Nathan Deal: Ga. 400 tolls to come down by end of 2013

“clearly the timing is intended to help the July 31 vote on the transportation sales tax”

“Clearly,” Jim? T-SPLOST funds cannot be used to pay-down debt, so I’m not sure how this tie-in works that you are thinking about…?

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yeah they broke their promise the first time around I dont trust any of them or what they say

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Isn’t it funny how you can get a toll taken away relatively quickly when it serves your political purpose to try and clear the way for the next tax/toll. I still would not trust them until it is actually done. Of course, if he doesn’t he can probably kiss his reelection goodbye in 2014 so maybe he actually will get it done.

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I feel the Toll roads need to remain … the commuters does not pay the same taxes as the citizens living within the city to ensure the roads are maintained properly. They chose to move out of the limits of those taxes and should be held accountable like everyone else.

Why do you think Florida has so many Toll Roads … to hold the visitors to their city partly responsible for the roads maintenance and up keep.

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Good for the Governor, Handel would have never done this!

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I’d rather they keep the tolls. I can make a swift trip up 400 to Alpharetta each morning with minimal traffic – that well worth $30 a month. Once the tolls come down everyone will start taking that route causing a traffic nightmare.

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Certainly the right thing to do – but the timing stinks of gross political maneuvering in an attempt to get the TSPLOST passed. Had Beach phoned in his vote last year, this would not be an issue.

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Carla -

Residents of FL do not pay state taxes. When they change that here I will have no problem with a tool, but until then it needs to go. The only people who use it are residents commuting to work.

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Carla: it’s not about having tolls , it’s about broken promises from politicians that don’t have to face anyconsequences for lying.

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Citizens of Atlanta pay no more than anyone else for GA 400.

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Carla, the problem is that we were promised that the tolls would not be forever when the GA 400 extension was approved. If the state actually ends the tolls as promised, some folks might have an iota more faith in their government. For me, it’s gonna take more.

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Toll*****

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If you’re voting NO can you tell me why? I will gladly challenge any doubt you have with facts.

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for all the NO voters…have you even read HB 277? Are you voting on a law you have not read? Didn’t Nancy Pelosi do the same thing with Obamacare? You are an irresponsible citizen if you vote for anything you don’t read first. Yes or No.

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For those of you not in tune, there was a rally earlier this week. Here was that press release (Jim…did you post about this?):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Garland Favorito

Tuesday July 17, 2012 (404) 664-4044

garlandf@msn.com

http://www.voterga.org

Free GA400 Petitions, Letter Presented to Governor Deal

ATLANTA, GA – A group of civic leaders representing VoterGa’s Free GA 400 project presented Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal, with 400 petitions requesting that he adhere to the original GA 400 construction agreements and honor his 2010 pledge to remove the GA 400 toll, the only mandatory road toll in Georgia history.

Copies of the original 1989 Atlanta City Ordinance and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) agreement were displayed today to show the original stipulations. According to those agreements:

· The toll was required to be removed upon repayment of construction bonds for the Georgia 400 extension and the Buckhead loop and,

· Toll revenue was only allowed to be spent for those projects, both of which are inside the I-285 perimeter.

Construction costs were repaid in 2009 and over $40 million in surplus funds had been collected by the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) when the original bond matured in 2011. But in September of 2010, Governor Perdue convinced the SRTA board to issue a new $40 million bond for Buckhead interchange ramps and other new, unrelated projects. Free GA 400 contends that the $40 million bond was unnecessary to fund the $21 million Buckhead interchange ramps since SRTA already had about $50 million in cash, assets and 2011 receivables at the time.

The Free GA 400 group also contends that SRTA currently has enough money to:

· Pay for completion of the Buckhead interchange ramps;

· Open a trust or interest bearing account to repay all current bond principal

· Fund now all bond interest that will accrue until the 2017 maturity date

In their letter, Free GA 400 explained that to end the toll now, Governor Deal simply needs to make a decision to suspend the new, unrelated projects until they can be funded by normal means. These projects violate the original agreements since they have nothing to do with the GA 400 extension or Buckhead loop.

