2015 Proposed Infrastructure Bond

Mayor Kasim Reed has made a commitment to address the city’s pressing infrastructure challenges. Today, the city faces an infrastructure backlog of more than $1.02 billion. In order to begin improving our city’s roads, bridges, sidewalks, facilities and expand our green spaces, the city is proposing a bond infrastructure referendum to pay for these repairs and improvements. The Departments of Public Works, Planning and Community Development, in coordination with the Atlanta City Council, are seeking public input to determine priority and criteria for project selection for the bond.

Citizen input is a very important part of this process, and this website has been to give citizens a place to provide feedback throughout all phases of the project. The city will use this feedback to determine project selection criteria, narrow down the list of final projects, and to update citizens on progress.

Here’s where we are in the process:

June 2014

Public Information Meetings (1st Round)

Atlanta Metropolitan State College: June 25, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
1630 Metropolitan Parkway SW, Atlanta, GA 30310

Peachtree Hills Recreation Center: June 26, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
308 Peachtree Hills Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30305

Adamsville Recreation Center: June 30, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
3201 Martin L. King, Jr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30311

John C. Birdine Recreation Center: July 1, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
215 Lakewood Way SW, Atlanta, GA 30315

Atlanta City Hall Auditorium (Old Council Chambers): July 8, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
68 Mitchell Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303

Drew Charter School: July 15, 2014
301 East Lake Boulevard SE, Atlanta, GA 30317

Meals on Wheels Northside Activity Center aka Senior Center: July 16, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

September 2014

Public Information Meetings (2nd Round)

December 1, 2014

City Council Votes on Legislation

January 2015

Public Information Meetings (3rd Round)

March 17, 2015

Residents Vote on Bond Referendum

What is an infrastructure bond?

Bonds are investment opportunities issued by an entity that is authorized to sell bonds to investors. After the bonds are released into the market and investors subscribe to them, the proceeds are used to finance infrastructure projects. These developments include basic facilities and other projects. The facilities may include transportation and communication systems, and public buildings.

An Infrastructure Bond Referendum is a vote by registered voters within the City of Atlanta to approve or reject a request from the City to borrow money to fund infrastructure projects.

Why do an Infrastructure Bond?

Atlanta has aging transportation infrastructure

$881M is needed to restore and/or replace existing bridges, roads, sidewalks, street lights, signals and signs to good condition.

Atlanta has aging facility infrastructure

$130.8M is needed to restore and/or replace city facilities (fire stations, police stations, recreation centers, etc.) to good condition.

The decision will rest with the voters

The City of Atlanta recommends a diversified funding plan to address the infrastructure backlog that begins with a $250M general obligation bond to be presented to the voters in March 2015.

How will the infrastructure bond be funded?

Addressing the first portion of this backlog will require $16M - $20M in annual debt service and $65M annual increased operations and maintenance spending. From March to June 2014, the Mayor‘s “Blue Ribbon Commission on Waste & Efficiency in Government” was charged with identifying cost-saving strategies in City government to enable the City of Atlanta make these necessary investments in City infrastructure without raising property taxes.

What kinds of projects will be included?

The infrastructure bond will focus first and foremost on critical public safety improvements such as bridge replacement and maintenance, street resurfacing, ADA accessibility, and facility upgrades. In total, there are ten (10) categories of infrastructure projects that will be part of the bond measure, including six types of transportation projects and four types of facilities projects.

The bond is limited to infrastructure related to general government operations, therefore excluding the City’s water/sewer infrastructure and the infrastructure at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport that receives funding through independent enterprise funds. For facilities, only properties owned outright by the city are included. Leased facilities are excluded from the bond because it is the responsibility of the owners to maintain the properties.

Project Categories

Bridge Replacement and Maintenance ($259M)

Approximately 9% of the 164 bridges in the City’s inventory are considered to be in fair or poor overall condition. The average age of high priority bridges that need to be replaced is over 93 years old, with the oldest bridge being built in 1906.

Unpaved Roads and Street Resurfacing ($293M)

There are 87 unpaved street segments in the City’s current roadway inventory totaling 8.55 miles. Street resurfacing consists of either micro-surfacing with crack sealing or milling and overlaying roadways.

