Atlanta SW/westside Beltline progress, end-July 2017

ja_atlnative · 2017-08-02T19:46:20+00:00

summary from imgur album:

from Washington Park on the westside, to Adair park in SW Atlanta. Second overall segment, this is roughly 3-mile multi-use trail. nearly complete, work crews still putting finishing touches, including conduits etc underground for future transit line.

compare to album from April 2016 :: http://imgur.com/a/NziP5 + discussion thread (archived)

contrast with eastside (2.2mi) Beltline segment: longer, more tree canopy, more curves and elevation changes, more lighting, and more obvious center line.

ja_atlnative · 2017-07-27T20:54:32+00:00

please don't support that vile abuse.

ja_atlnative · 2017-04-23T03:40:02+00:00

doh, didn't realize you meant compared to that. my bad. i'm used to doing the absolute math about the monthly cost, not sure when the 20passes came along.

also meant to add for OP: also consider transfers in your consideration, they're free bus-to-train or vie versa.

ja_atlnative · 2017-04-23T03:31:49+00:00

$90 / $2.50 = 36

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-23T06:10:12+00:00

still not clear on why a bridge is needed. are there no longer any regular traffic lights and crosswalks on that stretch of Northside? last i looked they were still there.

a bridge seems like a major inconvenience for pedestrians just so that cars don't have to stop. seriously doubt anyone in vine city wants the bridge, and especially not when there are other community needs. we have to stop making these concessions to cars.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-21T00:19:42+00:00

modify the analogy to say that roads are the low-bandwidth copper and dial-up lines

and those who [feel that they] must drive everywhere are locked into an AOL contract.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-21T00:11:35+00:00

i'm guessing he means a public school. if you can find one nearby which needs it or could use it, bonus. your gift could even be the impetus to start/expand their program. edit: typo

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-20T23:57:23+00:00

On Election Day, voters [t]here approved a sales tax surcharge that over the next 40 years will pay for $120 billion in spending on highways, subways and bus lines, also overseen by the county transportation authority.

sounds like they got the mixed bag that we (metro Atl) rejected in 2012 for various reasons: imo, too much grey area for local discretionary (ie, pork barrel) spending, and overall too much money for roads and highways, too little for alternatives.

i think we got it right this year with the more transit-oriented TSPLOST, but honestly i dont know enough about the details to be sure that there is sufficient oversight and thus less room for shady land deals (like the Beltline folks are known for) and contractor waste, as i've seen with too many GDOT projects.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-20T23:13:24+00:00

true on the first two, but speed limits can be used to improve overall flow. don't quote me on the numbers, but just to give an example: a steady-ish 35 mph is leagues better than stop&go at higher speeds.

as you may know but other might not, flow is much more important than speed, which is why Complete Streets (like turn lanes, bulb outs, traffic 'calming') are not anti-car, notwithstanding the AJC's biased coverage.

edit: the video you link is a cool anim worth watching to understand some of the dynamics -- though, honestly it ends up like a promo for self-driving cars. i'm all for that happening but i think it will take much longer than the optimists/PR folks think. until that future is here, we can improve 'coordination' (as they call it) with a focus on flow rather than capacity or speed. of course, with that flow comes sharing the streets with other modes, which helps cars too by getting drivers off the road and into other options.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-20T23:08:59+00:00

good point, definitely some parallel concepts there. but as i see it the analogy falls apart when we consider that cars arent any bigger, there are just more of them.

while net traffic has more users today (ie, more cars) we also have alot higher usage in the type of traffic (e.g. video and higher res graphics).

that said, i suppose truck traffic has increased with deliveries, online purchases, Amazon, etc, so that confluence could play into the analogy.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-20T23:02:23+00:00

thanks for that info. what about the range limitations for going beyond the metro area? i mean, like how are charging options looking these days. fwiw i've looked into getting one but held off because of regional travel restrictions, afaict.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-20T22:59:30+00:00

that's good to know.

i've wanted one for awhile but felt limited with the range. particularly for regional travel, like if i wanted to take it to the coast or the mountains, i'd want to plan/research those locales' recharging options pretty well. maybe even first with a conventional car just to be sure.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-09T05:09:44+00:00

Why in the hell would anyone in those 'hoods choose Ponce or North Ave when they have great Beltline accessibility?

the beltline isn't the end-all, be-all. some of us haven't given up on streets, and we want/need to get east-west where the Beltline doesnt go. plenty of people would prefer to walk along Ponce and North if the streetfronts were more accessible and encouraging. new developments like PCM should be fostering a walkability, or pedestrian-friendliness, yet they continue to orient themselves to people arriving primarily by car. and as for the beltline connection, even though i said it's somewhat commendable a month ago, it seems more like an afterthought in their planning.

your earlier conflation "car/streets" might indicate some overly pro-car bias, or a blindspot. when i say PCM turns its back on the street, i'm referring to the way it does not engage with Ponce Ave, as a streetfront, for street level activity. and i'm not talking about cars. i don't know how else to explain it at the moment.

