newurbanism

Bicycle safety tech "gadgetbahnery"

[embed]www.youtube.com/watch I'm all for new tech but all that's really needed are Dutch style separated bike lanes and protected signal crossings if they really have this kind of money to burn. The vast majority of both cars and cyclists aren't going to download a "watch out for bikes" app, this is silly and a waste of time and money. But wait-- this is not the end-all-be-all DOT approved solution getting shovels into dirt; it's just a tech showcase:

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Japan has good neighborhood streets

Youtube embed code generator .boxes2{height:321px;width:411px;} #new img{max-width:none!important;background:none!important}#iframe{max-height:none!important;max-width:auto!important;background:none!important} I've been telling people for years how the narrowness of the streets in Japan is probably the best traffic calming device I've ever seen and works on almost every mode of traffic from large truck down to pedestrian. In the States, we build roads way too wide for their intended use, then complain later when we see people driving on them like mini freeways.

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What happened to passenger rail (in Georgia)?

Last month I talked about how with Georgia's new federal funding for rail corridors, we could imagine a regional rail system that would make moving through the area so much better? Turns out, I'm not the only one, and our new favorite ATL urbanist Youtuber Nathan Davenport is back with another video detailing a bit about Atlanta rebuilding its rails would also be recapturing its true identity. This could be us, but y'all too busy getting stuck on I-285!

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Seriously? Elon was trying to get a tax break for X here in Atlanta?!

As the [AJC](https://www.ajc.com/news/fulton-board-to-consider-10m-tax-break-to-x-formerly-twitter/4V66VOJ73RCFPA5DI54FAFVLBA/) reported, X (formerly Twitter) appealed to the Development Agency of Fulton County to try and grab over $10 million in property tax breaks on their data center here in Atlanta to upgrade the server farm... But providing no additional jobs... which is why the tax breaks are there in the first place! 🥴 source: Atlanta Journal Constitution dated 3 Dec 2023 Everyone knows that these tax breaks should be going to fund any development that directly enhances the livelihood of Atlanta residents and for no other purpose.

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ATL is the transit Bizzaro Land we need to fix

Last time in this series, I talked about an organization called Better Atlanta Transit that counter to its name, wants to end all talk of having light rail alongside the Beltline Trail, the very popular, used-to-be-murder-tracks encircling central Atlanta that’s now a multipurpose trail, linear park, and real estate gentrification money printing machine. Of course in a way only Upside/DownLand Atlanta could do, we somehow got the multipurpose trail part built first, and are behind in the light rail installation.

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Microtransit: what happens when you add ride hailing to regular city transit bus service.

Gwinnett County's Ride Gwinnett transit service microtransit van opens its doors for boarding passengers.

In parts of Gwinnett, there’s no waiting for a bus at a predetermined stop or route and the fare is just a flat $3 to go within the zone.

(BTW @gwinnettgov, any ETA there?)

…and it works like 🧈.

Can’t wait until we get it in our part of the county

Suddenly a new ATL transit NIMBY group has appeared! 🫢

www.youtube.com/watch The whole reason the Beltline even exists is because it was meant to be a transit corridor. A multiuse trail was also part of the design, so both need to be constructed. But also, since the land developers jumped into the fray and built their car-oriented buildings off the trail, OF COURSE they want to keep it this way. I’m sick and tired of the false notion that transit BRINGS IN undesirable effects when the exact opposite has always been true.

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