Congrats, reader! We’ve made it! Our 9th weekly issue and the last (and best…) Star Wars reference.

In this issue, we’ll continue the discussion on transit, highlight the efforts Cobb 4 Transit volunteers are currently doing, and I’ll introduce the Strategic Plan process the county is currently undertaking.

First, though, I wanted to share this photo I took at Marietta Square earlier this week which shows a sign telling pedestrians they can’t cross the street where stairs and a sidewalk are located.

Ugh. Read here about the history of the term “Jaywalk” and how it was the result of a PR campaign from car companies.

So let’s look at the birds eye view at that location and how horrible the experience is for pedestrians (the location is marked by a gold star and the arrows are the distance to the nearest crosswalk).

I won’t even mention that there is no crosswalk to get to the question mark, also known as Glover Park Brewery (oh no…I did it again…)

Everyone who has been to that area knows that as a pedestrian, the way our streets are designed FORCES you to jaywalk, so that sign gets me just a little riled up.

I digress, let’s talk about transit!

The time for transit is NOW!

The county now finds itself at a fork in the road (funny how that saying originated from a pedestrian point of view…) with time running out.

By the end of the year, the Board of Commissioners needs to adopt a resolution that authorizes county staff to start the process for a mobility referendum in 2024.

If you want more detail, you can read the last couple of issues (Review of DOT Work Session Presentation and some additional background ), but here’s a recap:

• Although the proposed referendum seems to be far off in November 2024, it’s important that this initial step is approved so that the county has ample time to prepare, plan, and gain public feedback.
• The tea leaves are pointing to a vote at the Commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, November 17th @ 7:00PM to approve the start of the process.
• Details of what will be on the referendum is still unknown, but here are some points:
  • The “balanced” plan from the Comprehensive Transportation Plan is likely the baseline/starting point
  • Surveys show pro-transit voters want regional rail and MARTA
  • Commissioners will be very important in shaping what’s included on the referendum
  • Support from cities, CIDs, and mayors will be key in getting the necessary support
  • Plan is to satisfy three goals:
    • Transit within activity centers (bike, ped, microtransit)
    • Transit between activity centers (downtowns, CIDs, other key destinations)
    • Serve the community

I believe it’s important that the following things happen to ensure the process leads to successful referendum and improved mobility in the county:

• Add “Regional connectivity” to the three goals to ensure it’s a priority as we move forward
• Get more than a 3-2 vote from Commissioners
• Focus on a plan that focuses on getting more people off the roads and using transit/other modes
• Something visionary to rally pro-transit voters (MARTA, ATL Regional Rail, etc)
• Ensure that there is a process to determine what gets the referendum approved by voters
  • Don’t let highly engaged anti-transit voters shape the referendum (they’ll vote “no” anyways…)
  • Include public polling in the process to understand what voters want
  • Have a communications strategy that includes general public education and advocacy for approval

The Campaign To Make It Happen

Cobb 4 Transit is leading the efforts to get this ball rolling and needs your help!

There is a Y’all Aboard volunteers’ virtual meeting scheduled tonight at 7PM that you are invited to join! Click here for the Zoom link to join.

You can also email team@cobb4transit.org if you want to receive an invite and be on the volunteers list for future meetings.

There are three main areas of focus:

• Setting up a meeting or call with each Commissioner
• Sending a letter to the Commissioners from the community
• Attending the next Commissioners meetings
  • Tuesday, November 8th at 9:00 AM
  • Thursday, November 17th at 7:00 PM

It’s important that we all step up and show the Commissioners that there is broad, diverse support for us to move forward towards better mobility. Sign up here to help out or email team@cobb4transit.org

Strategic Plan

In the Commissioners meeting on August 23rd, the county entered an agreement with Accenture to start the Strategic Planning Process.

It’s expected to be completed in December 2022, so it’s a pretty quick process!

The county is now in the public feedback part of the Strategic Plan.

• District 1 already had their meeting on October 20th
• District 2’s meeting is Thursday, November 10th, at 530PM at Boy Scouts of America Area Council, 1800 Circle 75 Pkwy, Atlanta.
• District 3’s meeting is Tuesday, November 15th, at 6PM at the Mountain View Community Center, 3400 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
• District 4’s meeting is Wednesday, November 16th, at 6:30 PM at the Cobb Police Training Academy, 2435 East-West Connector, Austell.
• Online survey can be completed here (takes about 5-8 minutes): https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/fdf/221026?list=0&l=2

Are you going to any of these? Please let us know so we can include your reports in future issues!

This seems to be IN ADDITION TO the Comprehensive Plan 5-year Update, which was just completed.

If you want more details, I’ve taken an excerpt of the proposal from public records here: PDF of Strategic Plan Proposal

Here’s what I found interesting from that proposal:

• Costs $1.4 million
• Two Phases
  • 1. Public Engagement —> Long-range Vision Document
  • 2. Data & Design —> 5-year Implementation Plan
• Excerpt: “Cobb County enters this strategic planning process at a critical crossroads. Its people, communities, and businesses are steadily emerging from the pandemic, but things still do not feel completely normal. Places like the Battery and historic Marietta Square hum with activity, while other parts of the County remain underdeveloped or even forgotten.”

I strongly encourage everyone to participate in this process and help guide the future of our county.

News and Notes

• The multi-use trail along Cheatham Hill Road is coming along nicely and seems to be almost complete. The other phases of the trail along Burnt Hickory Road and Whitlock Ave will be completed in mid-2023 (there’s been more utility issues along those lines).
• Connect the Comet connection between the Silver Comet trail and the city of Atlanta still appears to be held up in legal entanglement between the county, state, and railroads. Frustrating because funding has already been secured.
• Atlanta Business Chronicle highlighted the Charlotte Rail-Trail as an example for what the Beltline could look like with rail.
  • Wouldn’t it be great if Cobb did something similar? Along either Connect the Comet or another corridor…Imagine a truly car-free live-work-play environment in Cobb. Just imagine!
• Speaking of MARTA, Collie Greenwood is finalized as the General Manager
• The mayors from Kennesaw and Acworth and the Director of the Town Center CID all had a discussion that showed the economic development potential of the area
  Excerpts from the article:
  • “Kennesaw Mayor Derek Easterling said Kennesaw’s tax base has grown significantly since 2017, jumping from $1.3 billion to just over $2 billion over that time period. He stressed that the “live, work, play” lifestyle he and other city leaders around Cobb have pushed for is made possible by that growth.”
  • “Acworth Mayor Tommy Allegood noted the new, mixed-use development known as The Logan coming to Acworth, which he told the MDJ will include residential, hotel, commercial and medical uses and be phased in over the next six years.”
• More details are coming out about Atlanta’s first true Bus Rapid Transit corridor and it’s encouraging that improved land use is a big focus of the plan and design. Urbanize Atlanta Article. Website with planning document.
• RIP Takeoff. Atlanta’s King Williams does an amazing article on the impact of Takeoff and Migos (and also talks about Mableton Cityhood). Read and subscribe here!
• Researchers at Georgia Tech had a study published in Nature Energy that showed the ban of scooter rentals (microtransit) increased car congestion. Vice did a great, balanced write up of the pro’s and con’s of the study, but the key takeaway is providing transit options of all types removes cars from the road.

That’s about it for this issue. Hope to see you join our call tonight and one more thing…

VOTE, Y’all!

-Matt