Connect the Big Creek Greenway

This is the 18th 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!

We really need to get on the ball here.  This greenway should be contiguous from Forsyth to SandySave & Close Springs.  The Forsyth section is well under way and we have completed the greenway just about down to Holcomb Bridge Rd.  As you can see from the map above, there is a conceptual piece of the greenway that is planned all the way down to the southwestern edge of Roswell where it would connect into Cobb county.

What are we waiting on here?  This one is a no brianer.. plus, I could then commute by bike all the way from the mill to Windward Parkway... well, that might be a bit much.

image: City of Alpharetta

Build the Bike Bridge

This is the 17th 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!

We have a $3 million federal earmark for this bridge.  All Roswell needs is for Sandy Springs to commit $360k to the project.  Unfortunately, Sandy Springs has been waffling around on this one. I may not have the most up to date info on it but back in May, Sandy Springs mayor Eva Galambos reportedly said "Nobody in Sandy Springs rides bikes" when discussing the proposal.

I think this is a fantastic idea even with both cities needing to contribute matching funds of approximately $350k.  The enhanced connectivity will benefit both cities.  It will further connect the park system with potential recreation users and will offer a safer, healthier route to bike. 

image: City of Roswell

A Canopy Tour

This is the tenth 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!

This is kind of a dream item on my wishlist that I'm sure a ton of people would hate to see here in Roswell.  However, it is my wishlist and this is what I want.  I'm convinced that a canopy/zip-line tour of the national recreation area and Vickery Creek from the Mill down to Riverside Park would be a big success.  The other location that I can think of would be at the Chattahoochee Nature Center but I think the Mill location would be a bigger draw and tie in more business and recreation into the historic district.  

Here's how I can see it operating.  Ticket booths at both locations.. the Mill and Riverside park and run a shuttle back and forth.  There would be a guided zip line, canopy tour and hike from the Mill all the way down to Riverside Park (I have a better less realistic location but that's for another post).  If done right, it could expose people to a number of Roswell's lesser known gems (Mill Park, Mill Village, Vickery Creek, rock climbing at Allenbrook and the beautiful national recreation area) all on the way down the zip line..  This could be a regional draw if done right and increase tax revenue while having a synergistic effect on local restaurants, retail and cultural sites.  

I'm sure the permitting, insurance, and other processes would be brutal and I'm not signing up for them but if someone likes this idea, I'd be more than happy to give my $0.02.

image: baxterclaus @ flickr

Transit Tax, Car Diets & Private Roads

 

It's that time again.  We're going to round up all of the noteworthy news that we have come across recently and throw our opinion out into the deep space of the internet.  If you have an opinion or would like to share additional stories, please leave a comment.

Roswell

Reed Urges North Fulton to Back Transportation Tax - AJC

I do agree with the mayors on this.  It is not fair that Fulton and Dekalb residents pay two pennies when everyone else pay one.  However, we MUST have this reform and I think the way it's going to happen is highlighted in the Creative Loafing article linked to below in the Region section.  

Redeveloping Roswell - The City of Roswell

The city is adding redevelopment powers to the November ballot.  I say let's do it.

Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit - Travel & Leisure

Roswell came in at a respectable number six.  

Roswell Neighborhood Wants to Keep Park - AJC

I have a problem with this one.  It seems to me that it would actually be cheaper and more beneficial to everyone for the current fire station to be renovated.  I haven't seen all of the numbers but $2.5M for a new fire station seems like a lot of dough.  Consider that the entire midtown streetscaping project is running in the $1.3M range.  The other argument was that the fire trucks backing into the station causes TRAFFIC (OMG.. not TRAFFIC!!) on Holcomb Bridge Rd.  I'm sure that there are a lot of other reasons that there is traffic on Holcomb Bridge.  Fire engines backing into the station maybe ten times a day or so, is NOT one of them.  I can't agree with spending probably an extra million dollars and losing a park just because we don't want to have a little bit of traffic.

Region

Regional Transit in Metro Atlanta? - Creative Loafing

Creative Loafing did an excellent job breaking down the issue of creating a truly regional transit system here in Atlanta.  The notable quote is:

All options are on the table: putting MARTA under state control; hiring a private firm to operate various rail and bus routes; creating a brand-new agency that would oversee all transit operations in the 10-county metro region; or any number of equally radical solutions.

Atlanta Residents Go on a Car Diet - AJC

ZipCar is sponsoring 30 Atlantans in this effort to show how their company and car sharing in general can help you rely less on a car.  The Low-Car Diet Challenge doesn't require that you don't use a car.  Rather, participants agreed to surrender their cars for a month and use the ZipCar service.  It started in mid-September.  I'm excited to see how it turns out for the particpants.  I wish this were an option in Historic Roswell.

