Transportation improvements are a major part of Mayor Dickens’s agenda. He’s asking Atlanta residents to help him secure the funding needed to upgrade our infrastructure by voting “yes” at the polls on May 24th for a 4/10 of a penny sales tax and an infrastructure bond.
The sales tax, called TSPLOST or Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, is expected to raise $350 million over 5 years. Mayor Dickens has said the funding will go towards repairing sidewalks, roads and bridges.
Alongside the TSPLOST, there is a separate referendum to create a $400 million infrastructure bond to fund an array of projects including bicycle and transit lanes, and safety lighting for roads, sidewalks, pathways and trails, and parks & recreation center upgrades.
“The two initiatives would create $750 million for infrastructure improvements. That’s what I call super-charging city services,” Mayor Dickens said.
There are several notable projects in the Upper Westside District which overlap with our recently adopted Upper Westside Masterplan including:
- 17th Street sidewalk.
- Chattahoochee Avenue multi-use path.
- Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard improvements.
- Joseph E Lowery Boulevard improvements.
You can find more about the transportation-related projects associated with the two referendums in this excellent list compiled by the Atlanta Bike Coalition.
These referendums will be included on the ballot for May 24th alongside the General Primary Election.