Meet Atlanta’s new planning commissioner (Savannah: appointed, 2015, how much)

[jsvh]

Meet Atlanta’s new planning commissioner - CL

Tim Keane, Atlanta's newly appointed planning commissioner, is saying all the right things.

Bikes? The Charlotte, N.C., native says Atlanta's streets need to make more room for 'em. Good urban design? It's possible and necessary, he says. Traffic? Every great city in the world has it, and Atlanta should focus on helping people avoid gridlock with alternatives, such as MARTA.

The dapper 50-year-old told members of the Northwest Community Alliance on July 15 that he wants the city, one that for decades has been the epitome of erratic car-centric planning, to be more than just a collection of buildings.

"We are responsible for the public realm of the city — the spaces we share," Keane said. "This is a big challenge ... There are many good things happening here. [But] if the city continues to be a series of projects, I will have failed."

...

Keane says he loves the South, and that working in the region's biggest city — one that came of age when cars were king — is an exciting challenge. Plus, he sensed from talks with Reed that the mayor cares about planning, urbanism, and more options for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders. He thinks that Atlantans feel the same.

"There's ground to cover," he says. "But maybe we make a lot of progress relatively quickly. It seems like there's a lot of consensus that these need to be done."

[SavannahLife]

Sounds like a person with with a passion for planning. Therefore perfect for this position.

Cities across this county can use more greenways and bikeways, and one way is by utilizing existing rights-of-way and rails-to-trails. I read about one such greenway around ATL which sounds great. In the urban core mass transit is so important as it is cheaper per rider than building more roads and is not a nicety but will really be a necessity. This is good to hear! Especially as I may end in ATL.

Also combining bikes and transit is a good duo. I go in to Savannah on the bus on weekends with my bike. It's just plain great. Not having to worry about parking, being able to get across town almost faster and easier than a car, etc. It's the future. Plus most people just want to fight through rush hour to get home to log on to Facebook quicker. Well, I kick back and do all that, on my phone, on the bus. And then join the real world again when home. So it actually saves time, even if it's a few extra minutes commuting (sometimes the same actually).

[magnetar]

Bikes? The Charlotte, N.C., native says Atlanta's streets need to make more room for 'em. Good urban design? It's possible and necessary, he says. Traffic? Every great city in the world has it, and Atlanta should focus on helping people avoid gridlock with alternatives, such as MARTA.

This makes my heart sing. Providing great alternatives to driving is so vastly more interesting than working on ways to make driving more pleasant.

[Pemgin]

Great hire. Looking forward to seeing what he does.

[SavannahLife]

Originally Posted by magnetar

This makes my heart sing. Providing great alternatives to driving is so vastly more interesting than working on ways to make driving more pleasant.

Agree.. I drive plenty I believe in everyone having their own view but it is important that we all consider that cars are more expensive than mass transit per rider.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

Agree.. I drive plenty I believe in everyone having their own view but it is important that we all consider that cars are more expensive than mass transit per rider.

When all the maintenance, lost productivity, air pollution, congestion, road expansion, road maintenance, public health costs, etc. cars are more expensive than transit per captia.

[SavannahLife]

Exactly. More transit riders (much more) would be much less road maintenance and expansion. And frankly perhaps less introversion and narcissism. Riding mass transit builds builds moral fiber. Also I think a lot of road rage comes from the fact we can't communicate with people in other cars and always assume the worst motives. On transit you can simply say "excuse me" or "Oh sorry, didn't mean to bump you". Transit, and how much it's used, is one of those things that defines cities.

[bu2]

Sounds like he would approve of LA's new plan. Its an interesting read:

L.A. Breaks From Its Car-Reliant Reputation With 'Mobility Plan 2035' - CityLab

[jsvh]

Planning Czar Tim Keane Talks Steps to Make Atlanta Awesome - Field Note Fridays - Curbed Atlanta

Another good interview.

This question is particularly relevant to some other discussions:

CURBED: Of late, there's been growing tension as many Atlantans feel their roads are being threatened by bike and pedestrian infrastructure. As the population in the heart of the city grows, how should we approach the creation of "complete streets?"

TK: The issue of our streets is in NO WAY a conflict between cyclists, drivers, pedestrians, etc. Every single Atlantan shares an interest in getting more people out of cars, whether you drive 100 percent of the time or not. The only way (that's right, the only one) to reduce congestion in a growing, dynamic city is to give more people the ability to get around on foot, bicycle and transit for some trips. Not everyone will do this, of course, but many will. More and more will. This is of great benefit to people who drive 100 percent of the time. The only way to give people more options is to make cycling, walking and transit safer, more enjoyable and convenient. This means taking space on streets for these other modes. It's counterintuitive, I know, but we will all see here in Atlanta that it's the best way to make this a better place to live as we grow.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Planning Czar Tim Keane Talks Steps to Make Atlanta Awesome - Field Note Fridays - Curbed Atlanta

Another good interview.

This question is particularly relevant to some other discussions:

Thanks for posting this.

This quote just helped me to make a decision:

This is a long-term shift that requires that we become excellent at enabling a lively, healthy public realm. This requires lots of little things — not big game changers — at this point. I think we need to concentrate on helping many individuals, small businesses and local organizations invest on the single storefront and building scale. Granular stuff. Let's make a bunch of city streets that are wonderful to walk on. That's what we need.

Still not sure on the hair, but I pretty much dig this guy.