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Andria Simmons

Local news reporter

Andria Simmons

Andria Simmons is a reporter covering suburban crime trends. She started working at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2007 and previously was a reporter for the Gwinnett Daily Post. She is a graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in print journalism.

Latest from Andria Simmons

Reporter Andria Simmons took three public transit systems to travel from Gwinnett Place Mall to the Cobb Transfer Station in Marietta. Her editor Todd Duncan commuted by car. The two started at the same time and location and both end their commutes at the same location.

East-west transit trip reveals riders’ woes

Two and a half hours. That’s about how long it takes to fly nonstop from Atlanta to New York City. It’s also how long it took me to travel from Duluth to Marietta on metro Atlanta’s public transit systems. Is this the best that a world-class city can do? Voters ...

  • Updated: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013
  • Comments  (5)   

Lawmakers focus on transit coordination

When the transportation sales tax referendum sank last year, many feared metro Atlanta transit was doomed to remain disjointed and underfunded. Funding challenges remain, but an effort is under way at the state Capitol to unite the Atlanta region’s four major transit providers and create a more seamless system. A ...

  • 12:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013
  • Comments  (1)   
Keith Berger (front), Don Hall, and Andrew Fuqua, members of Dunwoody Cycling, take their regular Friday ride. Cyclists from across the state are outraged over a proposal to force bike owners to pay annual registration fees and limit how and where they can ride. The proposed legislation is the brainchild of Gainesville lawmakers, who say they are getting complaints from locals and folks in North Georgia, who say cyclists are clogging mountain roads and causing safety issues. The bill, which will have a public hearing Monday, would make bike owners get license plates and pay $15 a year registration fees, or $48 for a permanent license. It would also all but eliminate pelotons, big group rides, and allow state and local officials to limit where bikers can ride.

Cyclists angry over license plates for bikes

Georgia cyclists have their Spandex in a wad over a plan to require license plates on bicycles and annual registration fees to pay for them. The legislation, which is up for a public hearing Monday evening, comes from Gainesville-area lawmakers who say they’ve received numerous complaints about cyclists clogging roads ...

  • Updated: 7:26 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
  • Comments  (17)   
A MARTA train makes its way north past Ga. 400 traffic. BEN GRAY / BGRAY@AJC.COM

North Fulton commuters weigh MARTA expansion

Commuters in north Fulton aren’t asking whether MARTA should extend service to their community. They’re asking when. “We want it now,” Shubha Jangam of Alpharetta declared after a public hearing Thursday at Alpharetta City Hall to discuss options. Joining her in the chorus were others such as Alpharetta resident Malcom ...

  • Updated: 8:55 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2013
  • Comments  (9)   
Bill Andrews monitors traffic from the Sandy Springs traffic management center Tuesday September 24, 2013.

Perimeter traffic signal synchronization project — 1 year later

Perimeter-area commuters are spending less time slamming on their brakes and are saving about 32 hours a year in travel time in portions of Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven. That’s because over the past year, traffic signals have been synchronized and three out of four traffic signals in the area ...

  • Updated: 8:52 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013
  • Comments  (10)   
Atlanta native Ludacris (right) is one of the local celebrities that MARTA has approached about promoting its new "Ride With Respect" campaign.

Celebs to promote MARTA code of conduct

What do you get when you combine a redneck and a rapper? Apparently, a public service announcement. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy and hip-hop artist Ludacris (real name: Christopher Bridges) are among several public figures in talks to appear in a commercial for MARTA promoting its new code of conduct. The spots ...

  • Updated: 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
  • Comments  (17)   
Riding for the last time, C-Tran customers stand in line to board the 503 to Riverdale on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. This was the last day that Clayton County would operate the C-Tran bus service.

Reviving Clayton bus service isn’t simple

Clayton is the only metro county without local public transportation since it killed its bus service, C-TRAN, three years ago because of its cost. For commuter Tashonie Davis and others without cars, getting to work, school or even the grocery store is a logistical nightmare. “I’m from New York and ...

  • 2:38 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
  • Comments  (29)   
Riding for the last time, C-Tran customers stand in line to board the 503 to Riverdale on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. This was the last day that Clayton County would operate the C-Tran bus service.

Reviving Clayton bus service isn’t simple

By this time next month, Tashonie Davis will have resolved her commuting headaches — something Clayton County and metro Atlanta transportation experts have yet to do. The 25-year-old Morrow mom is leaving Clayton County and moving to Atlanta, to commute to her job in Clayton. Confused? Clayton is the only ...

  • 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
  • Comments  (5)   
Passengers unboard a MARTA train as others wait at the Lindbergh MARTA station Friday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga., March 29, 2013.Most MARTA riders can tell a story about a time another passenger’s rude or unruly behavior made them squirm. But the MARTA Board last week took steps to change that when they approved a new customer code of conduct that will take effect Nov. 9. The rules, while welcomed by most passengers, have drawn criticism from the ACLU, which says the policy gives police too much discretion.

MARTA new code of conduct draws praise, questions

For Brandy Nevels, it was the time a passenger started smoking a cigarette on the MARTA train and then cursed out another rider who admonished him. For Andre Gordon, it was when a panhandler begged for money on a crowded West End station train platform. For Clayton Sullivan, it was ...

  • Updated: 3:55 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013
  • Comments  (9)   
A new law that allows billboard owners to clear-cut trees that block their signs is caught in legal wrangling.

Billboard companies cheer end of injunction on Georgia tree-cutting law

A new court ruling has cleared the way for billboard companies to get state approval to cut down trees that block drivers’ view of their signs. The decision was anticipated following a higher court ruling in May that the state’s plan to expand tree-cutting rights was constitutional. Billboard company lobbyists ...

  • 6:39 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013
  • Comments  (5)   
 

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Botanical Garden’s ‘scarecrows’ are stuffed with silliness

Botanical Garden’s ‘scarecrows’ are stuffed with silliness

Native Americans are said to have created the first scarecrows on these shores to protect their corn crops from the scavenging black birds.

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DA’s spending of federal forfeiture money in question

Finances of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office were in such chaos in recent years that even its most basic bills went unpaid.

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Swimmer’s daring has roots in Emory lore

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