Inside City Hall: Do DeKalb residents support Atlanta’s planned training center?

We know that public safety training center opponents are on a mission to collect more than 70,000 signatures to get the question of Atlanta’s public safety training center on the ballot in front of voters. DeKalb residents have complained and even sued for not being allowed to engage in the project that sits in their home county.

But, overall, how do DeKalb residents really feel about the looming facility given that not everyone lives in the surrounding neighborhoods that are impacted? DeKalb Commissioner Ted Terry commissioned an internal poll conducted for his campaign of DeKalb voters asking that question.

The poll, dated June 16, showed DeKalb voters relatively split over the center, with 39% opposed and 35% supportive. That’s within the margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. It involved 500 registered voters but we haven’t seen the crosstabs, so of as with any poll, take it with a grain of salt.

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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Six months into 2023 the city of Atlanta is celebrating its mid-year successes. Last week, the Mayor Andre Dickens released his halfway check-in to laud progress on issues from affordable housing to public safety. Atlanta leaders are particularly thrilled about a decrease in violent crime — including homicide rates dipping for the first time in four years.

In his mid-year report, Dickens touted things like largest yearly budget in the city’s history, long-awaited infrastructure projects like DeKalb Avenue’s resurfacing and millions put toward youth programs for his self-proclaimed “Year of the Youth” initiatives.

One thing the report leaves out, however, is where the city is falling short. The city is struggling to fix it’s dilapidated infrastructure and continues to deal with the never-ending controversy over the $90-million planned public safety training center.

We’d like to see some notes on what’s next in the to-do list.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/alyssa.pointer@ajc.com

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The Atlanta Department of Transportation wants to know how you get around the city. The department is asking for residents to answer a survey about how they utilize “micromobility” like shared e-bicycles and scooters.

Here’s a crazy stat: between July 2021 and September 2022, Atlanta’s e-bicycles and scooter trips equaled more than 14 trips to the moon, 136 trips around the Earth, or 154,326 trips around the completed Beltline.

The city is continuing to look to other forms of transportation like e-bicycles and scooters to cut down on car traffic. More recent data shows from July 2021 to date, Atlantans have taken 3.5 million trips on things like Bird and Lime vehicles and traveled 4.8 million miles.

The survey asks questions like what neighborhoods could use more “micromobility” options and whether or not residents prefer e-bikes and scooters they need to dock at a central location, or leave anywhere.

You can take the survey here.

Credit: TNS

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The mayor’s communications director is leaving City Hall for a new role as Chief Communications Officer for the National Conference of State Legislatures beginning in August. Bryan Thomas has served in the administration for nearly 16 months.

“Serving Mayor Dickens as a part of his Administration has been a true privilege,” said Thomas in an email announcing this departure. “It’s been rewarding, challenging and always exiting. I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve this Mayor and this city that we love.”

Congratulations on your new job, Bryan. We wish you the best of luck.

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Also, congratulations to City Hall communications staffer Michael Ulmer who will be taking on a new role as Council member Jason Winston’s right hand man.

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