A Tour of the New Sections of the Atlanta BeltLine

If you’re curious as to what the new sections of the Atlanta BeltLine look like, here’s a tour I wrote up on LinkedIn.

Tourism, Bikes, and Money: How Atlanta Compares with Cities & Resort Communities Around the US

I recently wrote that Atlanta was slowly morphing into a city fit for bicycling. Thanks to the growing Beltline and an expanding grid of bike lanes, it is possible to use a bike for more than merely showing off one’s physique in Lycra. Biking is normal, so normal clothing may now be worn. Similarly, Atlantans on foot are no longer assumed to merely be training for the next Peachtree Road Race or walking from their broken-down car to the nearest gas station. They’re simply going somewhere.

But if Atlanta is embracing better streetscapes for people who bike and walk, how does it compare to other cities? Complete Streets projects are known to have boosted tourism in a variety of communities. Are Atlanta’s efforts enough to provide a competitive edge versus not only other large cities, but also smaller towns and tourist-dependent communities?

Judging bike and pedestrian-friendliness can be a subjective exercise. Cycling advocates claim that riding a bike makes people happier, but we can’t measure smiles. So, let’s look at how much each city is actually spending on physical infrastructure for safer streets. Since the size of each of these communities varies widely, I will break down this spending on a per capita basis to keep comparisons relevant. I do the same for tourist spending numbers, so that a community’s dependency on tourism can more readily be seen.

Note that few cities delineate funds as being for “Complete Streets,” a term often used to describe spending on projects beyond those designed to ease motorist congestion, or any other readily identifiable label. However, spending for sidewalk projects, a specific bike trail, or road diets can sometimes be found buried in a budget. Where state and federal funding sources are called out by a city in its budget or press releases, I include them. 

To aid comparison with Atlanta, I have set three broad categories for population, tourism-per-capita, and Complete Streets spending-per capita: Higher, Similar, and Lower. Cities with higher, similar, or lower amounts than Atlanta in these categories are labeled as such.

	Higher	Similar	Lower
Population (P)	600,001>	300,000-600,000	<299,999
Tourism (T)	$40,001>	$10,000-$40,000	<$9,999
Complete Streets (CS)	$101+	$30-$100	<$29.99

Atlanta, Georgia: 

Bike rental along Atlanta's Beltline at Ponce City Market

A group of cyclists climb a traffic-calmed McLendon Avenue in Atlanta's Lake Claire neighborhood.

With the world’s busiest airport and  film production spending just behind that of Hollywood, Atlanta has a robust, diverse economy and also substantial tourist revenue. While the city lacks any nearby natural attractions such as beaches or mountains, roughly $15 billion in 2016 tourist spending is generated by the city’s convention business. That’s good enough to propel the city into 7^th position among US cities in terms of visitor numbers. Break down total tourist revenue by the city’s 470,000 residents and you get over $32,000 in per capita tourist dollars.

Atlanta has a massive list of Complete Streets projects that are in various stages of planning and construction. According to city staff, $77,430,000 in funding will be spent on these projects over the next five years. These funds originate from roughly $187 million in bonds and over $200 million in sales tax revenue over the next five years. That equates to $33.67 per person spent per year on cyclists and pedestrians. 

Boston, Massachusetts: P=Similar, T=Similar, CS=Similar

A typical unprotected bike lane in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood

A Barnes Dance crosswalk across high-speed, one-way streets in Boston

While Boston is known for transportation megaprojects like the Big Dig, the burial of the former Central Artery Expressway, as well as the seemingly constant rebuilding of Logan International Airport, the dense grid of streets in its center lends itself to walking and biking. How safe such activities are is another matter, as many streets are wide, one-way, and set up for high motorist speeds. 

