People who walk have been burned over and over by R
enew Atlanta.
And due in large part to faulty contracting processes, lack of political will, and decisions made behind closed doors, the Renew Atlanta program is becoming even more disappointing.
A week or two before the 2015 referendum, Atlanta leade
rs cut $70 million of the proposed
$75 million allocated to sidewalk and curb ramp
repairs from the Project List. In 2017 Renew Atlanta managers added insult to injury by reneging on promises to make sidewalk repairs
part of all street resurfacing projects.
Interim General Manager Michele Wynn attributes this in part to rising construction costs. Nice try, but no cigar.
 Program managers have known for years that construction costs were rising. Why then, did elected officials allocate $19 million of Renew Atlanta bonds toward a project that was never on the list: the ostentatious and nearly useless pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive?
Over three years have passed since passage of the referendum. Yet only one of the promised 16 Complete Streets projects has been built.
Renew Atlanta plans to re-prioritize the project list, and its recommendations are likely to favor synchronizing traffic signals over projects that serve people who ride bicycles, use public transit, or get around on foot.
Members of the City Council's Transportation Committee have demanded reports from Renew Atlanta about which projects have been completed and which it wants to drop and why.
 Yet Renew Atlanta has twice backed off on promises to make presentations at Transportation Committee meetings.
What is Renew Atlanta trying to hide?
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