community Development Agency and the Cobb County Department Office of Economic Development.

Although transportation is a large component of the study, Cobb DOT Planning Division Manager Laraine Vance said it is not the main focus of the study.

From the feedback received at the recent transportation is a huge problem in the area. With the r, transportation has become an even larger challenge for many in the area. Residents also voiced concerns about the safety challenges that face pedestrians because of the lack of sidewalks and crossing signals in the area.

Vance said the county applied for the grant for the study more than a year ago, before CCT made the decision to cut the routes due to low ridership and to adhere to a countywide command to cut department budgets by 10 percent.

However, as a Livable Community, the Six Flags Corridor qualifies for additional transportation funding from the Atlanta Regional Commission and “positions the area to compete” with adjacent cities and towns, Vance explained.

With the , the , the 2005 Walkable Communities workshop sponsored by the ARC and Cobb DOT, the 2006-07 Six Flags Drive Corridor study conducted by the county Community Development Authority and the 2010 Western Gateway Vision Plan completed by the county’s economic development office and the Cobb CDA and DOT, some Six Flags area residents may feel that studies are being replicated by separate organizations with little results.

Managers of this LCI study said they plan to build on, and not duplicate, previous efforts to improve the Six Flags community.

“Any time you do a study, you can’t guarantee that changes will take place,” Vance said, adding that “changes will take place in the private sector.”

The study is a way to “develop a framework so things could occur,” she explained. Some of those things include reevaluating policies that impede economic growth or applying for funding for transportation improvements.

Vance compared conducting the study to earning a college degree. Just because someone earns a degree does not necessarily mean he or she will gain a particular position. “Even when you do all those things, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but you’re in a better position to get the job,” she said.

The timeline for the study includes Thursday’s kick-off meeting, a visioning meeting in November, drafting of recommendations in January and an open house some time in February or March.

The kick-off meeting will be held Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the South Cobb Recreation Center. Everyone in the community is invited to attend.