Peach Bites

Atlanta has been busy since our last readings post. Catch up with some of the more notable stories below.


Overbuilt? (AJC) - Metro Atlanta ranks third worst in the nation in empty homes. Wow! Only Las Vegas and Detroit rank higher in the numbers of vacant rental properties and single family homes on the market currently. Notable Quote: "Intown Atlanta had more than 6,000 new unsold condo units at the end of 2008, and only 645 new units sold the entire year, Haddow & Co. says."

Stimulus Package Breakdown (AJC) - Info below taken directly from the AJC:

• Transit - More than $1.01 billion for highways and bridges; $168 million for transit capital grants
• Energy - Will be determined by legislative action and efforts by private companies and homeowners to apply for credits and grants, but $97.8 million is included for weatherization.
• Education - $420 million for Title I schools; $333 million for special education; some of the $1.28 billion the state will receive in fiscal stabilization funds will also go to education, specifically for modernization and renovation.
• Unemployed & Poor - Estimated $220 million in additional unemployment insurance trust fund dollars.

Atlanta Receives Poor Marks for Park Space (AJC) - Atlanta is still one of the worst cities in the nation when it comes to parks. The report indicates that the main cause is lack of spending on parks. While surrounding counties' citizens have taken it upon themselves to pay taxes, $264M in Cherokee, Cobb & Gwinnett, the City of Atlanta has been mired in infrastructure issues for the better part of the decade. The beltline will go a long way to improve the city's standing but we all know the issues there. Notable Quote: "Apparently, it takes green to be green." State of Atlanta's Parks (Park Pride .pdf)

This Week in Atlanta - 2/09/2009

Here are just a few events in town this week. Check on our calendar for more details.

Tue Feb 10		1pm – 2pm	City of Alpharetta - Composting Workshop - 13450 Cogburn Road, Alpharetta, GA
Sat Feb 14		6pm – 10pm	Lusting for Local Food - Georgia Organics - The Gardens at Kennesaw
Sun Feb 15		2pm – 3:30pm	Sweetwater Creek Visitor's Center Tour - Sweetwater Creek State Park

On the Bookshelf - 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles - Atlanta

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Atlanta

Written by husband and wife Randy & Pam Golden with the American Hiking Society.

This is a great book for getting out of the house for an inexpensive, fun outing. My wife bought this for me for my birthday last year just after moving back to Atlanta from Charlotte. Our goal is to hike all of the trails in the book over the course of the next two years. That puts us at about one trail every two weeks. We've done about 8 hikes in 3 months which is behind schedule but the weekend weather has been chilly and we had to throw in some slack time during the holidays.

The book is divided into regions and hiking types at the beginning. The region is divided into Atlanta (hikes near downtown), Northwest, Northeast and South. Each region has about an equal number of hikes which makes this useful no matter what part of town you live in. They also classify the hikes by type; Busy Hikes, Hikes Featuring Waterfalls, Hikes Featuring Wildflowers, Hikes Good for Children, Hikes Good for Solitude, Hikes Good for Wildlife Viewing, Hikes With Steep Sections, Historic Trails, Lake Hikes, Scenic Hikes, Trails Good for Mountain Bikes, Trails Good for Runners, Urban Hikes, Hikes Less than 3 Miles, 3 to 6 Miles and Longer than 6 Miles. The one thing I wish they had added is a category of Hikes Good for Dogs. Dog lovers will have to check ahead.

Each hike has a map with an elevation chart. The writers provided directions as well as a section for At-a-Glance Information. The book also takes each hike and gives an 'In Brief' overview of the hike. This is followed by a couple page description of the hike with landmarks, points of interest, clarification of areas that may cause confusion as well as historical information. Each hike ends with a brief section of nearby attractions.

Our next planned hike is Kennesaw Mountain: Burnt Hickory Loop. The "In Brief" on this hike is that it "is the most challenging trail in the book and one of the most rewarding in the Atlanta area." We're looking forward to this one and you'll probably see a post on it in the near future.

