Get Informed With 'Connect Cobb' Study

Cobb County, through a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is conducting an Alternatives Analysis, known as the Connect Cobb study, to investigate transit options and their impact on mobility, livability and connectivity.

Cobb County is conducting the Connect Cobb study to investigate transit options and their impact on mobility, livability and connectivity in the Northwest Corridor (from Arts Center Station to Acworth, roughly following I-75 and Highway 41). The Cobb Department of Transportation held three meetings in December to solicit ideas and encourage discussion about the future of Cobb. Representatives of Cobb elected officials, MARTA, the city of Atlanta, Cumberland and Town Center Malls, Kennesaw State University, Dobbins Naval Air Station, Southern Poly and average citizens attended these meetings. The recent history of Cobb has been about transportation and development. At times, one would lead the way and the other would try to catch up. …

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'Smart' Transit Option Unveiled in Cobb

An airport-style people mover system linking the Town Center area to Dunwoody was detailed for East Cobb residents Thursday night.

It's the suburban light rail opponent's dream alternative. A fast rail-like transit system would link high-traffic areas in Cobb's Northwest Corridor with Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. It would be built at a fraction of the cost and in far less time than the estimated completion of transit projects listed on next summer's Atlanta regional TSPLOST referendum.  It is being billed as far more energy efficient than standard heavy and light rail. And it would be funded entirely with private sources.  Does it sound too good to be true? The man proposing the "Maglev" option -- short for magnetic levitation, the technological backbone for transit lines elevated above thoroughfares -- doesn't think so.  Tony Morris, the president and CEO of Marietta-…

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Letter to the Editor: TSPLOST

A Cobb cyclist voices his opinion about the proposed 1 percent sales tax in 2012 to fund $6.1 billion in transportation projects in the Metro Atlanta area over a ten year period.

By Joe Seconder Tuesday I attended a Public Meeting of the Atlanta Regional Roundtable in Cobb County regarding the proposed 1 percent sales tax in 2012 to fund $6.1 Billion in transportation projects in the Metro Atlanta area over a ten-year period. I was one of seven random people chosen to speak for two minutes at the end. Six of the speakers last night spoke in favor of it. The county previously held other smaller local-based town hall meetings that I did not participate in. At those, apparently many were opposed to rail and transit. Anyway, had I had four minutes to speak last night, here's what I would have said: The Cobb Complete Streets Policy–unanimously adopted by the County Commission in January, 2009 states: "Safe access for …

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Lee: Transit Key to Competition

The Cobb Board of Commissioners chairman makes his TSPLOST pitch at a Rotary Club meeting.

Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee has hitched his caboose to light rail, calling it “a good idea” for Cobb County's future. At a meeting of the Smyrna Rotary Club on Tuesday, Lee outlined his support for the 12.8-mile, $857 million light-rail project that would connect the Cumberland-Galleria area to MARTA’s Arts Center Station in Midtown. The proposed light-rail line made it onto the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable executive committee’s master list of transportation projects last month. The list will be finalized by an executive committee vote Oct. 15. Lee explained that connecting the Cumberland-Galleria area to Midtown opens transportation gateways for what he considers to be the future of Cobb County: the U.S. 41/Interstate …

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Northeast Cobb High Five

Open Houses Before a Brawl

Here's what you should know to start Sept. 1 in Northeast Cobb.

1. Today’s weather will be a lot like Wednesday’s, the National Weather Service says. It will be mostly sunny and humid with a high of about 90, no rain, little wind and an overnight low around 66. 2. It’s open-house night at Sprayberry and Lassiter high schools. Both events start at 6:30, and in both cases, parents will get to see the results of summer construction in addition to meeting their children’s fall teachers. Northeast Cobb Patch plans to be at Sprayberry, so say hello if you see our reporter. 3. Friday will bring a huge Northeast Cobb showdown when Sprayberry’s football team travels up the road to Lassiter for the Chick-fil-A Backyard Brawl, but there’s also plenty to see in high school sports today. In varsity volleyball, …

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Northeast Cobb High Five

Kell Band Ready to Shake It Up

Here's what you should know to start Aug. 24 in Northeast Cobb.

1. Today’s weather will feel a lot like Tuesday’s, according to the National Weather Service: sunny, a high close to 90 degrees, not much humidity, not much wind, and a slight chance of pop-up storms in the afternoon and evening. The overnight low will be about 66. No word on the chance of earthquakes. 2. If nothing else, the Virginia earthquake Tuesday afternoon reminded us that tremors aren’t strictly a West Coast phenomenon, that the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville is a great regional asset and that we have more natural disasters to fear than marauding Yankees. It also distracted us from the approach of Hurricane Irene, which seems determined to spend the weekend visiting the same places shaken by the quake. 3. The high school …

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Cobb to Phone Residents on Transportation Issues

Countywide conference call Tuesday night invites citizens to discuss long-term projects and needs.

More than 170,000 Cobb County residents will find Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee and Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews on the end of the line during a Tuesday night phone call discussing possible transportation projects for the area, including a regional light rail system. Cobb residents will be called at random on Tuesday through an automated system to participate in the one-hour forum, which starts at 7:15 p.m., according to a release from the Atlanta Regional Commission. Participants who stay on the line will be able to ask questions and share input with Lee and Mathews about their transportation wants and needs and projects that could be funded if a penny sales tax referendum passes next summer. The regional sales tax – or TSPLOST – stems …

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Neighbors Vent

Will the Light Rail Bring Crime?

A local man claims the economic development resulting from the proposed Metro Atlanta Northern Crescent Transit will come at a very high price; quality of life.

The proposed Metro Atlanta Northern Crescent Transit will cost about $2 billion to build along the U.S. 41 corridor.  The light-rail is expensive. Is it financially feasible considering our county's budget troubles? I certainly don't think so. The county will have to pay for a chunk of it. The 14-mile line would run from Smyrna to the Town Center area in Kennesaw, and connect with existing MARTA rail lines. It will extend into Cobb, north Fulton and Gwinnett counties. What about crime? No one likes to say it, but the truth is the northern suburbs maintain low crime because there is no transit line making it easy for criminals without cars to infest our neighborhoods. Avocates argue that the light-rail will bring economic development. At …

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Weekend Preview

A video preview of the news and features you can find on Northeast Cobb Patch this weekend.

Northeast Cobb Patch's weekend line up: Saturday 6 a.m. In the Neighbors Vent feature, neighbor Jon Chase asks if the proposed light rail will bring crime to Northeast and East Cobb? Read his opinion and share yours. 12 noon. Local Voices blogger and nurse Marilyn tells you how to avoid Lyme Disease while outdoors this summer. 3 p.m. Hangover 2, to see or not to see? Critics rarely speak for the general public. You become the movie critic. Share your review of the movie with neighbors. In the afternoon, Columnist Vick Hammond will give us a description and photos of the Pets of the Week, featuring Cobb animal shelter pets available for adoption. Sunday 9 a.m. In the Neighbors Ask, Neighbors Answer feature, Peggy asks for a referral to a …

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