Atlanta
Will Atlanta’s Transpo Referendum Overcome Early Voting Deficit?
It was fitting that yesterday, the eve of the Atlanta region's historic transportation vote, the Georgia NAACP filed a civil rights suit against the state Department of Transportation alleging discrimination in contracting. Meanwhile, the head of the DeKalb County NAACP has come out against the T-SPLOST tax proposal, saying it will hurt minority-owned businesses. He even took a shot at Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, a dogged supporter of the referendum, saying “certain blacks” had been duped into supporting the tax proposal.
July 31, 2012
Atlanta’s Big Moment
There's a lot at stake for metro Atlanta on July 31. That day, voters will go to the polls to decide the fate of a proposed one percent sales tax that promises some $8 billion in transportation funding, to be split relatively evenly between transit and road projects over 10 counties. If it fails, experts warn, the only fundable transportation project going forward could be toll roads.
July 16, 2012
$10,000 Extra? The Transportation Tab for Sprawling ‘Hoods in 20 Metros
$10,860 in New York City. $5,694 in St. Louis. $4,199 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
June 6, 2012
Atlanta Transpo Referendum Draws an Unlikely Opponent in Local Sierra Club
One of the most exciting transit expansion dramas unfolding in the United States right now is Atlanta's transportation referendum: the Transportation Investment Act, or TIA, for short.
May 1, 2012
Visionary Transpo Bureaucrats, Part 3: Joe Calabrese and Ryan Gravel
This is the third part in Streetsblog’s series profiling 11 officials who are bringing American cities and towns into the 21st century when it comes to transportation and planning policy. Read the earlier profiles in part one and part two.
April 18, 2012
Streetsies 2011: Bums and Bummers
On our walk down the memory lane of 2011 so far, we’ve talked about some downers, some inspirations, some triumphs, and some struggles. Check out our first two installments of year-end Streetsie award nostalgia. Here’s some more.
December 29, 2011
T4America Responds to the Raquel Nelson Case in the Washington Post
The first shocking thing about Raquel Nelson's conviction for vehicular homicide was simply that it happened at all. After all, the mother of three wasn't even driving a car -- she was crossing a wide street with poor pedestrian infrastructure when her four-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
August 5, 2011
Raquel Nelson Likely to Opt For a New Trial, Her Lawyer Says
UPDATE 7/27: Raquel Nelson has, in fact, chosen the option of a new trial.
July 26, 2011
Raquel Nelson Speaks on the Today Show About Her Son and Her Court Case
We've written quite a bit about Raquel Nelson over the past week or so, but now, we'll let her speak for herself. The Today Show devoted an eight-minute segment to her case this morning, including an interview with Raquel.
July 25, 2011
The Streets and the Courts Failed Raquel Nelson. Can Advocacy Save Her?
Last week, we reported on the horrific story of Raquel Nelson, whose four-year-old son was killed as she attempted to cross the street with him to reach their home. Nelson was convicted of reckless conduct, improperly crossing a roadway and second-degree homicide by vehicle -- all for the crime of being a pedestrian in the car-centric Atlanta suburbs. The conviction carried a sentence of up to 36 months. Meanwhile, the driver who killed Nelson's son -- who'd been drinking and using painkillers before getting behind the wheel -- got off with six months on a hit-and-run charge.
July 22, 2011