To address the questionable safety of its streets, Boston plans to spend $100 million over five years in accordance with its Go Boston 2030 plan. A representative with the city’s transportation department tells me this funding includes:

·  $5 million a year toward Walk and Bike Friendly Main Streets Districts such as Hyde Square in Jamaica Plain and North Square in the North End
·  $6.5 million a year for corridor redesign and reconstruction with a focus on leveraging this investment for state and federal funding. Corridors such as Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury and Harrison Avenue in the South End are included in this category.
·  $4 million a year on traffic-calming zones and on providing short-term "tactical" improvements to increase safety for pedestrians and those on bicycles at intersections and along corridors, including improvements on Massachusetts Avenue and Kneeland Street.
·  $2 million a year on multi-use paths for walking and biking including the city's contribution to the federally funded Connect Historic Boston project
·  $5 million a year in City and developer funding for traffic signal upgrades which includes re-timing them to give priority to pedestrians.

Breaking this average annual budget of $20 million by the city’s population of 673,000 yields a per capita figure of $29.72. Tourism spending in 2015 hit $12.7 billion, or $18,870 per capita.

Chincoteague, Virginia: P=Less, T=Similar, CS=Less

A buffered bike lane on a roundabout in Chincoteague, Virginia

Heavy bike traffic on the bikeway to Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

This coastal town is the gateway to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the unspoiled southern beaches of the Assateague Island National Seashore. As such, it tends to boom in the summer months and go quiet in winter. Thanks to a fairly high park entry fee for motorists, many visitors choose the cheaper alternative of biking from town to the beach. Inside the parks, separated multiuser paths can be found along much of the main road. A wildlife loop road is closed to motorists until 3 PM each day and sees heavy bike traffic prior to that hour.

With a small year-round population of 2913, overall budget numbers will naturally be small. The 2017 draft budget shows $60,000 allotted for sidewalks, but calculating on-road expenditures is complicated by the fact that many Virginia streets are under the control of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), which recently installed bike lanes in the town. But even accounting for that, the per capita Complete Street spending is less than $30 when divided by the population of 2919. Annual tourist spending is approximately $50 million or $17,129 per capita.

Columbus, Georgia: P=Less, T=Less, CS=Similar

A group from the Georgia Bike Summit relaxes on the newly-pedestrianized 14th Street Bridge in downtown Columbus, GA

This former textile mill town repurposed its river from what was little more than an open sewer for much of the 20^th century into a recreational centerpiece, complete with the world’s longest urban whitewater course, zip line and adjacent multiuser trail--- the Chattahoochee Riverwalk. An abandoned  railroad extending into the far northeast of the county is now the Fall Line Trace, a rail trail with several signalized street crossings. 

Many of the city’s capital projects in transportation are funded via a special local option sales tax similar to that in Atlanta.  This tax will yield more than $100 million over ten years. In FY 2016 the city planned to spend more than $7.3 million on a variety of pedestrian and bike-friendly projects, including a multiuser bridge and trail extension near Fort Benning, a large military base south of town. Break that down by the population of nearly 200,000 within the city limits and you get an average annual figure of $36.50 per person going towards safer streets.

Columbus’s urban whitewater course and small convention center pull in some tourism revenue, but it isn’t a major vacation destination. Tourism expenditures in 2015 were approximately $340 million. That breaks down to $1700 in per capita tourist dollars.

Columbus, Ohio: P=More, T=Less, CS=More

This riverfront park is part of a large network of trails and bike lanes in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

The other Columbus in this survey is a major city of over 860,000 people with a lot of things going for it. As Ohio’s state capital, a lot of business is naturally drawn here. Its location in what is virtually the geographic center of the state at the junction of major transportation corridors helps, as well. The city’s culture is kept vibrant by the massive population of over 66,000 students at Ohio State University. Perhaps this explains why so many people come to Columbus, for tourism expenditures exceeded $6.4 billion in 2015. That yields a per capita tourist revenue figure of $7441. 

As with many riverfront cities, Columbus has revitalized its shore with trails and other amenities. However, the city is now venturing into the workaday downtown and surrounding neighborhoods with better  bike and pedestrian facilities.

