Atlanta-Area Cyclists Hit The Road For Bike Trails

(Courtesy MAMA)

Hundreds of bicyclists, led by dozens of metro Atlanta mayors and officials, rolled into town and up the steps of the Capitol on Monday. All part of a grassroots gathering to improve bicycling conditions in Georgia.

Scores of police motorcycles escorted upwards of 1,000 cyclists, from school kids to seniors in the fourth-annual “Georgia Rides To The Capitol” event.

Bicyclist Mike Laurie lives in Grant Park, and joined riders from as far as Covington and McDonough, Roswell and Decatur:

"It's a nice turnout today! It's nice seeing people you normally see on your daily commute on your bike - you see them all riding together at the same time in one place - and I think it's a great sight."

They rode everything from clunky newspaper delivery bikes, to state-of-the-art road bikes weighing less than ten pounds, and costing more than some cars.

The event was co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Atlanta Mayors Association.

The message delivered at the Capitol steps was as simple as, well, falling off a bike: To rally support for a better, safer bicycle network across the state.

Legislators (in blue windbreakers) and biking enthusiasts addressed the group of close to 1,000 bicyclists at the state Capitol in Atlanta, on Monday, Mar. 3, 2009 (Photo: Dave Bender)

Mike Thomas, Division Director of Field Services at the Georgia Department of Transportation told the group that his office supports that aim:

"We presently in Georgia have 768 miles of signed bicycle routes; we also have 158 miles of multi-use trails, which we hope to be increasing as different projects come forth…(applause)."

Dekalb’s 83rd District Representative, Democrat Mary Margaret Oliver, says despite severe state budget cutbacks – such projects can get federal funding:

"The federal transportation statutes have some mandatory minimums for alternative transportation, so, even when everything is cutback, there’s still some money available for bike paths. We also have a lot of philanthropy going on in Atlanta, that’s promoting greenspace and bike paths – the beltline as an example."

But funding might not be easy to come by. As bikers mingled outside, inside the Capitol lawmakers passed HB 277.

(Courtesy MAMA)

The bill is a state penny sales-tax for transportation, with no provision for bike trails or alternate transportation options.

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Bill to Stop Mountaintop Strip-Mined Coal Use

Placard of the group backing the bill. Click photo for a larger image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

A state legislator today introduced a bill to phase-out use of mountaintop strip-mined coal in Georgia's power plants.

The so-called Appalachian Mountains Preservation and Clean Energy Act would freeze permits for coal-fired power plants in Georgia for five years and limit strip mining.

Appalachian Mountains Preservation and Clean Energy Act sponsors at the Capitol, Feb. 3, 2009: (L-R) (D) Mary-Margaret Oliver - Decatur, (D) Debbie Buckner - Columbus, (D) Brian Thomas - Gwinnett. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The bill's sponsor Democratic representative Mary-Margaret Oliver of Decatur says Georgia needs to look elsewhere for its power:

"Coal is not a part of the future of energy production in Georgia, by most experts' analysis. We have to find alternative sources; we have to find renewable sources; we have to be part of an economic energy-planning process that's fair to the state, fair to the environment and fair to the ratepayers."

Coal industry representatives say such a moratorium is impractical. They say there are not enough alternative energy sources to provide for Georgia's growing power needs.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia's energy issues.