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It is a smoggy summer in the Atlanta region! CobbRides and 1-87-RIDEFIND are asking for your help in reducing auto tailpipe emissions . . . the major contributor of smog. Have you seen the Smog Alerts?

Code Orange smog alerts = air quality considered unhealthy for sensitive groups (children, the elderly and asthmatics).

Code Red smog alerts = air quality deemed unhealthy for the general public. Strenuous outdoor activities should be limited to morning or late evening.

Carpooling or vanpooling to and from work 1 or 2 times a week is an easy way to help improve our air quality. Need help finding a carpool partner or a vanpool? Register with CobbRides to get started.

Congratulations to our individual spotlight winners for the quarter.

Receiving a Certificate of Appreciation and $100 gift card were:

Meredith Raines of ThyssenKrupp Elevator and Shirley Wright of TSYS for being Reporting Champions! Meredith and Shirley consistently log all of their commutes, whether they vanpool, carpool, telework or drive alone. Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to log.

Randomly selected Target card winners for June were:

Loraine Hames of Aaron Rents, Carol Thomas of AT&T, Jon Muller of CarMax, Karen Green of HCC Life, Lurlene Sims of Heidelberg, Christy Bohannon, Effie Waters and Darlene Harrison of KSU, Sandra Spears of Ryla Teleservices, Karla Wimbish of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, Kim Pitner and Vasu Kaladi of Town Center Commuters, France Traxler, Al Knight, Eugene Kleyman and Karen Piester of TSYS, Tranesha Bowen of AdvanceMe and Sharon McFarland of Airgas.

Tired of $3.00 gas prices? Ready to arrive at work rested and stress free? Want to save wear and tear on your car?

Join us at one of our vanpool formation meetings. Learn about our vanpool program and how to join or start a new vanpool. Riders pay only $50 per month and primary drivers ride for free. Refer a new member and earn $75.

View our calendar link below to check dates for vanpool meetings in your area. Your area not listed? Contact Jennine@CobbRides.com to schedule a meeting.

CobbRides vanpool route #8, coming from the Norcross area is up and running. Congratulations to KSU on starting their second vanpool.

These diligent commuters have been working on forming a vanpool for almost a year. They have overcome a number of obstacles to get this show on the road, including complicated logistics, language barriers and work schedules. The riders enlisted a translator and accomplished their goal when a new 15 passenger van was delivered on June 8th.

Vanpool route #8 is now happily traveling in style and comfort at a much lower cost than ever before. Thanks to these commuters, the air is cleaner, the roads are less congested and their wallets are a little fuller.

Seats are still available for this route, as well as our other seven (7) routes, for $50/month.

CobbRides will help you find a vanpool with riders who live and work near you. Visit our vanpool page.

The update of the Regional Bicycle Transportation and Pedestrian Walkways Plan is almost completed. The ARC recently hosted a final Community Open House Workshop to present the draft policy and program recommendations to the public. A draft of the final plan and additional information is available at the ARC web site.

Welcome to CobbRides Board member, Gina Diodati of R&R. Ms. Diodati was elected to fill the position created by the resignation of original Board Member and Chairman of CobbRides, Carl Black.

Skip Spann, of The Spann Group, LLC and Chairman of the Town Center Area Community Improvement Board, our parent organization, has assumed the position of Chairman of CobbRides. Skip has been a great supporter of our Transportation Management Association since its inception and the staff of CobbRides welcomes his closer involvement.

Intersection improvements on Barrett Parkway at Cobb Place Blvd. will begin in July. Additional turn lanes will be added to each quadrant. A dedicated lane will be added between Cobb Place Blvd. and the southbound entrance ramp to I-75.

Most of the work will be done in the evenings to avoid traffic delays. There will be no construction during the holiday season. The anticipated completion date is Spring, 2008.

The Barrett/Cobb Place project is funded by the Town Center Area CID, Cobb County and Georgia DOT.