Newly-Adopted City of Atlanta Transportation Plan Shifts Focus to Alternatives
Looking toward the future of Atlanta, the City's aim is to reduce congestion by providing affordable and accessible commute options for all.
Published: 12/19/18
The Atlanta City Council recently approved a new Transportation Plan for the City of Atlanta, a document that provides the framework to guide the City’s transportation policies, goals, and priorities into the future. Looking toward Atlanta's future of expansion and growth, the plan proposes adding new transit and bicycle infrastructure while emphasizing greater use of alternatives to driving alone, in developing what it calls a “safe, mobile, and affordable transportation system.” Atlanta'sTransportation Plan aims to decrease dependence on cars, reducing the share of drive-alone trips from 54% to 35%.
Midtown Alliance was among more than 50 local stakeholder groups that provided technical guidance for the effort.The plan overall makes it clear that the City of Atlanta—which has seen resurgent growth in the past decade both in daytime workers and residents—will need a “broad paradigm shift” moving forward, and the plan highlights the need to encourage people who currently drive alone on Atlanta’s roads to learn about other options, in particular as a means to reduce congestion. This means more people plugging into existing transportation infrastructure, shifting their daily car rides to to ride-share and carpools, trying out cleaner modes of transportation such as biking, walking and other alternative vehicles, and more workplaces signing off on alternative work arrangements like flexwork and telework. In doing so, the Transportation Plan calls for a “robust” Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategy in Atlanta to both promote and incentivize transportation alternatives for commuters.
What Is TDM Anyway?
Transportation Demand Management is a term that may be unfamiliar to many. It is not about changing infrastructure; rather, it is about increasing people's access and awareness of travel choices. TDM is a principle that focuses on the people who need to get around a city—and helps connect people with existing transportation options.Katie Marticke, senior program manager of Midtown Transportation at Midtown Alliance, explained that TDM can transform a city by focusing on improving the quality of life of the people who live and work there.
"The key to mitigating congestion and accommodating our growing population is making more efficient use of the infrastructure we already have," said Marticke. “We cannot simply build our way out of congestion."
Marticke oversees the Midtown Alliance's Midtown Transportation program, which partners with over 120 employers on strategies that ease vehicular travel demand while working to address parking constraints, increase employee satisfaction and retention, attract talent, and decrease overhead costs. The voluntary program, which has been running for almost two decades and operates with a full-time staff of three people, presents a variety of choices which allow employees to save money, time, and reduce their stress levels on their commute to work.
The Midtown Transportation program is backed regionally by tools and support resources, including financial incentives and Guaranteed Ride Home. Survey results show that among organizations working with Midtown Transportation, 40% of commuters are using alternatives to driving alone. The Atlanta Transportation Plan points to Midtown Transportation as an example of a current successful TDM program in Atlanta.
Put simply, Midtown Transportation works to ensure that Midtown employers have the support they need to present employees with easy, clean, and cost-efficient commute choices that get them out from behind the wheel.
"That is what our work is all about," said Marticke. "Educating commuters on their options and working with everyone from developers to employers to make sure we are providing the necessary tools and incentives to lead people toward more sustainable options."
Learn about how Midtown Transportation can support commuters here.
Get a customized transit route plan for your commute here.