The group also requested liquidation of a $10 million 17th St. property purchased under Gov. Roy Barnes 2002 even though it had nothing to do with GA 400.

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I agree with Sam, …show me, don’t tell me…..

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This clearly a ploy to sway voters to vote in favor of the TSPLOST. Do they really think we are that dumb to not see through the smoke and mirrors. Amazing how the timing is so close to the July 31 vote! Still voting NO!!!

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Too little, too late. This trust was broken and I would never vote for something like TSPLOST as a result. Georgia goes down with the rest of government, grabbing pots of any available monies and using them for other purposes… social security being the biggest failure of the public’s trust.

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Bill Simon @10:56
“clearly the timing is intended to help the July 31 vote on the transportation sales tax”

“Clearly,” Jim? T-SPLOST funds cannot be used to pay-down debt, so I’m not sure how this tie-in works that you are thinking about…?

Lots of posters on this blog and elsewhere have stated they don’t trust that the TSPLOST will really end after 10 years because the GA 400 toll did not end when the state said it would.

So Jim is implying that Governor Deal is making this annoucement to prove those people wrong and get them to trust that TSPLOST really will end when they say it will.

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Sean Smith, that interchange is a project on the TSPLOST list.

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Still waiting on an educated reason to vote no on TSPLOST….

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Wow! Look who is walking the walk can’t believe it.

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I early voted today and even IF Ga 400 toll goes away I voted NO on the SPLOST.

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@VoteYes, simply put, it is a tax increase. I will not be voting for a tax increase. I think that we are taxed enough. If this is such a high priority, find the money elsewhere. But the largest obstacle is that this state is very incompetent when it comes to transportation. They could not build a bus station economically. Dont joke yourself into thinking that this toll on 400 will be lifted. I beleive that it was just last year that we were told it would be exteneded for additional maintenace on 400. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, well then…….

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Liar-Liar, pants on fire.
You know no tolls will be coming down off GA 400…………………so sick of the political BS from Raw Deal and the rest of the assclowns at the state and federal level.

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Now what other excuses are the anti-TIA crowd gonna bring up? Mistrust for gov’t, great then don’t collect SS or Medicare when you get old. Don’t call the police or fire dept when you need help. Don’t send your kids or grandkids to public schools, use libraries, or visit parks. All these things are paid for with taxes that the untrustworthy gov’t collects.

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@ Stan. This referendum will be monitored by annual audits and a citizens oversight committee to ensure fraud, waste, and abuse is eliminated.

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@Vote Yes!!!! What will stop them from building new roads and then creating more HOT lanes? That is like paying twice for the same road- if you can afford the toll.

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I think it needs to be called “The Transportation Fair Tax” instead of t-splost. Then people would better understand what it is and why we need to vote yes.

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Ok, someone asked why I’m voting no on splost…..1st, I don’t want ANY more monies going toward propping up marta. And secondly, I am for getting the tax from drivers, ie gas tax. IF we need the money, that is the best way to get it, IMHO. Why should someone who rarely drives have to pay for our roads?

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Well, you did promise to remove the tolls which you then decided not to do. Now, with another vote on the horizon you suddenly remove the toll. Kind of smells like a dead fish, or should I say a Dead T-Splost!

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Why does it take Deal over a year to “maintain his promise”?

And we think he won’t rescind the offer after the TSPLOST vote fails?

Sorry Gov…too little, too late.

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@ foodfight. The 400 toll is totally different from TSPLOST. TSPLOST MUST end in 10 years BY LAW.

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still waiting for the “no” votes to give a rational reason to not support better traffic in our region….

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Better late than never! One peice of good news for the day but we were told about this toll ending years ago. Is this for real this time?

