Final public comment period for PLAN 2040 RTP has begun: May 20 – June 20

The final public comment period for the PLAN 2040 Regional Transportation Plan has officially begun. ARC will accept public comment from May 20 to June 20.

You can comment in any of the following three ways:

1. Attend the public hearing during the May 25 ARC Board meeting. Sign up between noon and 1 p.m. for the comment period, which begins at 1 p.m.
2. Particpate in our sixth and final online public meetingat your convenience between now and June 20. Review the facts and take a few minutes to give ARC your thoughts or to ask questions. This online public meeting is available 24/7.
3. Make comments or ask questions by calling 404.463.3272 or emailing PLAN2040@atlantaregional.com.

Some highlights of the 30-year, $60.5  billion dollar financially-constrained plan include:

• $21 million dollars  for scoping studies along key transportation corridors
• $230 million for safety-enhancing  programs and projects
• $91 million to continue ARC’s award-winning Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) program in support of PLAN 2040′s sustainability goal
• $2.1 billion for congestion relief through coordinated expansion of transit and managed lanes facilities
• $229 million for cost-effective traffic control and operational projects such as corridor signalization upgrades

June 1 Housing Forum Focusing on Creating Healthy Homes and Healthy Communities

The next Regional Housing Forum is on June 1 and will take a look at how to build and retrofit communities and homes  to make them safer and healthier. 

Register here: http://www.atlantaregionalhousing.org/forum/index.htm

For a family to live a successful life, one of the most important considerations is whether or not they have access to healthy and safe housing. A healthy home is a home designed, constructed, maintained, or rehabilitated in a manner that supports the health of residents and promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury (National Center for Healthy Housing).

But this concept of healthy homes also extends into the community it is a part of, as a safe and healthy “home” is more than the roof over one’s head. Healthy homes ought to be integrally connected to healthy communities, as the way we design and build our communities also impacts our physical and mental health.

HUD Secretary Donovan to keynote Piece by Piece Midyear Update at Carter Center 5/10 – Register Now!

Last November, the Atlanta region launched the Piece by Piece Initiative, an unprecedented response effort to address the metro area’s ongoing foreclosure crisis.  The Atlanta Regional Commission is a partner and co-leader in this important initiative.

Today, the Piece by Piece Initiative has grown to more than 140 national and regional partners who share a commitment to helping more Metro families keep their homes and bringing new life back to vacant and abandoned properties.  Since November, partners have been working both individually and collaboratively on public commitments to combat foreclosure in the region.  In recent months, some Metro jurisdictions have launched their own efforts tailored to the unique needs of their residents and neighborhoods – in direct response to the Piece by Piece Initiative.  

Now, 6 months later, it is time to reconvene to assess progress to date, share highlights of successful activities underway and continue this critical regional discussion.   
 
The ARC and ANDP invites you to join us Tuesday, May 10 at The Carter Center for the Piece by Piece 2011 Midyear Update. 

Interactive Map Showing TIA Projects Available on ARC Website

 ARC has created an interactive map that demosntrates all the proposed projects that could be funded by a one-cent transportation sales tax that voters in the Atlanta region will vote on in 2012.

The “regional roundtable” of metro Atlanta elected officials who are charged with ultimately formulating and approving the final list to bring before voters are looking for feedback from the public to help with this enormous task. So take some time to check out this map, which is located here , to get familiar with what projects are being considered.  And then take the short survey, located here, to inform the roundtable what type of projects you want to see on the final project list.

Keep in mind that not everything on the map will ultimately get funded by the tax. Currently there are more than 400 projects on an unconstrained list, which the Georgia Department of Transportation is currently reviewing for compliancy. Once complete, this list will be sent to the regional roundtable. From here, a five-member executive committee of elected officials from the roundtable will select the projects that the larger roundtable of elected officials from the 10-county metro region will approve or reject. Once aproved, this is the final list that will go to voters.

Get informed – check out this map to see what could potentially be built in your neck of the woods, and then complete the survey to let the roundtable know what you think!