More LCI for SSRI from ARC in the TIP

Story for the Sandy Springs Revitalization Milestone newsletter and web site -- April 2002

If all goes well, Sandy Springs Revitalization could receive nearly $1.66 million in LCI project funding for two new streetscape projects in Sandy Springs.  This month the Atlanta Regional Commission announced that it has recommended that the Sandy Springs Circle Streetscape and the Hammond Drive/Sandy Springs Circle Streetscape be added to the draft 2003 – 2005 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). 

The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) is the Atlanta Regional Commission’s innovative and very competitive program to improve air quality and reduce congestion in the region by encouraging the implementation of “smart growth” principles in activity centers.  Now in its third year, LCI promises $1 million a year over five years for planning, and $350 million in the 25-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for implementation of plan projects.   Sandy Springs Revitalization, Inc. was among the first successful applicants to receive $85,820 in planning money, which went toward the development of its Livable Sandy Springs Plan in 2001.

Since the LCI Plan was completed in 2001, SSRI has been looking for opportunities to fund projects identified in the plan.  The LCI project money in the RTP is just one source.  Another approach is to be sure that projects identified in the Sandy Springs Plan become part of other regional plans.  SSRI staff and volunteers invest significant amounts of time participating on numerous regional task forces and committees devoted to transportation planning and smart growth initiatives.  Keeping abreast of the ever-changing regional transportation scene is SSRI’s best hope of assuring that Sandy Springs can get the funds it needs to do these projects.

Regional studies and activities that will significantly impact Sandy Springs are the Marietta to Lawrenceville/I-285 Transit Corridor Study, the Northern Sub Area/GA 400 Corridor Study, and ARC’s RTP/TIP process.  In addition, SSRI is working with the Georgia Department of Transportation on the concept design for the I-285 Interchange at Roswell Road, and helping to facilitate the formation of a Civic Advisory Committee that will assist GDOT with concept design for the Abernathy/Johnson Ferry project expected to get underway later this spring.