Sidewalks, a streetscape in your community or repaving of nearby streets.  This is a small sample from a comprehensive list of transportation planned projects that our citizens would like to see in their community.  The question remains.  How do we fund them? This summer voters within the ten-county Atlanta metropolitan area will decide whether to fund local and regional transportation projects (from an existing list of projects developed from public input) through a regional transportation referendum.

The City of Atlanta is expected to receive a little over $9.0 million per year for ten years to spend on local projects. The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, the Departments of Planning and Community Development and Public Works, in coordination with the Atlanta City Council, are working to develop a rolling five-year list of projects to be funded by the 15-percent local allocation, if the referendum passes in July.

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Regional Commission recently awarded $34 million in grants to help 13 Metro Atlanta communities build innovative transportation projects.

Each project includes pedestrian and bicycle improvements to encourage residents to find "greener" ways of getting from place to place, and to make these neighborhoods more livable and supportive of transit.

The money was given through the ARC's Livable Center Initiative, which is funded with federal transportation dollars.

"LCI has helped communities across Metro Atlanta re-tool and redesign over the years, creating more plans that attract residents and businesses alike," said Doug Hooker, executive director of ARC. "This program is a model for others around the country and has helped to create or finalize many of our region's most innovative and livable communities."

ATLANTA – On Wednesday, MARTA riders can share ideas with the General Manager and CEO, Beverly A. Scott, of the Atlanta transit and rail company as a part of the company’s “Meet MARTA Day” effort. The event will be held at the Five Points Station from 4 to 7 p.m.

Tell company executives what, you think, would make MARTA “smarta” and partake in light refreshments, games, giveaways and tons of information. This event is the first in a series of Meet MARTA Days; the next two events will be held at North Springs station and at College Park and Kensington stations.

MARTA customers will also be able to learn about the proposed 2012 transportation sales tax and will have the opportunity to sound-off about Atlanta Regional transportation projects on the docket.