Add Circulator Bus Routes in North Fulton

This is the 19th post in a series of posts this December that will chronicle the 25 things we would most like to see in Roswell. None of these are actually happening... at least in the way we'd like them to. Please enjoy and have a happy holidays!

 

As I was going through some of the needs assessment for the North Fulton Comprehensive Transportation plan that was adopted earlier this year by the cities of North Fulton, I noticed a recurring theme.  It was one that came up at the January 2010 charette that I attended as well.  That was the theme that our residents want a viable transportation alternative to get around North Fulton.  right now, we don't have much.  Just a few MARTA routes that generally lead to the Dunwoody Springs train station.  This doesn't help me much if I want to go from Roswell to Johns Creek or from Milton to Alpharetta.  

The theme was that of circulator buses.  Other transportation needs were for BRT and heavy rail up the 400 corridor but those are obvious and don't get us more mobility in our region.  They simply take us to a central node on a spoke and no wheel system.  That's okay if there is only one job center but North Fulton is itself a job center.  The image below is from the needs assessment report that was put together by the Atlanta Regional Commission.  It shows the distribution of job locations for residents of North Fulton.  The obvious job centers are downtown, buckhead and perimeter.  However, there is a meaningful distribution of jobs in North Fulton as well.  

What does this mean?  it means that the residents of North Fulton need to get around North Fulton.  The days are gone when Roswell was solely a bedroom community where its residents would vacate during the day and head downtown.  So, in order to effectively manage additional growth, the circulator buses are starting to become a necessity.