Interesting Gwinnett Poll Shows Dislike of Beltline?
Decatur Metro | December 28, 2010Atlantans love the Beltline, correct? Well, if you’re talking about City of Atlanta-Atlantans then yes they do.
But what about metro Atlantans? The ones who live in counties far beyond the Beltline? A recent Gwinnett poll gives us another look at what seems will be an uphill battle for Atlanta’s highly publicized public project to get on the list of projects funded by the potential transportation sales tax.
According to an annual poll taken by the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District only 32% of those polled supported the regional sales tax for transportation funding, and only 22% of the 802 Gwinnettians polled supported that funding supporting the Beltline, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
So OK, it looks like regional leaders have some work to do if they want to convince residents to support this penny sales tax in a recovering economy. Also, I guess it’s not all that surprising that residents with minimal interaction with the Beltline would be all that jazzed about it, and thus support would be even lower for that.
But here’s the sentence that really has the potential to alarm…
In fact, more than 50 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to favor the sales tax if the Beltline was a part of the project list.
“Haters.” was CL’s Thomas Wheatley reaction to this part of the story.
But hey, let’s stop and think on this for a minute. If ITPers were presented with a question like “would you be more or less likely to favor the transportation sales tax if a new bridge for Jimmy Carter Boulevard was part of the project list?” how do you think they would respond?
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Yeah, I’d be hatin’ on the new bridge for Jimmy Carter Boulevard for sure. With this regional tax, It’s going to be difficult to get widespread buy-in on projects that primarily serve one specific area within the metro. It’s possible that the tax revenue will end up funding the projects that are least offensive to the metro overall and not the ones that are most desired within one district.
But then again I wonder if these poll results are representative of the beliefs of the representatives who will make the final decisions.
You shouldn’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
I hope people realize that there has to be a little bit of something for everyone in this project list. Even if that means you have to fund a bridge on Jimmy Carter Blvd to get some funding for the Belt Line and vise versa.
We can’t all have everything we want for Christmas but if each region has it’s priorities straight we can all probably get something pretty cool.
I think there’s a good probability that the executive committee members who draft the list of transportation projects will be able to rise above most of the ITP vs OTP vitriol that some people (including me, on occasion) get caught up in. It’ll be interesting to see if the Beltline makes the cut. It’ll be a hard bargaining point since the projects throughout the rest of the metro are most likely going to be asphalt based and difficult to equate with a transit line.
I very much agree with ya Martha. My point in the post was more that the poll was putting an excessive amount of focus in the questioning and thus perhaps skewing their own results.
I think the news media in general is already showing that they’re more than willing to tell the expected story of OTP vs iTP, and of course there will be certain amount of that. I personally would like to read a story that argues the opposite, if for nothing but a bit of balance.
As I mentioned in the post, nearly 50% of those polled saying the Beltline wouldn’t affect their vote seems pretty good to me. Also what’s up with that tidbit at the end of the story that white male Republicans were most likely to support the transportation tax?
Interesting stuff.
Off topic request: Can you make the background of your posts lighter. It’s tough to read black letterrs on a dark grey background.
Thanks.
A few people have mentioned this problem int he past. It’s an IE issue which we haven’t been able configure out how to fix yet.
Man, quite a few idioms are coming to mind here:
“You have to give a little to get a little.”
“Another’s gain is not necessarily your loss.”
I prefer the term ATLien
I like it!
If the Gwinnetians that don’t want to help pay for the Beltline promise not to work or shop inside the perimeter, then they should be able to opt out.
However, if they’re the same commuters that daily clog up Hwy 78 through Decatur, or 285 or 85, then…they need to pony up.
Exactly! Also, every time I go to Zoo Atlanta, the Aquarium etc. there are always tons of OTPers visiting. Often with out of town guests in tow. They DO enjoy the benefits of a great downtown area and an interesting tourist area therefore they should support keeping it great.
Check out who is flying down Howard/Dekalb Ave in the morning rush hour!
Why should Gwinnett tax themselves to fund a walking path in Atlanta? Atlanta didn’t pay for Gwinnett’s system of parks and trails.
Unless there is public transportation being added by this tax, the Beltline is a pretty little diversion used by a few people.
There is no transit in the beltline? If you read their website, it looks like that is the major purpose of the project. By the way, I never drive in Gwinett. Can I get a partial tax refund?