Columbus plans street reconstructions “so that, where feasible, new or rebuilt streets will be designed for safe access by all users, whether they drive, ride, pedal, walk or use mass transit.” Revenue for these comes from voter-approved bonds that are financed via income tax collections and utility ratepayer fees. In 2017 this contributed $178.5 million to new sidewalks, bike improvements.  Break this down by the city’s population and Columbus is spending a per capita figure of $207 on Complete Streets.

Denver, Colorado: P=More, T=Less, CS= Less

This pedestrian bridge in downtown Denver, Colorado, has tracks for those walking their bikes.

The 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver

While the city’s high altitude and frigid winter climate can be a challenge for those who forsake the car, bike commuting grew by 43% from 2014 to 2015. To encourage pedestrians and revitalize downtown, the 16^th Street Mall was closed to all vehicular traffic except buses.

Denver’s efforts to shift away from car dependence haven’t been trouble-free: violent attacks have marred the 16^th Street Mall. Plus, whereas savvy transportation officials now remove urban interstates, Colorado’s planners are disregarding the likelihood of induced demand by dramatically widening I-70 through Denver.

Denver’s FY 2017 budget for pedestrian and bike-friendly projects was set at $2.7 million and $2.2 million, respectively. With a population of 682,000 people, that works out to $7.18 per resident going to safer streets for all. Tourism revenue in 2016 hit $5.3 billion, or almost $7800 per capita.

Greenville, South Carolina: P=Less, T=Similar, CS=Similar

The Swamp Rabbit Trail as it passes through downtown Greenville.

With no natural features of any consequence or any other big attractions, you might not expect Greenville to be making a play for tourists. However, the city has managed to attract 9.1% of the state’s total travel market share. That pales in comparison to Charleston on the coast with over $2 billion in 2015 revenue, but it still accounts for $1.145 billion in 2015 tourist spending. With a population of just over 67,000, per capita tourist spending is over $17,000.

Some of this tourism may be encouraged by the rejuvenation of downtown properties and parkland along the Reedy River. This redevelopment links up with the former Swamp Rabbit railroad, now a very popular multiuser path sponsored by the Greenville Health System. The trail is nearly 20 miles long and still growing.

Greenville secured $400,000 in FY 2016 via the US Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) for a sidewalk project. This program requires participation in a competitive bid process and 20% in local matching funds. Greenville City Council also approved $2.5 million in its FY 2016 budget for expansion of the Swamp Rabbit Trail. That puts per capita spending on bike and pedestrian projects at just over $43. 

Hilo, Hawaii: P=Less, T=Similar, CS=Less

A typical street in downtown Hilo, Hawaii

A bike race just east of downtown Hilo

Hilo is the largest city on the largest island in the Hawaiian chain, but it isn’t as popular with tourists as Kona on the opposite side of the Big Island. In 2015 nearly 1.28 million tourists disembarked at Kona’s airport, while nearly 549,000 arrived at Hilo’s. If we apply this ratio to the reported tourist expenditures for that same year, $1.9 billion, the tourist revenue in the vicinity of Hilo would be roughly $570 million. Hilo’s population is just over 43,000, yielding per capita tourism revenue of over $13,000. 

While Hilo is in the shadow of Mauna Loa, one of the largest shield volcanoes on earth, much of the town is actually fairly level. Coupled with a pleasant climate, this would seem like a great place to walk bike. However, bike lanes are few while pedestrians must contend with wide roads and long blocks outside the picturesque downtown.

The city is in the process of developing a master plan for making the urban core more pedestrian and bike friendly, but no budget has been set for the plan yet.  According to Aaron Brown of the Hawaii County Department of Public Works, “…the Complete Streets program at this point is in the conceptual and planning phase.” While funding has been found for sending staff to Complete Streets-themed conferences, expenditures on projects are $0.