Crooked Creek May Get Private Road - NorthFulton.com

Backward news...  In order to curb cut throughs and speeding in their neighborhood, Crooked Creek residents may soon be gating their two entrances.  This will take two super blocks and turn them into one MEGA block essentially severing another link in the effective road network in Milton.  The worrisome part here is that the city of Milton seems to be in favor of this.  It will only channel more traffic onto Hwy 9 and create more congestion that the residents of Crooked Creek likely aren't too fond of even outside of their enclave.

Livable Communities Coalition Reassesses its Strategy with Slowdown in Metro Growth - Saporta Report

Notable Quote:

Retrofitting our already-developed urban and suburban areas ultimately makes good economic sense because it builds on past investments rather than requiring new roads and sewer lines. 

Metro Atlanta's Future: Slow Period Perfect to Quicken Creativity - AJC

We are currently experiencing our slowest growth period in the region since the 1950's.  Let's hope that this pause gives us time to realize that we need strong cities and towns with a coherent metropolitan region with a focus on improving transit for all modes and livability for all incomes and races.  Notable quote:

 A slow healing of our economy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to think deeply about the future. This has value only if we apply the end product toward tuning up, if not overhauling, our strategic vision for the future. Excelling in this work will best situate metro Atlanta for the next chapters in our economic story.

30/10 Initiative - Metro.net

Put this one on the wishlist... Los Angeles has instituted the 30/10 initiative.  That is.. 30 years worth of transit projects finished in 10.  

Beyond

Nuvo: A Mayor for the New Millennium - Urbanophile

A good case for the importance of the arts in a successful community.  Good read.  Notable excerpt:

Have you gone for a romantic walk with your significant other recently, past the Walmart parking lot on one side and the six-lane road on the other? Probably not. And the reason you haven’t is because it’s not any fun! It’s not romantic. It’s not pleasing to the eye.

So we’re bringing the buildings back up to the street. Let’s go up a little higher. Let’s accommodate the car, but let’s accommodate them underground with garages. Let’s get people walking in the community. Let’s have options for people who don’t want to live on a big lot. That means apartments and condos and townhomes. And as we build this more walkable, sustainable community, one of the ways we make it beautiful is to have art. Public art.

We started a policy, as many other cities have across the country, of spending one percent of our general reserves for support of the arts about six years ago. Over time we’ve been able to buy a lot of public sculptures, support a lot of arts organizations.

Whole Foods to Stop Selling Over-fished Seafood - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Just another reason why shopping at Whole Foods is the right thing to do.

Is there a park or public space (not a road) within a 5 minute walk of your home?

Sloan Street Park has a small playground and a little field that is inviting to the residents and visitors of the Mill Village area.Parks and public space is, in my opinion, one of the areas where our city excels.  Roswell is actually one of the metro Atlanta cities with the largest amount of park space per capita and it is apparent that people use it.  The city of Roswell estimates that there are around 2 million park visits annually to the city park system.  I live within a 5 minute walk of four parks and several trails and I use them almost daily and there are always visitors.  

Unfortunately, not every resident has the luxury of walking to the park.  Lack of walkable park access becomes more and more prevalent the further from the historic district you get.  But, the park space, over 900 acres not including the national park system, is distributed out with some of the larger parks away from the historic district.  

When you compare Roswell to the city of Atlanta, we're doing just fine though.  As of 2008, Atlanta had only 4.5% of its land dedicated to park space.  That was the lowest among the top 25 largest cities.  The Beltline will help increase that significantly though.  Now, Roswell actually trailed Atlanta in this area with only 4% of our land dedicated to parks and greenspace.  This seems bad but we must also take a look at population.  Comparatively speaking, the city of Roswell has 13.5 acres of parks and greenspace per 1,000 residents compared to the city of Atlanta's 7.7 (2007 data).  The national average is 13.6 acres.  Now, 13.5 is good when you compare us to our anchor city to the south however we might want to look to our neighboring county to the east for a few tips.  From 2000 to 2008, Gwinnett county acquired over 9,000 acres of new park land and was named the best large park system in America by the National Parks and Recreation Association. (I still can't bring myself to like Gwinnett though).  They are at 15.5 acres per 1,000 residents.  

If I could wave a magic wand and make one change to the park system here in Roswell, I would immediately take foreclosed or abandoned properties and turn them into pocket parks such as Sloan Street Park.  The goal would be to have a park within a walkable half mile of 90% of the residents of Roswell. Ideally, every child would have a park within a quarter mile walk but with the dendritic road system that we have, that just would not be possible.

