Where do we go from here?

On July 31st, metro Atlanta and nine of the state's 12 regions voted down their regional TSPLOST referendums.

The Atlanta Banana examines why in this beautiful pie chart... and on a more serious note, the Atlanta Regional Commisson map below shows clear patterns of support within the city of Atlanta, Fulton, and DeKalb. 

ABC supported the measure for three reasons: 

1. For the first time, a regional project list was more than half transit. Cycling for transportation in a city as sprawled as Atlanta is nigh impossible without good mass transit. 

2. Again for the first time, bicycle facilities were included in roadway projects (a.k.a. Complete Streets) on a regional list.

3. The measure would have built half the Atlanta BeltLine and the city of Atlanta's list would have added 29 miles of city streets with bikeways, more than doubling the city's current miles of bike facilities! 

Sigh.

But today is a new day, and we are looking for new ideas to help our city, region, and state get places, not just get moving. It's time to double down on community-based solutions that help us live, not just travel, better. 

We are looking for permanent solutions that let people opt out of traffic - streetcars, bikeways, sidewalks and safe crossings, infrastructure that complements existing transit investments. The question is, how do we fund them in this political, economic, and built environment? 

We don't have the answers, but the first step lies in asking the right questions.

ABC wants to bring people together for thoughtful discussions that center on identifying the right problems and sparking collaborative solutions. Stay tuned for a transportation solutions salon where the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and doers come together around foot-first policies and projects. 

To close on a bright note, the state Department of Transportation is working with Georgia Bikes and ABC on a Georgia first - a Complete Streets policy that would affect future roadway projects, however the Governor decides to fund them. We expect the policy to go to the board for a vote in August.