1/24: Georgia’s transportation network

Yup, toll lanes worked great great in Gwinnett, let’s spend $700 million to build more in Cobb. After all the Gwinnett HOT project was the cornerstone of Governor Perdue’s transportation vision for metro Atlanta. Actually it was the only transportation project in metro Atlanta during the Perdue Administration so mayne its all four cornerstones.

I know those transit Kool-Aide drinkin commie liberals will say “you cannot road-build your way out of gridlock” but we in Georgia will show them that you can…at least until the new roads get gridlocked, then we will build some more!

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Also the three reversible “Lexus Lanes” that Rep. Setzler and other Cobb County residents have been advocating for as of late are actually proposed to be only two reversible lanes by GDOT at present as part of the recently-cancelled I-75/575 West-by-Northwest Corridor P3 (Public-Private Partnership) HOT lane project.

Despite being historically averse to rail transit, the overwhelming majority Cobb County residents have come to embrace the fact that they have no choice but to accept transit of some kind (whether it be commuter rail, light rail, Maglev, or bus rapid transit) after nearly two decades of sitting in increasingly severe traffic congestion that continues to worsen in the aftermath of crushing population growth and overdevelopment.

Cobb County and I-75/575 Northwest Corridor residents have also been pushed into a state of panic on the transportation front after the cancellation of the I-75/575 P3 HOT Lanes project with the impending expansion of the Port of Savannah which will most certainly lead to a dramatic increase in the already extremely heavy amount of truck traffic on I-75 through Cobb County. One of the major reasons why that I-75 HOT lane project was so attractive to so many I-75 Northwest Corridor commuters was because, unlike the I-85 HOT Lane implementation, it would ADD lanes to the roadway and provide a right-of-way for increased commuter bus service to ride in without having to sit in the increasing traffic (gridlock) of the general purpose lanes.

Cobb commuters are deathly afraid that I-75 through Cobb County will be rendered almost completely impassible with total gridlock at rush hour when the Port of Savannah expands in a few years and I-75 is flooded with even more very heavy freight truck traffic.

The impending expansion of the Port of Savannah has become a game changer for long transit-averse Cobb residents and they know that the state of Georgia and the Atlanta Region’s past failures to embrace a multimodal transportation network means that they may be totally unprepared and will be trapped in worse traffic than they could have possibly ever imagined when the increased truck traffic possibly overwhelms the roads in a few years.

Hence the sense of urgency in that part of the metro area to see some type of extra transportation capacity come online in 2-3 years rather than 15-20 years.

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T-SPLOST to hell!
1. Citizens are threatened for their vote
a. Threat built into legislation by decreasing traditional state
maintenance funding in those districts that reject T-SPLOST
2. T-SPLOST is a tremendous increase of a regressive tax
a. Transportation infrastructure we are now using was paid
for, mostly, with tax tied to road use (Ie. fuel tax)
3 Georgia Sales Tax is now corrupted with a hundred plus
‘Special Interest’ exemptions
a. Legislature should first abolish all exemptions
b. Lower tax rate accordingly
c. Then offer me the opportunity to vote “NO’ again

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So Gov Deal, our infrastructure is crumbling…according to your words. And why is that? Could it be that over the last 9 plus years the republicans have ignored that fact? Even after acknowledging that the present gas tax is insufficient to meet the state’s needs? This is also evidenced by the bonds sold by Gov Perdue (remember him) that GDOT is still spending $400M a year in principal and interest? Unfortunately the majority of these bonds went to the GRIP system statewide (4 laning 2 lane state routes in the middle of nowhere) versus to high congestion areas such as Savannah, I16/I75 in Macon, and the Atlanta area.

As Atlanta and the state continue to grow, transportation and thus air quality will become the number one factor in how and where that growth will occur.In Atlanta, transit is needed for people to move around and with minimal pollution. Huge increases in truck traffic, whether local or regional, will continue to occur, squeezing out operating space for cars. That coupled with the continued increase in vehicle registration and licensing will clog our roads. Rush “hour” continues to grow in congestion and duration. If you haven’t noticed, parking fees are also increasing quickly.

Admittedly there has been problems with the existing policy of balancing state expenditures throughout Georgia’s Congressional Districts. While some areas need jobs (GRIP- the 3 year employment program), needs for transportation improvements to address congestion should override the present policy.

As to the claim this vote is illegal, how can you claim that since the voters are going to vote on approval or not. The state has already been carved up into many subdivisions, why not another?

Also lost in the discussion of locals picking the projects is the fact that local governnments will benefit from receiving 15% of the tax monies for local projects. Also, a point has been raised as to ARC being involved in the selection of projects. Well, they are the REGIONAL planning agency who is also responsible for maintaining or improving our air quality. Seems right to me.

And now, the Cobb County rep says they don’t need transit and instead need more improvements to I 75. While these improvements are needed to I 75, where do the cars go when you reach the end of the improvements on I 75? They hit the present “wall” existing at I 285! Are the “Lexus Lanes” the right way to address congestion for all Georgian users? Also, I must ask, based on the “road hungry” Cobb area, how many times are you going to rebuild I 75 @ Windy Hill Road? It has been rebuilt 4 times already, and due to Cobb’s overzoning, the poor babies need more asphalt!A project is in the plan to improve this interchange yet again.

By adding transit, you can increase the capacity of those transit served corridors by just adding riders. Transit increases its capacity by adding rail cars or buses that can add up to 50-60 people; what would happen if we add 50-60 vehicles to the roads? What happens when we take away 50-60 cars when people use a transit vehicle?

Businesses continue to expand..that’s a good thing. But they are expanding immediately next to our Interstates and major arterials. Once built, where is there room for these new roads/lanes esp to serve these developments w/o transit? For many years in the past the cost of construction was larger than the cost of land needed for the roads construction. For the more recent decade, the land required costs more than construction. Many of the rail projects will use existing rail corridors, some no longer serving trains. There is a net savings in costs to move people more efficiently.

The only issue in doubt is what will the local governments do with their 15%. The projects for 85% have been defined and presented at public meetings. I can only hope…no demand that the local projects also address congestion relief and not the overlaying of roads which should have been done with the city’s general tax revenue.

The true need is to change our gas tax to be adjusted for inflation. It has not changed since the 1980’s. This new sales tax will be needed to jump start the transportation improvements. A updated tax statewide is needed to address our future needs.

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There needs to be some backbone at the state level to fund transportation. It was at least progress that the state set funding at the regional level, since they don’t want to spend any “state” money. The state suffers as the business hub of Atlanta suffers. Gridlock will continue to worsen until enough people just leave the area for the jobs in cities that have state support.
The HOT lanes are a good idea – 5 to 10 years from now, but for now, they should carry 2 people HOV vehicles.
Change the gas tax to a percentage instead of flat cents per gallon.
Don’t do any more freakin studies. The area has been overstudied with plan after plan after plan proposed.
Unify transportation in the area so that you don’t need different beauracracies doing the same thing.

Sheesh, I can’t believe the folks in government need to be told this over and over. Stupid politics and power struggles.

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