FEB. 19 - MAR. 3, 2016
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Community Briefs PERIMETER CITIES TO TEAM ON ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN The three Perimeter Center cities will team on a study of alternative transportation and a master plan for better connections to local MARTA stations, Sandy Springs City Manager John McDonough announced Feb. 16. There were strong hints that will include, among other possibilities, a costbenefit analysis of monorails, which have been hot topics in Brookhaven and Sandy Springs. In the planning effort for trafficchoked Perimeter Center, the goal is to boost “last-mile connectivity” to MARTA by bicycle, walking or alternative mass transit. Officials in Brookhaven, Dunwoody and the Perimeter Center Improvement Districts have agreed to join Sandy Springs in issuing a request for proposals from consulting firms, McDonough said. The cities will be “working toward a master connectivity plan” that includes improving existing plans for a multiuse trail network as well as a cost-benefit analysis of other “alternative modes of transportation,” McDonough said. “We don’t know what that alternative transportation might be,” he said, but officials want to reserve right of way now. There is no specific timeframe for the study’s budget or issuance of the request for proposals. The goal is for all three cities’ councils to approve a mutual master plan for the area, and possibly include any projects among ones to be financed through a future transportation sales tax, McDonough said.
PATH400’S BUCKHEAD-SANDY SPRINGS LINK PLAN IN THE WORKS Planning for the PATH400 multi-use trail’s missing link between Buckhead and Sandy Springs could begin soon under a grant recently secured by Livable Buckhead. Originally proposed as a 5-mile trail, PATH400 currently runs between Lenox and Old Ivy roads in Buckhead, and has phased extensions north to Loridans Drive either under construction or already planned. Last year, the state Department of Transportation agreed to add another segment of PATH400 to its planned rebuild of the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange, a segment that would run between the BH
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Glenridge Connector and PeachtreeDunwoody Road in Sandy Springs’ Pill Hill medical district. Those plans left a missing link in PATH400 between Loridans and the Glenridge Connector. But late last year, Livable Buckhead secured an Atlanta Regional Commission grant to design that segment. The grant provides $496,000 in federal matching dollars, according to the city of Sandy Springs, and Livable Buckhead is providing $124,000 in matching funds. At its Feb. 16 meeting, the Sandy Springs City Council approved an agreement with Livable Buckhead and the PATH Foundation to move ahead with that design. Livable Buckhead will continue to lead the year-long design process, as it has on the existing stretch of PATH400, with the city providing support.
MARTA SALES TAX JUMPING LEGISLATIVE RAILS? At roughly the midpoint of the 2016 legislative session, a Dunwoody lawmaker predicts a proposal to direct a half-cent transportation sales tax to MARTA expansion won’t win approval. “It’s started a conversation, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere right now,” Rep. Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) told members of the Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber at the organization’s “Eggs and Issues” breakfast. More than 30 people attended the Feb. 17 breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia hotel in Dunwoody. MARTA officials have proposed that state lawmakers designate for MARTA rail expansion half of the proceeds from a penny sales tax for transportation set to go to the voters in DeKalb, Fulton and Clayton counties for approval. The MARTA portion of the tax would continue for 41 years, officials say, and would pay for extensions of MARTA train lines north along Ga. 400 and into south DeKalb County. Sen. Fran Millar (RDunwoody) said the proposal has convinced some lawmakers that the state government should find a way to help support MARTA because of the transit system’s importance in attracting companies to invest in the metro area. “People in DeKalb and Fulton have been paying for transportation since the inception of MARTA,” Millar said. “If you’re going to have regional transit, it should be paid for regionally and by the state. ... The state needs to get in the game.”
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Join the
Buckhead Business Association
for our Annual Luncheon Event featuring keynote speaker
Dr. Mark P. Becker
President of Georgia State University and Presentation of the
Buckhead Business of the Year Awards Thursday, February 25, 2016 Flourish Atlanta By Legendary Events 11:30 AM – 1:30PM
Member Pricing $80 ticket / $720 for a table of 10 Non-Member Pricing $90 ticket / $810 for a table of 10
Visit our website www.buckheadbusiness.org/ annual-luncheon for ticket sales and more information.
Tickets include a sit down lunch and complimentary valet parking
Buckhead Business of the Year Nominees:
Mountain High Outfitters Keri Gold Salon King+ Duke Sally B Skin Yummies Seven Lamps
Buckhead Business Beautification Award Nominees:
Garden Hills Pool Renovated facade of Lenox Square Restoration Hardware
Buckhead Entrepreneur of the Year and Bullish on Buckhead Awards will also be presented. Buckhead Business Awards Presented By:
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