I think this regional transportation sales tax is dead on arrival. The executive committee is mostly composed of elected officials from OTP, and I fully expect the project list to reflect that. Even with a project list that mostly benefits the ‘burbs more, I suspect any tax increase will be an extremely hard sell for the conservative voter base OTP, and that would basically sink it with ITP voters.
Even if the regional roundtable devises a project list with some projects to get support from Fulton and DeKalb, I think the desires of the ITP voters are more fractured than many of us realize. City of Atlanta’s priorities will be the Beltline and possibly the Peachtree streetcar, and DeKalb’s two top projects are the Clifton Corridor and I-20. It’s doubtful all of those projects will make the cut, and I don’t know anyone from South DeKalb that’s really anxious to see more projects built in City of Atlanta until there’s progress on transit along I-20.
Expect to see the composition of the executive committee
change in the next few days – likely with one OTPer replaced by
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. And, the Beltline and Streetcar look one
one project from where I sit. There are several possibilities being
explored to link them. The Beltline may look one day not at all
like a circle…
Is your first sentence a prediction or do you have an
inside scoop?
I’ve heard the same thing from reliable sources.
I’m having trouble confirming this is anything more than just a rumor. Why would someone on the Exec Committee willingly give up a seat?
Anyone who calls himself a journalist and whose immediate response to an issue is using a pretend word like “haters” should really reconsider his career choice.
I never understand when remarks like this go unchecked. Yes, most of us have read Thomas’ articles, so we know he’s a very skilled journalist. But what about the folks who don’t know he’s logged a gazillion hours covering all things transit, so it’s hardly just a flip remark? When the ones who do know don’t speak up… it just really bothers me.
( For the record, I’d also prefer that Thomas omit the barbs. Only because I think he’s so deserving of major awards for his work, and it may hurt him on that front. But I can appreciate that mixing in a little sarcasm allows him to deliver a slew of valuable info to CL readers.)
I agree that the journalism at the Loaf is far, far superior to anything at the AJC, or most other media outlets in town, often including CNN. I look forward to CLAtl every week!
I meant to reply, but then it slipped my mind. And I wasn’t entirely sure why a journalist couldn’t use the word “haters” on a blog and how that lessened his credibility.
Different formats employ different levels of decorum and rhetoric. We speak in a conversational tone on blogs and in comments BECAUSE we are conversing. If I wrote as if I was crafting a term paper, no one would reply – unless they felt compelled to grade my work! (D- See me after class) It was written on a blog, not in an article. Not sure what the problem was.
A nice sentiment, but Wheatley’s work speaks for itself. He is, by far, the city’s most informed journo on the subject of transit and his considerable study of the subject allows for analysis well above anything else out there.
I agree with DM. He is writing in a manner appropriate to the medium. And doing it well.
Thanks, you guys! Of course y’all respect Thomas’ (& CL’s) contributions. It’s just that even a given needs to be given every so often! :0)
Blogs are a surefire way to deliver valuable information & rally folks to action… It’s an interesting thing, the different formats calling for different “voices” … I also get that journalists can’t let “ keepin’ an eye on the prize” distract from their reporting mission… Fingers crossed that awards jurists fully appreciate it all.
DM- Anybody ever sends you a D- note? Let us know! We’ll handle it! You do such a phenomenal job of engaging us & inching us towards even brighter possibilities as a community. You’re richly deserving of every blogging kudo that comes your way!
I don’t think the concept of ‘journalism’ and the reality of Creative Loafing are associated by many people.
I disagree. The Loaf has much more in-depth analysis and more news coverage of interest to me and everyone I know, than the AJC has had since it died years ago.
Any newspaper that carries the type of ads that clutter the back of CL has no right to the lofty tile of journalism. When they clean up their act, I might take the enterprise more seriously.
Well put. It seems to me they have cleaned up a little, but it is still a little rough!
Read it online- smut free!
Riddle me this, BatPeople: Jimmy Carter
Boulevard was given its name long before I moved here. Is
the name intended to be ironic? In that, certainly it is nothing
that brings any honor to Mr. Carter and his legacy. Unless, of
course, traffic jams, poor planning, and strip centers are things
to be proud of.
Consider it more than a rumor that the executive committee
will change, and soon. And, it’s a long time before any vote on the
sales tax. Don’t count it out yet. There are a lot of folks with a
lot of money who need that to pass. And, it means real
jobs.