Traffic Signals, Signs and School Zone Flashers ($55.9M))

Upgrading traffic signals by replacing components that are obsolete and/or past life cycle is a high priority for the City. Signs also need to be upgraded to meet current MUTCD guidelines and industry standards. Additional school zone flashers will assist in reducing the speed of vehicles traveling in school zones.

Sidewalks, Curbing and ADA Ramps ($204M)

It is estimated that about 18% of the sidewalk network and 10% of the curbing can be categorized as deteriorated. Per agreement with the Department of Justice, the Department of Public Works (DPW) is required to install adequate curb ramps at sidewalk locations on streets resurfaced since January, 1992.

TIA Referendum Projects ($42M)

Atlanta voters supported the 2013 Transportation Investment Act within the City of Atlanta. These projects are derived from the list previously approved by Atlanta’s residents.

Street Lights ($34.6M)

There have been no significant improvements to the City’s street light inventory since 2008; however, the inventory of street lights continues to deteriorate due to age and knock downs.

Fire Stations ($40.0M)

The Office of Enterprise Assets Management has implemented aggressive programs to renovate, repair and/or replace Atlanta Fire and Rescue facilities. The Atlanta Fire and Rescue has the highest number of facilities that are in need of renovations and/or replacement.

Police Stations ($57.9M)

The Atlanta Police Department makes up 21% of the City of Atlanta facility inventory in great need of repairs and/or replacement. The Office of Enterprise Assets Management has made significant improvements to the City’s Police Stations since 2011; however, there are a number of the lease locations that need repairs due to the age of the facilities.

Recreational Centers ($8.2M)

It is the mission of the Parks and Recreation Department to provide all citizens and visitors with the highest quality parks and facilities. There have been no significant improvements to the Parks and Recreation Facilities since 20010; however, there are a number of energy efficient and emergency preparedness renovations needing to be completed, to utilize the facilities as disaster recovery facilities.

Government Buildings ($24.7M)

In 2013 the Office of Enterprise Assets completed site assessments of 62 core buildings in the City of Atlanta. It was noted a number of the facilities needed repairs and renovations, i.e., roof replacement, mechanical systems overhaul, and exterior waterproofing, to sustain the building for the remainder of the life cycle of the facility.

Vote on projects you’d like to see in Atlanta!

Before we get started, please tell us a little bit about yourself. This information will be used to make sure the votes are counted evenly among all neighborhoods in Atlanta.

Vote on projects you’d like to see in Atlanta!

Now that you have reviewed the types of projects included in the infrastructure bond, please rank them in order of importance to you.
Set the importance by assigning a value from 1 - 10 for each of the projects.

TIA Approved Projects
Bridges
Streets and ADA Ramps
Sidewalks and Curbing
Lights, Signals and Signs
School Zone Flashers
Fire Stations
Police Precincts
Recreation Centers
Government Buildings

Vote on projects you’d like to see in Atlanta!

Would you like to provide any additional comments or feedback on these projects, or on the bond measure in general? Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for participating in ATL Vision 2015!

To stay involved and learn more about the infrastructure bond, please plan to attend one of seven public outreach meetings in June 2014.

Inquiries related to the Proposed Infrastructure Bond may be sent to: infrastructure@atlantaga.gov

Public Outreach Meetings

Atlanta Metropolitan State College: June 25, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
1630 Metropolitan Parkway SW, Atlanta, GA 30310

Peachtree Hills Recreation Center: June 26, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
308 Peachtree Hills Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30305

Adamsville Recreation Center: June 30, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
3201 Martin L. King, Jr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30311

John C. Birdine Recreation Center: July 1, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
215 Lakewood Way SW, Atlanta, GA 30315

Atlanta City Hall Auditorium (Old Council Chambers): July 8, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
68 Mitchell Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303

Drew Charter School: July 15, 2014
301 East Lake Boulevard SE, Atlanta, GA 30317

Meals on Wheels Northside Activity Center aka Senior Center: July 16, 2014, 6pm - 8pm
1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

CITY OF ATLANTA

About this site:

Data for this website comes from the following reports:

Frequently asked questions:

How to use this website:

Step 1. Learn

Step 2. Vote

Step 3. Stay involved