Transportation tax foes plan a rolling protest on I-285
One measure of opposition to the transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta will come on Saturday, July 21, when tax foes intend to stage a rolling protest on I-285. From TrafficTruth.net:
We are planning a demonstration that everyone and anyone can participate in. We call it ” Lights for Liberty Drive”
We will all converge on to 285 outer loop at 10am on Saturday morning July 21st and go counter clockwise for 2 loops or about 2 hours. We should drive the speed limit in the center lane with our flashers on. Please don’t impede traffic. We only want positive coverage. We are hoping to have hundreds of cars on the loop at the same time, coming in from all directions at the same time. Set up a caravan if we can from your area. Display signage or decorate your car in protest to the NEW TAX and send a message that we do not support it!
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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68 comments Add your comment
Baron Dekalb
July 12th, 2012
5:34 pm
“North Resident”: You are using circular logic to justify your own preference for transportation. The reason that people don’t find MARTA convenient or time-effective because the system has been severely limited by its funding restrictions and resistance to public transportation based on racial or class prejudice mentioned by another poster. You are comparing a mode of transportation that has been unfairly subsidized with one that has been intentionally retarded through deprivation of funding and infrastructure investment. As with public education, conservatives defund and retard public transportation and then say, “see, it doesn’t work!” By the way, where do you get the 99% figure? Sounds very imporbable to me.
Bill from Atlanta
July 12th, 2012
5:57 pm
GA Native No, you drew the wrong conclusion. I would be very supportive of a common sense plan that would make movement in metro Atlanta easier. These guys aren’t going to do with this huge tax increase. Again, I’m not going to trust a bunch of liars that have proven before that they can’t keep their word. Lets clean house and get rid of both repub and demo and make sure there are regulations in place to protect any projects from being corrupted then we can fix the transportation problem. I guarantee you…it will not be fixed with this splost.
A good plan would emphasize mass transit and make it profitable and user friendly. Something MARTA never has been. There should be regulations in any plan that would protect the taxpayers money and ensure that it is invested properly and not given to the gold dome’s good old boys to get rich off of. Its not private industry that needs regulatory enforcement but the government to ensure that it is efficient in whatever projects it takes on.
I’m amused that you libs will squeal whenever private enterprise is caught committing some illegal action but you will march like a bunch of mind numbed robots and will cheer on any tax increase no matter what atrocity is committed by the government agency responsible.
North Metro Driver
July 12th, 2012
6:05 pm
Baron DeKalb, I have used MARTA in the past but living in Forsyth County has proven that it is not efficient. When I worked in Buckhead, I had to drive to Winward, take a bus to North Springs, take the train to Buckhead Station and then take another bus to the office. Yeah, I saved the toll and some gas, but most certainly not any time. MARTA will not consider expanding the north rail line to Winward Parkway, which would make it much more efficient, at least in my opinion. Oh, and now I commute to Marietta. No way I am going to even think about trying to put together a mass transit route to do that. Not feasible.
Baron Dekalb
July 12th, 2012
6:55 pm
Even a fully funded and supported transit system would not serve the needs of every Metro Atl resident–but the current system is so underdeveloped that it’s not useful even to many of us who would prefer to take MARTA than drive somewhere. We’re never going to know what Atlanta would be like with a decent mass transit system until we bite the tobacco plug and build one. Go to Washington DC, Chicago, NYC if you want to see what a functional, popular and workable mass transit system looks like. By the way, according to this website, about 7% of Georgians don’t own cars, and the number jumps to about 18% for the metro Atl area. So, there goes your “we are the 99%” argument up in exhaust fumes buddy….
Baron Dekalb
July 12th, 2012
6:56 pm
sorry forgot the link: http://www.clrsearch.com/Atlanta_Demographics/GA/Number-of-Vehicles-per-Household
David in Atlanta
July 12th, 2012
8:03 pm
A caravan of cars with their headlights on? Everyone is just going to think it’s a funeral procession.
ld
July 12th, 2012
10:14 pm
The protest will no more be a waste of fuel than a NASCAR “race”. Pack a picnic and turn on the ham radio.
They See Me Rollin’ – They Hatin’
July 12th, 2012
10:46 pm
[...] I like this from TrafficTruth.net by way of Jim [...]
» They See Me Rollin’ – They Hatin’ Marvin Arrington Jr.
July 12th, 2012
10:49 pm
[...] I like this from TrafficTruth.net by way of Jim [...]
Mild Mannered Moderate
July 13th, 2012
2:12 am
I had planned on voting against this. Mainly because I have felt the TPIAMLOST supporters, specifically contractors, were deliberately driving up frustrations by working all the time at the worst possible times.
Now that their opponents are doing the same thing, except this time I *KNOW* they’re doing it, I want to punish them for inconveniencing me.
Vote yes for TPSIAMLOST.
Clbghaddk
July 13th, 2012
2:31 am
Just trying to test to see if posts appear.
Clbgh
July 13th, 2012
2:32 am
Is the state lottery money still being 100% spent on education, as promised? Was it ever?
SM
July 13th, 2012
8:26 am
So we are to vote yes to supposedly improve the roads and congestion and then watch the politicians take the roads and turn them into toll roads.. Sorry but I already voted NO. We need a sensible plan that actually addresses the problem..
Taxpayer
July 13th, 2012
10:02 am
Why would anyone vote for a tax increase ? when the politicians already waste so much of our money ? What are these so called planners / politicans doing with all the other tax money they receive ? When is enough going to be enough ?
Proud Voter
July 13th, 2012
10:49 am
David in Atlanta: If we don’t pass t-splost that “protest” may indeed be a premature funeral procession for Atlanta. It is going to become a dying city if something isn’t done about the congested traffic and lack of adequately run rail. Potential business and industry are going to completely write-off Georgia because it fails to offer what is needed for economic growth.
Proud Voter
July 13th, 2012
10:49 am
David in Atlanta: If we don’t pass t-splost that “protest” may indeed be a premature funeral procession for Atlanta. It is going to become a dying city if something isn’t done about the congested traffic and lack of adequately run rail. Potential business and industry are going to completely write-off Georgia because it fails to offer what is needed for economic growth.
Chuck
July 13th, 2012
10:56 am
Remove further expansion of MARTA and ALL TOLLS forever from the scheme and the SPLOST tax would pass. Imagine the freeways $8Billion over 10 years could build. Atlantans just don’t want to ride the rail or be forced to pay for the crime and bureaucracy that comes with it, period.
Proud Voter
July 13th, 2012
1:33 pm
Chuck, look toward the future, not the past. I agree about the mess that’s been done before, but there is not a thing that can be done about it. T-splost comes with far more restraint, oversight, and non-flexible spending. We Georgians have got to do something about our state-of-the-state. This is something to work with at least.
Can you really say NO! to the future? Somebody didn’t say no to your present day conveniences and aren’t you glad? Try to be a visionary for your region and your family and associates. Don’t make others suffer because you’re ticked off at the past. I’m still upset about Viet Nam and the Iraq wars but there’s nothing I can do about those either.