The GreenPeaches rating on this one is a 4 out of 5 peaches. Buy it from Amazon if you are interested or try your local library to see if it is available there.



mdh

Request a Bike Rack - Downtown

image courtesy of Gaetan Lee

From the February Downtown Connector Newsletter... The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) is in the process of installing additional bike racks throughout Downtown. Bike racks help encourage alternative commuting as well as provide a great amenity to any facility.

If you are in the Downtown area and your office building or property is in need of a bike rack, please send a request to Carly Nassar at cnassar@atlantadowntown.com or call 404-658-5915.All requests will be on a first come first served basis as the supply is limited.

Georgia Organics 2009 - 2010 Local Food Guide

Georgia Organics recently released its 2009 - 2010 Local Food Guide. You can download it for free as a .pdf from their website or you can use their lookup tool.

The guide uses locator maps to effectively divide the state up into five regions; Mountain, Metro, Piedmont, East Coastal Plain and West Coastal Plain. Each regional map shows the locations of all the businesses and organizations that are detailed in the guide. This is great if you either don't know what is around you in the way of local/organic food or if you are traveling and are unfamiliar with the area. Each locator map tags the Farms, Farmers' Markets and Restaurants with different tags so the reader can locate things quickly. The guide then details each region by county and provides a description with contact info for each business.

If you are in the metro area, you'll be happy to know that there are 32 farms, 26 farmers' markets, 54 restaurants and 23 grocers available to you in the 13 county metro area. This is a great source of dining ideas if you're looking to eat out. A few of our favorites that are in the guide are Canoe, 5 Seasons Brewery (both locations) and R. Thomas' Deluxe Grill. A couple others that are on the list that we are looking forward to checking out are The Hil at Serenbe and Watershed.

Peach Bites

It's been a little while since our last post. A lot has transpired in the Beltline saga since it flared up last week but really when you look at it deeper, it doesn't seem like much.


Beltline Rally Last Saturday Drew More than 200 Supporters - The Epoch Times - Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it down to Piedmont Park for the rally but there was a decent gathering of support. I expect that we will see more of these if the news continues to go against the Beltline.

Agencies Working Together on Beltline 'Solution' - AJC - The City of Atlanta, Georgia DOT, MARTA and many other agencies agreed to a 30 day timeout to work on a solution to the dispute over the NE section of track that everyone seems to want but only one seems to be able to have.

Georgia Senate Approves Mag Lev Train Between Atlanta & Chattanooga - TheChattanoogan.com - Do we have approval for a Mag Lev train from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson to Chattanooga Municipal Airport? Do we have the money? At $40 million per mile, Mag Lev isn't cheap, but it sure is fast. Check out this YouTube post of the train in Shanghai.

Transportation Bill Calls for New Northern Arc, Tunnel - AJC - Do we really need new roads? Let's fix the ones we have first and stop building the type of sprawl that creates the perceived need for new roads anyway. My bet is that this project won't do much to decrease traffic congestion nor will it do much to increase quality of life.

Green School Opening in DeKalb - AJC - "It will be Georgia’s premier “green” school —- one of the first public schools in the state with a national certification for environmental construction and perhaps the only one with an environmentally themed curriculum." The school will be in southeastern DeKalb near Arabial Mountain and is expected to have LEED Silver certification. To learn more

Beltline Derailment Update

The news has been buzzing around Atlanta for the past couple days that an 11th hour move by the GDOT and AMTRAK may be putting the Beltline at risk. The story centers around the right of way in the northeast quadrant of the proposed loop. The GDOT swooped in with AMTRAK on 1/21/2009 to stop the abandonment process that was already set in motion by Norfolk Southern set to take effect on 1/22/2009. The state feels that this section of the Beltline is one of the only suitable corridors that they can use for commuter rail and/or high speed intra-city rail. I think everyone can agree that both of those are needed solutions to the metro area's transit woes but should we potentially sacrifice what may be the largest urban redevelopment project in the city for potential commuter rail and/or high speed intra-city rail?

There are other options for those two (Brookhaven & the Gulch area) but no other viable options exist for the Beltline. Not to mention that the northeast rail lines would run right through some of Atlanta's nicest neighborhoods and parks. Light rail would be a much quieter and development friendly solution for these areas.

