Atlanta Regional Transportation List Finalized By Exec Committee
Decatur Metro | August 16, 2011In a 5-0 vote, the 5-member Atlanta Transportation Roundtable Exec Committee – which included Mayor Bill Floyd – approved their final version of a regional transportation list yesterday. The list will now go before the full 22 member roundtable for final approval by October 15th.
As Mayor Floyd pointed out at last night’s city commission meeting, the larger group could decide to throw out the executive committee’s suggestions and start over if they wanted. However, Mayor Kasim Reed seems to think that’s not much of a possibility. From the Green Building Chronicle…
…Reed says the larger group will most likely go along with the Executive Committee’s proposals. “The Roundtable’s going to do just fine,” he told us.
The Final List can be found HERE in PDF form.
The Clifton Corridor MARTA line survived the round of last minute cuts unscathed, with $700 million allocated to the project, which is projected to cost $1.1 billion. The other transit biggie for DeKalb is $225 million allocated to extend MARTA’s East Line from Indian Creek to Wesley Chapel Road near I-20.
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The next major hurdle is getting the referendum moved to the general election day.
Mayor Floyd secured $5 million for ped and bike improvements along Commerce, Church and Clairemont. Deatur also receives money for improvements to College Ave.
Is that listed under the 5 of 10 mill for “Decatur to Clifton Corridor ‐ Transit Connectivity and Safety Improvements”?
While I applaud the fact that we’re talking about transportation solutions, i’m not in favor of it. As a city of Atlanta resident, I don’t support ANOTHER penny sales tax. I have a feeling many people feel the same way. As I, and many others have pointed out, this really should be accomplished through raising the gas tax. That would accomplish two goals: 1) Force people to think about transportation cost and thus potentially reducing the miles they travel and 2) raise much needed revenue for transportation and infrastructure.
But, that’s too sensible and so probably won’t happen.
you realize the state constitution would have to be amended to allow for transit to be funded through the gas tax, right? Much higher hurdle. I also am annoyed that Fulton and DeKalb will have to have yet another penny tax when the other free loading counties aren’t supporting MARTA operations in the same manner we are- but I don’t want one piece of short sightedness to lead to a second lost opportunity for more transit.
It would have been great if the F/D extra penny could have been tied to the other counties having part of their new penny contribute towards MARTA operations, but that was a dealbreaker from the start.
The gas tax is sacrosanct. Supposedly, the powers that be don’t want to raise it because it’s the lowest in the country and keeps our gas prices low. My question is, if that’s true, then howcum gas prices in South Carolina, which has a higher gas tax, are as much as 20 cents less than Georgia? And, howcum the 4th cent of the gas sales tax (separate from the motor fuel tax), doesn’t go to transportation – the other three cents does.
Raising the gas tax is the equivalent of taking your medicine. We are way to self-indulgent a people to take that kind of responsibility anymore.