Indianapolis, Indiana:  P=More, T=Less, CS=Less

A stylized street crossing along the Cultural Trail in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana

Bike-share in downtown Indianapolis

With visitors drawn by the famous racetrack--- that’s technically in another town--- Indianapolis has a significant tourist appeal. In 2015 over $4.9 billion emptied from visitors’ wallets into the coffers of local businesses. Given its population of over 864,000 people, per capita tourist spending hit over $5670.

Indianapolis is beginning to take advantage of its flat terrain with a multitude of trails and bike lanes. The Cultural trail is a protected bikeway running through the central business district and by the zoo and museums. North of this, a former shipping canal is now the Canal Walk, a linear park. On the north side of town, the Monon Trail follows an abandoned railroad out through the suburbs.

Spending on bike and pedestrian projects as spelled out by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization (IndyMPO) will exceed $23 million between 2018 and 2021. These funds, derived from a mix that includes federal grants, means the Indianapolis will spend more than $27 per resident annually on Complete Streets projects. 

New Orleans, Louisiana:  P=Similar, T=Similar, CS=Less

A multiuser path atop a Mississippi River levee in downtown New Orleans

My Tern Link C7 in the heart of the French Quarter

After the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans appears to be shedding the legacy of corruption and poor city management that bedeviled it for most of the latter 20^th century. The population has rebounded to more than 391,000 people within the city limits. Tourists have returned, spending over $7.41 billion in 2016. That breaks down to a tourist per capita expenditure amount of nearly $19,000.

The city’s terrain is well-known for its flat, sea-level terrain. While this makes it vulnerable to hurricane-related flooding, it also reminded me of another city susceptible to flooding yet ideally suited to cycling: Amsterdam in The Netherlands. That city was once as dominated by motorist traffic as New Orleans is today, but chose in the 1970s to transform itself into the bike capital of the world that it is today.

However, much of the New Orleans transportation budget is dedicated to simply repairing streets damaged by Hurricane Katrina and the poor city governance that preceded it. Yet $800,000 in bond funds has been allocated in FY2018 for “Various enhancement projects including bicycle routes, pedestrian walkways, signalization, ADA access ramps, complete streets improvements, and other projects.”  Another $700,000 over the next two years had been proposed to connect the  2.6 mile Lafitte Greenway to another corridor, but Council declined to fund it.

This means that New Orleans seems to be spending little more than $2 per person on bike and pedestrian infrastructure. At that rate, achieving the goals set forth in the city’s Complete Streets ordinance looks rather daunting. 

New York City, New York: P=More, T=Less, CS= Less

The East River Bikeway in New York City

A sadly common sight in Manhattan: a blocked, unprotected bike lane in front of a NYPD precinct

New York is known in transportation industry circles for its early embrace back in 2008 of Complete Streets- referred to as Sustainable Streets by NYC DOT- and boisterous political brawls over bike lanes. While many of the bike lanes in Manhattan are unprotected and prone to blockage or encroachment by motorists, overall biking is up to the point where the city now plans a major expansion of its bike lane network. Massive sidewalk congestion is also leading to more space being taken away from motorists and given over to pedestrians as sidewalks are widened.

The budget allocated by New York’s city council is roughly $66 million per year. With a population of 8.5 million people, that works out to the city spending approximately $7.76 per person on safer streets. The city’s tourism industry is quite large, with revenues topping $42 billion in 2015, but on a per capita basis it is just over $4900. 

Savannah, Georgia: P=Less, T=Similar, CS=Less

Just another bicyclist taking advantage of Savannah's dense street grid

Savannah in the mid 20^th century was a sleepy coastal city that served as a gateway to one of the few beach resort areas in Georgia, Tybee Island. But as it popped up in bestsellers like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and drew a young, creative population via the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), it grew to a population of over 146,000 and became a tourist destination in its own right with visitor spending of over $2.8 billion in 2016. That equates to a per capita tourism revenue of $19,178.

Much of the city’s appeal rests on the many bucolic squares surrounded by elegant houses and townhomes dating back to previous centuries. One reason the city has such a fine stock of such homes is because, unlike Boston, New York, or other contemporary coastal cities, Savannah was sleepy for a very long time.

