City of Atlanta Submits Application for U.S. DOT Stimulus Grant

/PRNewswire/ -- The City of Atlanta and its partners in the Georgia Transit Connector initiative submitted yesterday an application for $298.3 million in federal stimulus to fund a 9.7-track-mile modern streetcar system in Atlanta.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's discretionary Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants are earmarked for local surface transportation projects that will help jumpstart the economy.

"If Atlanta is to remain competitive with other urban areas for economic development, we must improve our connectivity and mobility," said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. "A streetcar system will help make Atlanta a more walkable city and serve as a catalyst for development and revitalization in Midtown and Downtown."

The proposed streetcar route is a T-shape, with 6.6 track miles north-south from Peachtree Pointe/SCAD-Atlanta in Midtown to the Five Points MARTA station in Downtown and a 3.1-mile east-west route from Centennial Olympic Park to The King Center.

As proposed now, TIGER funding would cover all capital costs associated with the streetcar, such as construction and vehicle procurement. Several models for operations and management after construction are being considered. Atlanta's application will be competing against applications for transportation initiatives nationwide.

The partners anticipate the streetcar will act as a catalyst for new urban development, support local and regional land use plans, and accommodate significant population and employment growth. The streetcar is projected to meet future travel demand, enhance existing neighborhood character in an environmentally sensitive manner, and improve transportation access and connectivity to disconnected destinations and activity centers in the urban core.

The streetcar will connect with MARTA's existing heavy rail and will be used for traveling shorter distances within Downtown and Midtown, alleviating intra-city congestion. The carbon-free streetcar has the capacity to transport more than 20,000 passengers daily and will reduce MARTA's carbon footprint as it replaces bus service along the Peachtree corridor.

The U.S. DOT is expected to notify recipients of funding by February 2010. If funding is awarded, the City would begin construction immediately with a projected completion date of February 2012.

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Executive Director Alan Essig Applauds House's Use of Stimulus Funds in FY 2010 Budget, Extremely Concerned about Medicaid Funding

Alan Essig, the executive director of GBPI, commends the Georgia House of Representatives for aggressively and responsibly using federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The House identified and appropriated approximately $1.4 billion in ARRA funds, much of it used to reinstate some budget cuts and avoid deeper ones as Georgia grapples with a $3.1 billion
deficit. The House budget includes $200 million more in ARRA funds than the governor proposed.

Essig's apprehension of the FY 2010 budget, however, concerns whether or not the House adequately addresses the state's projected enrollment growth in Medicaid. A recent statement by the governor states that the Medicaid budget, as passed by the House, has a deficit of $140 to $150 million due to the lack of funding for revised Medicaid enrollment projections authored by the Department of Community Health.

Of even greater concern, Essig asserts, is that the loss of one-time funding used in FY 2010 means the Medicaid budget faces at least a $650 million shortfall in FY 2011. Under-funding Medicaid leaves eligible pregnant women, children, the elderly, and disabled at risk. The Medicaid budget should be fully funded to meet the needs of all eligible Georgians, Essig states.

Essig emphasizes that fully funding medicaid in the current fiscal year and assuring full funding in the future, as well as restoring many cuts to critical public services, such as education and vital programs within the Department of Human Resources, can be accomplished by the General Assembly taking such actions to raise revenues as increasing the cigarette tax and implementing a fee on care management organizations, among others.

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