The Department of Planning and Community Development announced that it will launch a comprehensive transportation planning initiative. The initiative will update the city’s existing Comprehensive Transportation Plan, serve as a critical element of the Atlanta City Design Project, reframe transportation policies and identify recommendations for future transportation investment. The Comprehensive Transportation Plan kickoff community meeting will take place on Thursday, February 16 at Atlanta City Hall at 6:00 p.m. At the meeting, Mayor Reed and Department of Planning and Community Development Commissioner Tim Keane will invite residents to provide ideas.

The Atlanta City Design Project, under the direction of the Department of Planning and Community Development, envisions what Atlanta should look like decades from now, as well as guide future decisions on the growth and development of the city.

“As our city continues to experience unprecedented growth, the City of Atlanta is committed to ensuring connectivity and mobility for residents and visitors,” said Mayor Reed. “The new transportation plan is an essential part of making Atlanta an even more competitive city in the region, and will also create a greater quality of life for our pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. We invite all residents to help shape Atlanta’s transportation future.”

The transportation planning process seeks to be open and transparent and will include extensive community engagement. The engagement process will consist of community meetings, social media polling and pop-up events throughout the city. The Department of Planning and Community Development also created a Stakeholder Advisory Committee and is seeking local community members dedicated to advancing Atlanta as a national model for transportation. Residents interested in joining the committee can apply at http://atlantastransportationplan.com/stakeholder-advisory-committee-commitment-form.htm.

“This is an interesting and dynamic period in the City’s history,” said Commissioner Keane. “Through our Atlanta City Design Project, we are currently examining every community in the City of Atlanta and creating a blueprint to ensure its growth and vitality for years to come. In addition, we are planning to accommodate more than one million residents in Atlanta in the next 25 years. We must strategically plan transportation initiatives as part of this evolution.”

Under the Reed Administration, the City of Atlanta has made transportation infrastructure planning a key revitalization and development component. In November 2016, residents approved two historic proposals, the TSPLOST and MARTA, which authorizes the City of Atlanta and the MARTA to modernize, expand and enhance Atlanta’s transportation system.

Over the next five years, the City of Atlanta will build miles of Complete Streets projects. The City of Atlanta will also synchronize traffic signals, invest in sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure, build new bike paths and complete the 22-mile Atlanta BeltLine. In addition, MARTA will invest in making the system easier, faster and more convenient throughout the city.

The $300 million TSPLOST and $2.6 billion MARTA expansion plans will help leverage the work already being completed under the $250 million Renew Atlanta infrastructure bond program. As part of the program, the City of Atlanta began synchronizing traffic signals, adding new bike lanes, repaving roads, repairing bridges and establishing public-private partnerships to enhance the local transportation system starting in 2015. With all of these investments combined, the City’s infrastructure maintenance backlog will be cut in half.

Through the Renew Atlanta program, the City of Atlanta is currently initiating the North Avenue Smart Corridor project. A collaborative project with AT&T Smart Cities program, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Department of Transportation, involves a self-driving vehicle demonstration to monitor and evaluate driving conditions on one of the city’s busiest corridors.

The City of Atlanta has also created more than 100 miles of bikeways.