What's the project about?

Growth and Traffic Congestion

History

Overview

 

Growth and Traffic Congestion
Metro Atlanta's growth has far outstripped expert forecasts. In the late 1980's, forecasters predicted that the metro area would surpass 3 million in 2000 and 3.7 million in 2010. But the metro area surpassed both figures in the 1990's. The regional planning agency now predicts metro Atlanta's population will reach 4.8 million by the end of this decade.

Land development has occurred one third faster than population. This expansive growth has resulted in the average number of miles driven by Atlanta area motorists increasing 212% from 1982 to 2000.

Traffic congestion and degraded air and water quality have provided an incentive for both political and business leaders to seek better ways of directing the region's growth. The methods that the Atlanta metro area uses to achieve that are not simply a quality of life or environmental issue, but the single most important economic development issue facing the region today.

Because traffic congestion is one of the public's main objections to growth and because extending transportation facilities is necessary to support growth, transportation is an integral part of any strategy. We cannot continue to develop as we have in years past. That is why they public increasingly supports more efficient land-use and development practices that enhance communities.

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History
The Northwest Corridor, the geographic focus of this study, is largely located within Cobb County. The land that comprises Cobb County was originally equally divided among the State of Georgia and the Cherokee Indians. In 1831, a settlement was reached that deeded all the land to the State of Georgia. This land was divided into 10 counties, including Cobb County. Growth in the area was slow until the Georgia General Assembly decided to build the railroad in 1836. As construction on the railroad began, settlements developed along the rail line leading to Atlanta. As these settlements grew, they created what is now known as the Northwest Corridor.

Today, the Northwest Corridor comprises of large suburban job centers with extensive single-family residential developments. The car-centered culture has helped draw people to this area, but also helped create traffic congestion and air pollution.

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Overview
The Northwest Connectivity Study examines what might be done to improve transportation connections among activity centers within the corridor, including Midtown Atlanta on the south, through the Cumberland/Galleria area, and up to Town Center on the north.

The study includes the planning process and the environmental impact analysis work necessary to determine the preferred route and the preferred transportation option for this transportation link. The final recommendation is known as a “locally preferred alternative” or LPA. One important aspect of this process, is the fact that the foundation of this planning endeavor will include public involvement. A series of meetings will be conducted to help arrive at a community consensus.  These meetings will improve the quality of decisions, provide greater public understanding of the policy-making process, and reduce conflict through education of the public.

Because Georgia is seeking the transportation connection that will best serve the needs of the people living and working in this corridor, a rigorous analysis of the available options must be conducted with full public participation. Those options include: implementing the plans for the corridor that currently exist; highway solutions, including HOV lanes; express buses and bus rapid transit; commuter rail; monorail; light rail transit; and heavy rail transit.

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