Atlanta Galleria Now

Lane Closures Lead to Future Improvements for NW Corridor

Have you heard about the Express Lanes?

The following information is from the Cumberland CID update:

Construction begins this month on the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes Project. Georgia DOT announces that the Interstate 285 westbound and eastbound shoulders will be closed at the collector distributor lanes to Interstate 75 northbound and southbound through April 2015. These shoulder closures will allow for the construction of the new bridges at the Interstate 75 and Interstate 285 interchanges.

NOTE: At Interstate 285 westbound and Cobb Parkway there will be a lane closure on Tuesday, October 14 and Wednesday, October 15. This will result in a lane shift that will continue through the end of the year/early 2015. Traffic will be shifted toward the median for the construction of a new ramp that will provide access from the new lanes on Interstate 75 southbound to Interstate 285 westbound general purpose lanes. All lane closures will occur during off peak traffic hours.

At Interstate 285 eastbound and Cobb Parkway there will be a lane closure on Wednesday, October 15. This will result in a lane shift that will continue through March 2015. Traffic will be shifted toward the median to allow for widening of the existing Interstate 285 bridge and for wall construction on the outside of the existing general purpose lanes.

The scheduled completion date for the project is in 2018.

http://www.dot.ga.gov/doingbusiness/p3/projects/NWC/Documents/ConstructionOverview.pdf

Q&A with David Connell, CEO of Cobb Chamber of Commerce

With more than 2,500 member firms, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce plays a leading role in the Cobb business community. Its activities range from offering programs to develop business leaders to advocating for legislation that helps area businesses.

Below is a Q&A with David Connell, president and CEO of the Chamber, about the Chamber’s considerable achievements in 2011 and its ambitious plans for 2012.

A quick look back: What were some of the chamber’s biggest achievements in 2011?

Connell: Last year, under the leadership of chairman Rob Garcia, our economic development team worked with our partners — cities, the county, the state, development authorities and utilities — to attract 26 business relocations and expansions. These projects, which include The Home Depot’s new customer support center in Kennesaw, will create 3,093 jobs and $248 million in new investments in the county. 

Working with numerous community partners, we also launched Cobb’s Competitive Edge, which will create and implement an economic development plan that will generate high-wage job growth; strengthen our quality of life as well as our educational assets and infrastructure; and aggressively market our county to the world. We contracted with Market Street Services, one of the leading economic development consultants, to oversee the process, and the plan should be ready for implementation by early February.

We also added more than 500 new members, which means that 2,500 firms now belong to the Cobb Chamber, making it one of the largest chambers in the Southeast. And, we launched a pilot program with Walgreen’s that offers employees of member firms significant savings on prescription drugs.

What are your priorities for 2012?

Connell: Our top priority will be to begin implementing the recommended strategies outlined in the upcoming Competitive EDGE Economic Development Strategic Plan. With that plan, we will strengthen both our business retention and our recruitment efforts.

We will also offer new leadership development opportunities to our members that will build on historically strong programs like Leadership Cobb, Cobb Youth Leadership and Honorary Commanders. For example, to start off the year, we are bringing radio host Dave Ramsey’s one-day course on entrepreneurship to our members, and we are in conversations with several other local and national leadership development experts to create programs for our members and their teams.

Furthermore, we will look to continue to grow our membership with another membership drive.

Another session of the Georgia General Assembly began this month. What’s on your legislative agenda this year?

Connell: Our end goal is to support legislation that creates high-quality jobs at all skill levels in Cobb, the metro Atlanta region and throughout the state of Georgia.

As for some of the specifics, we will advocate for legislation that would allow communities in Georgia to bring before voters a referendum for a fractional (meaning less than a penny) special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST). As Cobb matures, we feel our need for a full penny for both the Education and Transportation SPLOSTs is diminishing. We will also advocate for legislation that would allow a portion of SPLOST funds to be spent on maintenance and operations of existing capital.

The Chamber also supports the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. Each year, $935 million in cargo value moves from Cobb through the port. Its expansion is vital to the future growth of our county, our region and our state. We also support the creation of the Georgia Venture Capital Program, which would be a $180 million venture capital fund to attract high-growth companies to the state. 

Some of our other many legislative initiatives include advocating for the July passage by voters of a 1-cent sales tax to fund a wide variety of transportation projects proposed as part of the Transportation Investment Act and supporting the continued tax-exempt status of non-profit community hospitals.

If a business is interested in joining the Chamber or exploring the various events and programs that you offer, what should it do?

Connell: Our website details all the aspects our organization. If they are interested in exploring membership, they can fill out a membership inquiry. To schedule an appointment with the Membership Sales Department, they should call Jeremy Cronemeyer at (770) 859-2337.

Cumberland CID Commuter Club Provides Transportation Alternative

Tired of sitting in blood-pressure-raising, hair-pulling Atlanta traffic on your way to and from your job at the Atlanta Galleria Office Park? The Cumberland Community Improvement District (CID) can help.

You can lower your stress — as well as save gas money and reduce wear and tear on your car — by joining a vanpool operated by the CID’s Commuter Club. Seats are currently available on the club’s Gwinnett County-to-Galleria and DeKalb County-to-Galleria vanpool routes.

Over the past decade, the Commuter Club’s vanpool and other programs designed to get commuters out of their individual cars have reduced air emissions by 5,500 tons and saved commuters an estimated $5.5 million in automobile expenses, according to CID.

To get a spot on the above-mentioned routes, contact the Commuter Club. Also, click here to view all the vanpool routes operated by the club.

Carpools are another great way to save some money and conserve your car. If you’re interested in finding a carpool partner, contact the Clean Air Campaign.