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To Vote Yes

I voted NO and would do it again. We need to stop looking for a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem. Telecommuting could significantly reduce traffic in Atlanta without spending a dime. As I see it after ten years of T-SPLOST we will have incomplete projects and a request for a renewal. That’s what happened in Denver.

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Vote yes…Extend MARTA to Kennesaw St, UGa & towards Macon.

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The most transparent motive inspired this announcement, a very prescient group already articulated that, even Chip Rogers could give you the odds on this one.

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Jessica no one is bitc**& about it.. just still not voting for the other …

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What EVER happened to “The BRAIN TRAIN”? The concept to connect MARTA to Colleges ie. Kennesaw St & UGa.

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No one trusts any of the people who would handle all this money. Also, I am being SPLOSTED to death. We have so many SPLOSTS going on right now I can no longer keep up with them. Sure roads are not free but how did they get built before the SPLOST weapon was used. Supposedly by the GAS tax and Ad Valorem on cars…So get rid of this and maybe we can talk. In GA we are taxed to death compared to other states….that is an intelligent reason to always vote NO!

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He’s trying to undercut the argument that fixed terms taxes turn into permanent taxes – but by making such a big deal (no pun) of ending the already over-extended toll, he is sort of proving the opposite.

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If the toll were to stay up, why can’t the funds go toward other shortfalls like education and teachers? Most folks that pay the toll would see a return on their money with more teachers and less education cuts.

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Obviously, the timing of this announcement is highly suspect. How can Deal reverse his position that “we have to kkep the toll in place until 2017 because those funds are already committed” and then just stop the end of 2013? As usual with the state policiticans, I smell a rat. TSPLOST…..not my vote.

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@ julia. It’s in the LAW. I’m not being told anything. I read it for myself. If you vote before you read the law you are voting for you are no different than Pelosi with Obamacare. Bless your heart.

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Educate yourself people! Roads must be built and maintained, its essential to a surviving economy. You are either going to pay for it by property tax or a sales tax. I for one would rather split the bill with the tourists, heavy spenders, etc. Not to mention, thousands of jobs are on the line here, most of which are private consultants, engineers, planners, contractors, etc. It actually has very little to do with government. VOTE YES if you want to see forward progress in Georgia.

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also, i don’t pay the toll coming home from work. I typically just take i20 west, get on 285 north and avoid 400 at all costs (my mileage may be longer going that route but i save 20 minutes). afternoon traffic on 400 is horrible, and i can’t imagine what it’ll be like when the toll is removed. this is just my opinion though. maybe they can remove the tolls on weekends on 400 for people who are traveling? just a thought … obviously, you can appease everyone.

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@VOTE YES!!!!
Please stfu…..
Thank You-

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5150 UOAD
July 19th, 2012
11:31 am

What EVER happened to “The BRAIN TRAIN”? The concept to connect MARTA to Colleges ie. Kennesaw St & UGa.

The “Brain Train” concept had nothing to do with MARTA. The Brain Train was part of the Commuter Rail project that has been around since the early 2000s.

See http://www.dot.state.ga.us/travelingingeorgia/rail/Pages/CommuterRail.aspx for details.

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why is the repayment of bond and the penalty tied to shutting down the toll lanes? if we have the money to repay now, hold it and pay as the time and penalty allow. why keep charging commuters if we already have enough money to pay the bond?

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Vote yes, still waiting on that 9% sales tax answer.

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I still say the issue is not the interstates, it is the secondary roads. If traffic can not exit and go anywhere, it is going to back up!!!………………That is from today’s VENT.

The TRUTH is Highways are not the problem at all. Builders had studies done and founf DEAD END streets have less crime. the Planning boards and home builders made subdivisions that go NO WHERE. you drive down Johnson ferry and all the subdivisions have one entrance and exit that all come out back on Johnson Ferry. IF we planned well years ago this wouldn’t be a problem now. Take some of the foreclosed houses, tear them down and make roads that connect Subdivisions. Funneling all the traffic off BIG highways onto streets that go some where gets people home. THE PROBLEM ISN’T the INTERSTATES but the Surface Streets that we have to funnel down to all go to dead end roads.