So, to answer the original question,  'Is there a park or public space (not a road) that is within a 5 minute walk of your home?, the answer is likely no.  Roswell, we still have some work to do here and the focus, in my opinion, should be on small neighborhood parks instead of big multi-use parks with ballfields and such.

Source: AJC

Sites You Should Know - Get Outdoors Georgia

The Get Outdoors Georgia website is a useful tool to find ways to get you and your family and friends outside for some fun here in Georgia. The site is run by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It has good info on events that are held in the State parks as well as clubs and groups that you can join. The handy 'find a park' feature is already pre-set on Atlanta and you can see eleven parks in the metro area. Some of the activities you can find information on include biking, boating, fishing, camping & hiking. You can also find locations for golfing, disc golf and tennis.

If you're looking for a way to plan a quick outdoor adventure, check it out.

May Marks the Beginning of Smog Season

The Clean Air Campaign blog has a good post from a few days ago to kick off Smog Awareness week. There is a lot of great info so I suggest you check the post out but here is a summary.

• The One Ton Challenge helped keep 3600 tons of pollution out of metro Atlanta’s air.
• Rainfall this year is expected to be above normal according to the Farmer’s Almanac. That will definitely help pollution levels.
• Atlanta ranks #23 out of the 25 top cities for Ozone pollution according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report released today. L.A. was #1. The report also ranked for Year-Round Particulate pollution. Atlanta came in at #17 on that front. The final ranking was Short-Term Particulate pollution where Atlanta didn’t make the list.
• Last smog season had almost 30 days with unhealthy levels of ground level ozone and/or particle pollution.

Kudos to the Clean Air Campaign for its initiatives at engaging individuals and businesses to help create a healthier environment.

See Original

May is National Bike Month

image by Francois Schnell

Hopefully all of you bike owners out there will take advantage of the nice weather we are having and participate in National Bike Month. I’m trying to pedal a couple of times a week to work even though Alpharetta isn’t all too bike friendly.

You might even want to incorporate biking into your regular weekly commute after May ends. It’s a great way to get some exercise and reduce your footprint.

Additional resources:

Clean Air Campaign Rewards Program

Atlanta Bicycle Coalition Website

National Bike Month Website

Peach Bites

Mother Nature becomes a dot-com
Atlanta Journal Constitution

We have a new big-time entrant into the green themed website arena. The Atlanta based Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com) launched recently and it is a very robust offering. The website has eight main sections ranging from business to lifestyle and each section comes complete with its own blogger. The site also has a number of green themed videos and infographics that ou will find interesting.

Atlanta's Greenspaces Inadequate for a Growing Population | Planetizen
Planetizen.com

Not that we didn't already know this but Atlanta has the lowest percentage of green space amongst major American cities. The median amount for the nation's largest cities is 13.6 acres of parks for every 1000 residents. Atlanta is at 7.7. We are working on increasing that with the Beltline. The article also points to Gwinnett as a great example. Since 1997, Gwinnett has raised over half a billion dollars for parks and greenspace development.

Georgia K-12 Schools, Apply to Win a Free Energy Audit
MarketWatch (press release) - USA

Southeast Rebuild Collaborative, a five state energy office initiative to improve energy efficiency by at least 10% in the upcoming year, Southface Energy Institute and the Division of Energy Resources of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) are offering a free energy audit to one K-12 school in Georgia. Anything that our schools can do to save money that doesn't need to be spend is fine with me. We look forward to seeing what school wins.

Serenbe in the News Again
Chicago Tribune

We recently highlighted an article from the NY Times that featured Serenbe and it's local, sustainable living model. It looks like the community is making news again but this time in Chicago which is home to the community that inspired Serenbe, Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.

Fees to Rise at Georgia State Parks
Peach Pundit

Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources is suggesting state park fees be raised from $3 to $5. Additionally, they are planning to raise the fees for annual passes to $50 from $30. I'm just curious whether they are raising the fee out of necessity or out of opportunity. It is no secret that during recessions, families look for cheaper alternatives to entertainment and the parks have historically been one of those cheaper forms.

The Drought is Over

image courtesy of Brian Hursey
 
It was announced yesterday that the three year-old drought is finally over. This is fantastic news for the city of Atlanta. However, Lake Lanier is still about 9 feet below full pool.  Additionall rain this week should help that out.

The one thing we should all take away from the severity of this drought is how quickly we can get into trouble. I am hoping that the water conservation efforts don't fall by the wayside given this news. In the past 18 months, the city of Atlanta has dropped it's water use by more than 20% according to the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Management District.  I think we can do better and it is important that we try since we are a growing city and the largest major city with the smallest water supply.

So, even though this is great news, everyone needs to stay vigilant with their conservation efforts. See the WaterSense website for ways to conserve in your household.