I have full faith that the city and state leaders will work this out and the Beltline will move forward. But, for all of us who are in favor of this project, this is a wake up call that pitfalls are out there and this multi-billion dollar project is certainly far from a done deal. If you are unfamiliar with the Beltline project but are interested in learning more, check out our previous post on the free Beltline tours.


Recent Articles on the Beltline Dispute

GDOT, AMTRAK Throw Wrench in Beltline Plans - Creative Loafing
DOT Action Could Kill Beltline, Mayor Says - AJC
BELTLINE: Amtrak Wants Land for Heavy Rail - AJC
Most of DOT Board Didn't Know About Beltline Opposition - Creative Loafing
Mayor Shirley Franklin's Letter to State Representative John Lewis

Getting to Know.. Georgia's State Parks

As Georgian's we are very fortunate to have a diverse range of regions. We have beaches, coastal plains, foothills, canyons, mountains and much more. We are also lucky to have a very robust state park system. The Georgia State Park network has over 40 parks and many more historic sites that protect nearly 75,000 acres. These parks provide a great opportunity for a family outing or just a reconnection with nature and/or the history and culture of our state. Many of the parks are just a short drive from metro Atlanta. Click here for a state map.

Some of the most popular parks within driving distance of Atlanta are Amicalola Falls, Vogel and Sweetwater Creek. The falls at Amicalola are the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River and are absolutely beautiful. Additionally, there are numerous trails to hike around the 800+ acre park. At Vogel State Park, you can see some of the most picturesque scenes in all of Georgia. The park is at the base of Blood Mountain and offers some of the best camping in the state. With lake and mountain views, this one is a must visit. Sweetwater Creek is perhaps more famous right now for the beer that shares its name but the park is as good as if not better than the beer. The creek is a nice setting for relaxing, fishing or feeding ducks but our favorite part is the visitor center which is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in Georgia. It is LEED - NC Platinum certified which is the highest rating that the US Greenbulding Council gives.

Sprawl has been and continues to be an issue for many of the parks around metro areas. The National Park Trust has been evaluating and working on these issues for more than a decade. Unfortunately, many of our parks in the metro area have already been encroached upon by commercial and residential development. The current economic crisis is impacting reparis and maintenance in the parks and we should expect to see continued cutbacks with proposed budget shortfalls.

Regardless of these issues, our park system is robust and is there to be enjoyed by everyone in Georgia. Get out and go for a hike and don't forget to bring your camera (with charged batteries).

Look for upcoming posts featuring many of our state parks and their surrounding areas.


Additional Info..

Website - www.gastateparks.org

Park pass - $30/year or generally $3/day for parking

Pets - Most of the parks offer hiking and I have found that they are usually dog friendly. It is always a good idea to check ahead to be sure if you are bringing your canine companion. Many of the parks offer camping and some offer RV hookups if that is your style.

Related Groups and Organizations - Friends of Georgia State Parks, Get Outdoors Georgia

Peach Bites

Atlanta claims the nation's first carbon neutral zone(AJC ). Learn about how the Virginia Highlands business community is using carbon offsets to go carbon neutral.

Mother Nature News Network aims to be green machine (AP). The Atlanta based environmental themed online news outlet aims to be the juggernaut in the green news space. They are going up against TreeHugger and PlanetGreen but the site looks good and they have some big financial backing.

Dead Peaches - The Green Guide from National Geographic and Plenty Magazine have called it quits (Advertising Age). Two of our favorite green themed magazines have called it quits. Both magazines are still online and it appears as though The Green Guide will continue to exist online. We're not sure about Plenty though.

Peach Bites

The American Planning Association’s National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation goes to the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Iniative (AJC Planning.org)

Supreme Court Won't Hear Georgia Water Wars Case (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

The McMansion Trend in Housing is Slowing (Christian Science Monitor)

Time To Reboot America - Op Ed by Thomas Friedman (NY Times)

The 22-Mile LifePreserver - Almost a decade after it was first proposed, the BeltLine still offers promise - or potential pitfalls? (Next American City)