Since so much of the city was laid out in a pattern designed around travel no faster than a horse-drawn carriage, walking and biking should be easy. “Should” is the operative word, here. In fact, the streets are given over to motorists, with heavy congestion that’s not exactly welcoming to vulnerable users. Savannah’s spending on Complete Streets projects in FY2016 was $43,000 for a bikeshare expansion project. With a budget of $0.29 per capita spent on sustainable, non-transit projects, Savannah may struggle to meet the challenges set forth in its own Complete Streets resolution.

Seattle, Washington:  P=More, T=Less, CS=Less

A protected bikeway calms traffic in Seattle

A failed investment in transportation infrastructure passes above a successful one in downtown Seattle

With its hilly terrain and rainy weather, you might not expect Seattle to have a transportation culture that embraces modes other than the car. Yet pedestrian mode share grew from 8.6% in 2010 to 10.7% in 2015; cycling grew from 3.6% to 4% over the same period. Solo car commuters dropped from 53.3% to 48.5%. With its strong tech industry populated mostly by Millennials who prize a less car-dependent, urban lifestyle, these numbers shouldn’t be surprising. 

For its population of 704,000, Seattle’s city government set aside $4.5 million for pedestrian and bike improvements in FY2016. That works out to almost $6.39 per city resident. The tourism industry provided $7 billion to the city’s economy in 2015, or just over $9900 per capita.

These numbers show that while Atlanta is doing well on a per capita basis in getting tourists to visit, there is at least one community that is out-competing it on Complete Streets spending: Columbus, Ohio. Interestingly, that city also lacks the obvious tourist attractions of Boston or Hilo. 

So, if things are going well now, what should keep Atlanta’s business and political leaders up at night? It’s what would happen to their competitiveness if cities with obvious tourism appeal suddenly boosted their Complete Streets spending-per-capita beyond that of Atlanta. The tourist spending-per-capita could drop.

Comments on the Research & Development Plan for the FAST Act

President Obama signs the FAST Act -photo courtesy of Alex Wong/Getty Images

Those of you who follow transportation issues in the US probably know that at the end of 2015 President Obama signed the so-called FAST Act (Fixing America's Surface Transportation). This measure authorizes $305 billion over a period stretching from 2016 to 2020 for a variety of modes and purposes. What you may not know is that the Department of Transportation is seeking public comment on the strategic plan for research and development called for by the act. 

The request consists of seven questions, which I list below along with my responses. As you will see, I focus on the enduring problem of a road-centric mentality that pervades the transportation planning establishment, primarily at the federal and state levels. At the local levels, where NACTO's (National Association of City Transportation Officials) mindset prevails, it's a very different matter due to demographic changes I discuss below.

If you find my responses useful, please use and share them as you like.

1. What research strategies and priorities should the U.S. DOT adopt to achieve the primary purposes cited in the FAST Act?

Too many projects are built using traffic and usage models that are based more on faith than on systematic, scientific research. In order to prevent the waste of limited taxpayer resources, a systematic inventory of the long-term (i.e.- at least 5 years) effectiveness of previous, similar projects must be required of agencies seeking FAST Act funds. This inventory study must be verifiable by both US DOT and independent observers. Projects that lack such support for their claimed benefits must be discounted.

2. How can the issues raised in the U.S. DOT document “Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices” be strategically addressed by RD&T activities over the next five years?

As the projection for population growth focuses on mega-regions with high populations, prioritization for any efforts must sift out areas outside of these regions. However, great care should be exercised to ensure that old assumptions about growth don't contaminate the process. In the case of growth of suburbs and exurbs in mega-regions, the standard warning on mutual funds comes to mind: "Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results." That is especially true now that the so-called Millennial generation is forsaking car ownership and the suburbs for life in downtowns. 

3. What emerging challenges or opportunities in transportation warrant additional Federal RD&T activities or investments?

