• United States – 8.5%
• Georgia – 9.7%
• Atlanta MSA – 9.4%
• Fulton County – 9.8%
• Roswell – 7.1%
• Alpharetta – 7.2%
• Sandy Springs – 7.8%
• Johns Creek – 7.8%

Roswell has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, for the second month in a row!
Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Statistics & Economic Research

2011-10-13 Great Places Award CantonStreet

The secret is out about Roswell’s historic treasure – Canton Street! The setting for great shopping, dining and special events like Alive After 5 was recently awarded the “2011 Great Places in Georgia – Great Street” by the Georgia Planning Association (GPA). Canton Street was described as “the hottest scene OTP” (OTP-outside the perimeter.)

The GPA award acknowledges that good planning has been crucial to preserving Canton Street and making it the vibrant “Great Street” it is today. Canton Street received this award because of the alfresco dining craze, being a walker’s dream street and for the people looking for “the Virginia Highland experience OTP, Canton Street has it covered.” According to the award application, ‘Historic commercial buildings and historic homes house restaurants, offices, retail and residential space. The Heart of Roswell Park provides a public park space in a historic commercial area and narrow streets with brick sidewalks and street trees provide character-defining elements that contribute to an enjoyable experience for all and provide the setting for a variety of experiences including shopping dining and festivals. Good planning has been crucial to making Canton Street a “Great Street in Georgia”! Citizens and visitors alike enjoy this historic and memorable sense of place.’

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) is an official Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). GPA is a 1,000-plus member organization of professional planners and planning officials who serve Georgia’s communities in many ways, at all levels of government, the private sector and not-for-profit organizations.

A special presentation was made at the October 10th Mayor and City Council Meeting.

Roswell Bus Shelter

Shelter Installations:

• The City is installing a unique bus shelter design (not a typical MARTA shelter) that does not include advertising at 10 bus stops in Roswell.
• Roswell is the first city to install and maintain unique bus shelters in the MARTA service area that will serve MARTA bus riders.
• The Bus Shelters provide protection from the weather, and include a bench, a trash can and a bike rack. Each shelter will also display bus route information and schedules.
• Because the City is a nationally designated Bicycle Friendly Community, each bus shelter location includes a bike rack. One bus stop location (at Holcomb Bridge Road at SR 400) also includes a bike locker. A bike locker allows a bicycle to be locked inside a compartment and protected from the weather.
• The bus stop improvements will provide a neater, cleaner look and will improve transit rider accommodations.
• These unique bus shelters were carefully designed to fit into and enhance the City’s historical character.

Other:

• The City is also installing 15 Simme-Seats – a pair of simple, tasteful seats attached to a MARTA bus stop sign – thereby making improvements at a total of 25 bus stops.
• The locations of bus shelters and Simme-Seats were determined based upon ridership.

MARTA Offset Fund Projects:

The Atlanta Regional Commission programmed $25 million of MARTA capital funds in return for funding MARTA Operations in 2009. In return, the City of Roswell was eligible to program $1,674,500 in capital improvements that enhance or augment the existing MARTA bus service in the City. The City is spending $250,000 on bus stop improvements and the remainder on new sidewalks within ¾ mile of MARTA bus routes.

Media Photo/Video Opportunity:

If you would like to shoot some footage during a shelter installation, please contact the City to check on the contractor’s schedule. City staff can also meet you on site to answer any questions.

Please contact Andrew Antweiler, Project Manager, at 678-639-7540, or aantweiler@roswellgov.com.

### – link to press release PDF

Of the 50 schools listed, Northview High School was named the top high school in metro Atlanta, with Chattahoochee, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Milton high schools also listed within the top 10. In total, Fulton County secured 10 spots on the list.

Atlanta Magazine’s Top High Schools

• No. 1 – Northview High School
• No. 4 – Chattahoochee High School
• No. 7 – Alpharetta High School
• No. 8 – Johns Creek High School
• No. 9 – Milton High School
• No. 14 – Riverwood International Charter School
• No. 21 – Roswell High School
• No. 29 – Centennial High School
• No. 40 – North Springs Charter High School
• No. 45 – Fulton Science Academy High School

Each year Atlanta Magazine examines what makes a high achieving school, often using test scores and course offerings as its deciding factors. For its 2012 issue, the magazine looked for schools that rank highly in college readiness and used SAT scores, English and math graduation test scores, graduation rates, Advanced Placement exams and pass rates, the percentage of students requiring remedial support when entering college, HOPE eligibility, and the percentage of students earning college preparatory diplomas.

About the Fulton County School System. The Fulton County School System is the fourth largest school system in Georgia. Close to 93,000 students attend 100 schools in the cities of Alpharetta, Chattahoochee Hills, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Palmetto, Roswell, Sandy Springs and Union City. The district also serves students in unincorporated Fulton County.

At this time, the City Council has recommended has recommended that Alternative 3, the one-way pair concept, be chosen as the Preferred Alternative, based on input at this junction.

The public is encouraged to attend and express their comments – in favor of … or not in favor of the Preferred Alternative at that time.  .  Neither the selection of the Preferred Alternative nor the Public Information Open House meeting are by any means the end of the public involvement process for this project. There is still a long way to go on the project details and community input will be needed to confirm and refine the final concept.

Then link to Roswell Neighbor News Article http//www.northfulton.com/Articles-NEWS-c-2012-01-10-190888.114126-sub-Council-moves-forward-with-divided-oneway-streets-for-GA-9.html.  The concept alternatives can be viewed on the City’s website.