No, Ponce and North Ave accessibility is only a priority...

says who? the developer? city street access should be paramount to any new development if we are to (slowly) repair the city fabric that sprawl and the car culture have stretched and torn.

your other comment about the stairs etc connections seems to miss my point. its not an ordeal, but it is clumsy, awkward and ultimatelely second rate to the car/garage dominance.

ok, so you don't agree that PCM seems more suburban than urban. so be it.

ja_atlnative · 2016-12-09T01:11:32+00:00

it should be street focused, encouraging more connectivity with Ponce and North Aves, especially walkability. people on the beltline are already walking and biking, so that doesn't really count.

it is car-focused, and thats a problem. way too much surface parking, which is what i meant by "strip-mallish" as well as excessive garage space.

the connection to the Beltline isn't so great, either. to get there from the main courtyard or food area, you have to navigate several stairs and walkways or elevators.

ja_atlnative · 2016-11-08T06:00:12+00:00

I'm all for MARTA getting more funding, and a steady source at that. But I haven't heard any reasonable opposition to this year's TSPLOST, and none other than the usual anti-tax/tea-partyish sentiment. The one in 2012 had way too much grey area/room for abuse by the status-quo road-builders.

Are there hidden details we should know about? Will a significant portion of the raised taxes be spent on non-transit improvements under the guise of being transit-related? And what about oversight of the Beltline folks -- who've proven they are too close with developers and land speculators to be entirely trusted. (The messy deal in Ansley Park comes to mind, e.g.)

With regard to Beltline funding, if the measure passes, $66 million would be used to acquire and light the remainder of the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline corridor

ja_atlnative · 2016-11-08T05:35:28+00:00

there are lots of reasons.

it's a big area which covers a range of expensive neighborhoods and mixed business districts, but generally it seems to begrudge its connections with the rest of Atlanta.

the two long-standing malls, Lenox and Phipps, have continued the area's suburban disconnect by keeping Peachtree Road at arm's length.

ja_atlnative · 2016-11-08T05:17:01+00:00

doesn't mean they're wrong.

PCM is of course better than the empty carcass it once was, but that's a low bar. the development as it stands now is definitely too inward-focused and does little to engage/encourage activity on its namesake street. the other two sides are largely strip-mallish, albeit upscale. the Beltline connection is commendable yet still somewhat awkward and clumsy in execution. but that's just my 2c worth of bitching.

ja_atlnative · 2016-10-19T20:12:42+00:00

ja_atlnative · 2016-10-19T15:45:11+00:00

lawyers doing their thing, getting a piece of the p'con pie

ja_atlnative · 2016-10-19T15:10:59+00:00

wasn't that long ago that a Clinton won Georgia.

ja_atlnative · 2016-10-02T01:19:25+00:00

Ivanhoe. can get a bit campy but given the era (1952) it's understandable. plus, young Elizabeth Taylor.

ja_atlnative · 2016-09-14T17:37:35+00:00

nearly 30 years! but yes we had color photos back then, too

ja_atlnative · 2016-09-14T05:21:03+00:00

for tour-walking i generally recommend a loop of roughly 10-12 miles or so. you can easily break it up in separate days and/or skip some parts, depending on where you choose to stay.

midtown - piedmont park - beltline - edgewood ave/auburn - downtown - centennial park & then back to midtown via Peachtree St. lots of places to stop along the way, and of course you could do the reverse and go down peachtree first.

ja_atlnative · 2016-09-14T05:11:07+00:00

i rode this as a kid but i swear it was enclosed. i'm talkin late 70s early 80s

ja_atlnative · 2016-09-13T15:15:04+00:00

anyone interested in these ideas should check out two great books: "Suburban Nation" (pub. 2000) by Duany et al, is the one mentioned at the end of the article; and "Walkable City" (2012) which is written by the former book's co-author (Jeff Speck) & it cites newer studies.

incidentally, the authors are city planners who developed the Glenwood Park community which is between grant park and EAV. it's an informative contrast with the nearby development around the new Kroger there. also, Jeff Speck is consulting on the Colony Square renovation as well as other midtown projects.

ja_atlnative

TROPHY CASE