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@Georgian, I love you

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@Vote No. They will save more than that in time not wasted in traffic, depending on what company it is. Cities are more attractive to companies when they know the citizens care about the future and will not let it go the way of Cleveland and Detroit.

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Vote yes.. you voted for obama and believe his bs too right?

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Please “vote yes” tell us all what happens to the current gas tax that we pay. Where exactly is it going? When you are SC and TN the gas is much cheaper. We must be paying a larger percentage of tax then either of these two states.

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@ julia. I did not.

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By the way, I don’t care that what the Governor is doing is to sway voters. In fact, I expect him to do just that – he’s a politician. However, voting no is a vote against progress. This is the closest we’ve come to actually doing something about transportation in Metro Atlanta. This is NOT a neighborhood issue, it’s a REGIONAL issue. It’s bigger than “what’s in it for me”.

Do not depend on your friends, the blogs, or any other word of mouth for your info. Read HB 277 for yourselves and make an informed decision.

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H

You said yourself, that we have it “good here”. Now, you want to make “here”, just like the place you fled.

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@Julia…Vote yess probably didn’t even vote at all

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@LOL YEAH RIGHT. Why don’t you understand that it CAN NOT extend past 10 years without another vote by the citizens??? It’s not that complicated. 400 tolls were not bound by a referendum.

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That’s fine. When the tolls come down, we’ll consider passing T-SPLOST. Not before.

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Vote yes: Okay Ms. employee, We are going to move to Atlanta. What? Well, they do have the highest water utility rates in the country and some of the highest property taxes and you know they have a 9% sales tax but you will be able to commute 40 miles with no traffic. How about it?

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@Bill Simon THANK YOU!!!

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@ Bill Simon. Please let me know what piece of legislation required the 400 toll to end. You won’t find one.

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Voting no just to spite VOTE YES!!!

Oh, and because I’m capable of rational thought.

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On another NOTE….I want to see PROOF all the Hispanic/Latino city employees for Sandy Springs are LEGAL CITIZENS. Look at the People working for Sandy Springs and I will bet 80% are not LEGAL US citizens that are getting paid by Tax Payers and have Government benefits.

JIM GALLOWAY……………do a piece on the Legal Status of the City of Sandy Springs Employees.

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It is sad that you all would vote no and sacrifice the future of our region because you don’t understand how different the 400 tolls are from this TSPLOST. Sad.

Remember, if you vote before reading the law you are voting on you are no different than Pelosi with Obamacare. An irresponsible citizen.

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Vote Yes are you telling me that the law makers can’t change the law? Really!!!

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Explain how an upgraded control tower at McCollum Field will help out majority of Metro DRIVERS?
T-SPLOST is already wasting it’s funds.

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Vote Yes.. I have Read it and I read ovomit care… Im voting on NEITHER?!!

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Big deal! I am still stuck paying a penny tax for that crappy MARTA.

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Vote yes: Mr. Employer, Before we up and move to GA.
Do you know the state will charge a tax on each employee at the end of the year because GA owes the Federal goverment hundreds of millions of dollars that GA borrowed for unemployment payments? Employer: Huh?

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Is it true that the GA Dept of Transportation “lost” a billion dollars? The money just disappeared somehow? Good Grief!

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@Bryan: WHO wants to come to Georgia? People like to drive through Georgia on their way down to Florida, but they have no interest in stopping here and touring such attractions as “Corrupt Georgia Politicians…Then and Now”

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5 million plus metro area people….TOO MANY….good, maybe the NO vote will help some of the bozos move out of this town and bring back our population to a reasonable number to be productive again.

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@YeahRight: I actually think well on my own…of course, I’m not getting paid like the 100 or so hacks on here and on Untie Atlanta/CTM/MAVEN Facebook page are getting paid to post and act like shills.