Priority should be given to how growing central cities can be re-adapted for local commutes, as opposed to commutes from far-flung suburbs. These cities have street grids developed before the advent of the car, but they were adapted for motorist use throughout the 20th century. The challenge now is to figure out how to put them back in something like that earlier state, albeit with greater use of technology and consideration for environmental impact. This means pedestrian and bicyclist traffic needs will have to be addressed ahead of, or instead of, declining motorist uses.
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4. What current and planned RD&T activities sponsored by the federal government should be continued or revised in the future?

A quick review of the statistical analysis shows a bias towards an assumption that all road users are in a car. Examples can be found here:

http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/north_american_transportation_in_figures/html/table_2_3.html

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/hf/pl11028/

In order to meet the challenge posed by a demographic shift towards urban population centers where heavy car use is impractical, this institutional bias must be eliminated. Otherwise, considerable taxpayer resources will be wasted on efforts that create little meaningful benefit.

5. What strategies could improve the cost-effectiveness of U.S. DOT research investments?

Reach out to the political and planning leadership within large urban centers. Coordinate with the US Conference of Mayors and NACTO. Their concerns will help focus US DOT efforts where they will be most useful, because they are at the center of the demographic shift I previously described.

6. How can U.S. DOT best coordinate its RD&T activities with Federal, State, local, private sector, non-profit institutions, and international partners?

While reaching out to individual agencies and groups would seem ideal, the odds are that someone will be overlooked. Boost US DOT's social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, or even Instagram) to get the word out about forthcoming efforts. The first step in coordination is to alert those you want to coordinate with, and social media is now a ubiquitous tool.

7. What knowledge gaps merit additional exploration by the USDOT?

Most transportation agencies have a generational divide between those in senior ranks who grew up in the suburban heyday of the car and those in junior ranks who know a different lifestyle. It is difficult, though not impossible, for someone who never has thought of pedestrians and bicyclists as a high priority to focus on their infrastructural issues. Such individuals must be retrained and tested so that they implement the new multimodal, Complete Streets paradigm.

Thanks

A Note to VDOT that One Alleged Transportation Advocacy Group Won't Like

Thanks to David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington, I was recently made aware of an effort by the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (NVTA), an organization hopelessly mired in old-school transportation thinking,  to mount an email (or letter-writing, as they're VERY old-school) campaign to push the state of Virginia to cut spending on transit and nonmotorized modes, such as bikes and pedestrians. NVTA wants this money re-tasked to highway widenings.

So, I set out to write Virginia's Department of Transportation a note of my own. But as I did so, I realized that what I was writing was applicable throughout much of the U.S. Too much, really.

Most regions have organizations stuffed with wealthy, generally older, business owners and CEOs frustrated by congestion created largely via previous plans that they, themselves, advocated. Rather than read up on the field of transportation, or even notice what's going on around them, they advocate the same failed solutions they tried before.

So please read the note below and, if you like, cut and paste to suit your own needs. The only way "Dumbgrowth" organizations like NVTA will be thwarted is if those who favor "Smartgrowth" speak up. If you'd like to submit a comment to VDOT, click here.

Here's my note:

"I understand that the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance is asking its allies to push VDOT for more emphasis on reducing road congestion via widenings. As a realtor and a northern Virginia resident, I strongly DISAGREE with this approach.

One need only look at the congestion on newly-widened roads in northern Virginia to realize that our state's reliance on road widenings has utterly failed. I see the result firsthand in the staggering residential price premiums near transit stations. Nobody pays a premium to live within easy reach of a highway these days.

While that's good for me, as a realtor focused on areas close to DC- and therefore close to transit- it's bad for Virginia. Those areas without good, rail-based transit and high levels of walking and biking infrastructure are doomed. Their prices have already stagnated as Millennials stay away; soon they will drop as their neighborhoods age.

The ONLY way to stop this is via a full embrace of transit and Complete Streets by VDOT. Anything else will merely add to Virginia's legacy of transportation failure."

