BELTLINE CORRIDOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY PUBLIC AND C O M M I T T E E WORKSHOPS A p r i l - Ju n e 2009 Prepared for: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Prepared by: AECOM/JJG Joint Venture Atlanta, GA July 2009 General Planning Consultant Services RFP P5413 Contract No. 200703566 Work Order No. 2008-07 General Planning Consultant Services Public and Committee Workshops – April – June 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Table of Contents 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.1 PUBLIC WORKSHOPS ............................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 ATLANTA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY STAFF AND JOINT TECHNICAL / STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORKSHOPS ................................... 1-1 1.3 PUBLIC & COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION PRESENTATIONS ............................. 1-2 1.4 SUMMARY OF KEY COMMENTS AND ISSUES RAISED ..................................... 1-2 1.5 NEXT STEPS: ALTERNATIVES DEVELOPMENT AND SCREENING................. 1-3 List of Table Table 1-1: Key Comments – All Workshops ................................................................................. 1-4 Appendix Appendix A: Meeting Notes ..................................................................................................... A-1.2-1 Appendix B: Presentation Notes ........................................................................................... A-1.2-37 BeltLine Corridor Environmental Study i June 2009 General Planning Consultant Services Public and Committee Workshops – April – June 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to summarize the comments and suggestions received during a series of workshops and presentations held in April, May and June 2009 as part of the Bel- tLine Corridor Environmental Study. The workshops and presentations provided an opportu- nity for the project stakeholders, technical advisors, agency staff and the public to gain great- er understanding of the types of improvements proposed for the BeltLine. More than 600 in- dividuals were involved in all of the outreach activities. These activities also provided an op- portunity for the participants to assist in identifying the project alignment, station location and service type options for feasibility screening and evaluation as part of the Tier 1 Environmen- tal Impact Statement that is being prepared for the project. 1.1 Public Workshops A series of public workshops was held in each of the five BeltLine Study Group areas be- tween April 13, 2009 and May 4, 2009 to engage the public in identifying potential transit and trail alternatives to be considered for the project. The workshops were promoted throughout the study area to involve the public; some of whom were previously involved in various Bel- tLine planning efforts, through MARTA and Atlanta BeltLine Inc.‘s (ABI‘s) outreach methods. Others participated because of a host of outreach strategies designed to reach community, transit and trail users and stakeholders of the future transit and trails project. These activities resulted in small group hands-on workshops attended by approximately 105 individuals. The first portion of each of the public workshops provided an opportunity for the participants to view a series of display boards and a continuous video that described the various transit and trails improvement options identified in previous studies for the BeltLine. This was fol- lowed by a short presentation that described the overall study process, results of previous studies and the purpose of the workshop. After the presentation, the participants were asked to break into smaller discussion groups for an interactive exercise focused on identifying po- tential modifications or additions to the alternative service types, alignments and station loca- tions previously identified for the BeltLine project. Each breakout group included a staff facili- tator to lead the discussion, access to an interactive video screen that displayed maps of the proposed project alignment and stations, and a staff person to document the comments and suggestions offered by the group. Following the break-out session, a representative for each group presented a short summary regarding the key points raised by their group. 1.2 Atlanta Development Authority Staff and Joint Technical / Stakeholder Advisory Committee Workshops A project workshop was also held on May 28, 2009 to provide an opportunity for the At- lanta Development Authority (ADA) staff and Atlanta‘s Economic Development Sub- Cabinet to review and comment on the alternatives to be considered for the BeltLine project. A joint Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Stakeholder Advisory Commit- tee (SAC) workshop was held on June 2, 2009. The TAC is composed of representa- tives of organizations and agencies that have a specific interest and/or responsibility in the BeltLine Corridor or have shown special interest in the redevelopment of the corridor. The SAC is composed of representatives from a variety of area organiza- BeltLine Corridor Environmental Study 1-1 June 2009 General Planning Consultant Services Public and Committee Workshops – April – June 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY tions, including MARTA‘s network of citizen and business organizations, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations and advocacy groups. The SAC pro- vides input and comments on study findings, and plays a key role in generating par- ticipation from the public at large. Both the ADA and TAC/SAC workshops followed a format that was similar to the public workshops including a brief presentation and an interactive break-out group exercise focused on soliciting comments and sugges- tions relative to the project alignments, station locations and service types being considered for the BeltLine project. 1.3 Public & Community Organization Presentations To gain additional feedback from the public, the public outreach comment period was ex- tended to June 12, 2009. Twelve public and community organization presentations were held for additional opportunities to engage the public in identifying potential transit and trail al- ternatives. Through intensified efforts to engage the public in identifying opportunities and impacts for the transit and trail design, the message was taken to community forums already in place, to libraries, and to food courts in an office complex and mall. These activities re- sulted in presentations attended by approximately 516 individuals. At the presentations and one-on-one engagements, individuals were provided an oppor- tunity to view a series of display boards that described the study process, the types of service considered, the environmental project study goals, the overall Beltline concept and the project study area map. In this informal context, individuals were given a brief overview of the Beltline study and asked to give their comments. Staff documented the comments and suggestions offered. 1.4 Summary of Key Comments and Issues Raised Each of the comments, suggestions and issues of concern expressed by the workshop par- ticipants during the interactive group exercise was documented by a staff recorder on large tablets at each of the break-out discussion tables. This information was subsequently com- piled for each of the workshops and is presented in the Appendix of this report along with the compiled information from the public/community presentations. This information will be used to determine potential modifications to the initial alternatives for the BeltLine and for the identi- fication of additional alternative alignments, stations and service types for further study. Common themes heard at the workshops included the following: Local service for the BeltLine transit, providing the maximum number of access points to neighborhood stations Transit and trail alignments should run parallel to each other to the maximum extent possible Transit alignment should connect to MARTA heavy rail stations as well as the Peach- tree Street Car alignment BeltLine transit and trail design should include pedestrian access that is well de- signed and accommodates special transportation needs (i.e. ADA compliance and strollers) BeltLine Corridor Environmental Study 1-2 June 2009 General Planning Consultant Services Public and Committee Workshops – April – June 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY All transit and trail design should include provisions for ensuring for the safety of us- ers Table 1-1 on the following pages summarizes some of the key comments and suggestions raised at the workshops and public/community presentations that specifically relate to the transit service types, transit and trail alignments and transit station locations under considera- tion for the BeltLine project. The table is presented in a matrix format and identifies the key comments organized by study area zone and whether they address service type, alignment, station location or trails related issues. 1.5 Next Steps: Alternatives Development and Screening The information included in Table1-1 and the summaries of workshop and presentation results as shown in the Appendix of this document will be used to modify initial BeltLine project alternatives and identify additional options for further consideration and screen- ing. These alternatives could potentially have different transit/trail alignments for por- tions of the BeltLine, different station location configurations, and may be designed to accommodate different