An Advance Atlanta Board member for the past five years, Alyssa Davis serves as our President. Her day job is serving as the Executive Director for the Sugarloaf Community Improvement District (CID) in Gwinnett County, a role she has held since 2017.
Alyssa grew up in Atlanta, and in fact, her first memory of using transit was riding MARTA during the 1996 Olympics. “Seeing the trains packed with people from all over the world made me proud of my city in a new way,” she recalls.
Alyssa became interested in promoting transit in metro Atlanta when she moved back to the area from New York City. While in NY, she didn’t have a car and used transit to get around. Returning to Atlanta, she missed the ease and convenience of being able to use transit to get everywhere.
Many people want mixed-use, walkable communities, but they are difficult to create. We have to devote so much land to roadways and parking lots that developments are required to focus more on cars than on people. In order to achieve walkable developments, we need transit as a viable and attractive alternative to driving.
When it comes to the future, Alyssa believes that transit will actually be improved by technological innovation — electric and automated vehicles will help make transit more efficient. “Technology will also make transit easier to use, giving better real-time information, making trip planning and fare collection seamless,” she says.
Want to chat more with Alyssa about transit in our region? Connect with her on LinkedIn.