Wider roads worked great in Atlanta! Here's downtown at 4 PM on a Monday.
They might as well get out and start walking.

Will Bikes Eliminate the Need for Big-Ticket Highway & Transit Projects?

I like innovation. Creative thinking to me reflects intellectual vigor. When we become afraid of change, we age all too quickly.

Miami, a beacon of youthful vigor in a state with the opposite reputation, is the site of an idea that takes poorly-used space and makes room for one of the most sustainable transportation modes available: bikes. The proposal, which unsurprisingly comes from consultants from the Dutch Cycling Embassy, is to build a linear park and bike path under Metrorail elevated transit in the southwest corner of town. This Metrorail line already has a pockmarked, bumpy, sorry excuse for a path underneath it called the M-Path. However, like so many similar asphalt afterthoughts built by DOTs in the latter part of the 20^th century, it’s hardly used. The new path, entitled the Underline, would seek to recreate the same allure and excitement that the High Line created in Manhattan in these early years of the 21^st century, except the addition of a proper bike route makes it far more useful.

A usable, attractive corridor is bound to attract economic growth. Witness the sustained boom taking place in the intown areas of Atlanta, particularly near the still-unfinished Beltline. The Beltline may seem to be a bit grandiose, with its promise of light rail transit, redeveloped neighborhoods, and multiuser paths. Expensive light rail projects are getting harder to fund as infrastructure spending throughout the US withers under conservative pressure.  For example, Arlington, Virginia, surrendered to such antipathy when it chose to kill a streetcar project in a low-income corridor after strenuous objections from right-leaning county board members, Libby Garvey and John Vihstadt.  Luckily for Atlanta, the economic benefits of the Beltline are already coming in with only multiuser paths in place in some areas.

That raises a rather unsettling question for transportation and city planners: is the key to neighborhood vigor and economic growth a combination of low-impact, low-cost transportation infrastructure and parks? If the High Line, Underline, and Beltline are all successful in injecting vitality into close-in neighborhoods, with the latter two offering new connectivity, should we re-task funding away from elaborate road and transit projects designed to expensively move people between outlying areas and the central cores of metropolitan areas? If a rail transit system is too much for Arlington to stomach, for instance, should the county look to a long corridor of bike paths and parks paralleling the route of the defunct streetcar as a replacement?

Some signs of a new trend in this direction are starting to appear. In the early 1990s, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) finally realized its collective dream of building an expressway through the heart of north Atlanta after years of opposition during Atlanta’s Freeway Revolt. Georgia 400 was initially built as a toll road with an expensive MARTA heavy rail line in the center. The road recently lost its tolls (cue massive backups).

In a glaring oversight, GDOT chose not to include a bike path alongside the new road, as Virginia’s DOT had done years earlier along I-66 inside the Beltway (the Custis Trail).  GDOT is now going a little way towards rectifying that error by donating right-of-way along part of GA 400 to Atlanta’s PATH organization. PATH is part of a consortium constructing a multiuser path through north Atlanta’s Buckhead community that will connect to the Atlanta Beltline. The beginnings of a citywide bike network are starting to form.

That this is occurring in Georgia is positively earthshaking. This is the same state that gives no money at all to Atlanta’s MARTA transit system. That’s not to say that the Republican governor, Nathan Deal, has turned his back on that most traditional of congestion relief measures, the widening of urban expressways. Years of repeated failures of such projects to alleviate congestion have yet to have an impact on the governor’s transportation policy. However, big changes often have small beginnings.

In this era of diminishing budgets, more regions should look to these innovative ideas from Miami and Atlanta. It’s better to build something cheap that will keep its full functionality many years after completion than waste time on projects that will never get off the ground (Arlington Streetcar) or will ultimately fail to relieve congestion (any given urban highway expansion). If the Underline and Beltline can be completed and grow in popularity, as well as economic impact, the consultants at the Dutch Cycling Embassy will get a lot busier.