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Who the hell was able to vote and say they wanted atlanta to be an overpopulated, international city to begin with? I never did……MOVE back to your stinkin’ homes that you came from and help make Atlanta great again. Let us Atlantans enjoy Atlanta again.

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we atlanta residents need to charge the 250000 people who commute here a day, using our roads and resources and then leave at the end of the day an “Atlanta access tax for non residents”

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One disconnect I see here is some are attempting to vehemently defend the Language of HB 277 while others are arguing against the ability of our state politicians to properly live by the language that will be established by this bill. I think the reason you’re not seeing “an educated reason to vote no on TSPLOST” as you rudely put it, is because no one is discussing the lanuage as you are, they are discussing the manipulation of our trust to correctly enforce this language.

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The “Vote YES guy” is a paid shill. Please ignore.

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This is perfect timing isn’t it?

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I’m voting “no” to T-SPLOST because I don’t believe levying a sales tax is a fair way to raise revenue as it applies a disproportionately large burden on lower wage earners who live paycheck-to-paycheck. If the state wants to raise capital to fund “necessary” projects, then do it by taxing income. And to those who think only the folks who live due north of the perimeter benefit from the GA-400 extension, think again. If it wasn’t there, all of that traffic would be forced onto the perimter making what is already a very painful commute much worse. Everyone who commutes in the metro area benefits from the GA-400 extension and so its unfair for a relatively small percentage of commuters to have to pay for it.

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Everyone MOVE…..PLEASE……transplants and inner city politicians have ruined this entire town. It WAS a great city. That’s why you moved here. Now it’s an overpopulated, half-ghetto. Run by idiots that keep trying to transform it into NYC….There is only one NYC and expanding a MARTA or other moneypits isn’t going to make it traffic friendly.

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Never vote for a tax no matter what it is because it will not go away. They normally love to say a tax is for the kids so some of these nuts will fall for it and say yes.

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@VOTE YES!!! You keep saying how TSPLOST and 400 Toll aren’t the same. Which I highly disagree with. BUT, and stay with me on this, even if they weren’t related in the slightest, the fact of the matter is, the government lied about that, what is stopping them from lying about this too?

Incase you haven’t ever picked up on it…THE GOVERNMENT IS CAPABLE OF LYING. And boy do they take full advantage of it.

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@ LOL YEAH RIGHT. So you’re contention is they will rewrite the law at a later date?

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If Governor Deal thinks this will help approve the vote, he should have done this a month ago before early voting started. Many people I know that actually do vote have already voted.

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Well this one may come down, but expect a lot more toll booths to go up on highways in Atlanta and throughout Georgia whether the TSPLOST passes or not. Toll roads are an example of Republican private-public partnerships in action!

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@VOTE YES!!! Good use of the word “you’re” there.

And yes. Absolutely. I know they will. That’s how the government works. If this goes through, then they will do anything to keep it. Like people are saying, you’re voting for yet another tax, once a tax is implemented, they won’t take it away. Hell, why would they? It’s more money for them.

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Technology in the next 10 years may cut down the numbers on our highways by 50%.A majority of jobs will telework or computers and communications will advance to the point normal office work could and can be done anywhere.Look at all the changes in the last 10 years.Service industries (restaurants,truck delivers and required driving) will be the ones using our roads.Then you have your travelers from other states coming and going.

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If we have to start paying to drive on our roads, should a drivers license then become a right instead of a privelege (that can be taken away by the state and nazi DDS) Not vice-versa, like it is now according to DDS.

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GT Trumpet – you can give your $400 to whatever you want….but keep your hands off my money. I need it for things you may not have to worry about.

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Unemployment in Georgia went up again and the fed chair said yesterday that this economic quagmire will continue for years to come. Independent estimates indicate the funds generated from the TSplost will create a half of million jobs. These jobs will help boost the construction industry in Ga which suffers a greater than 20 percent unemployment rate. This vote is paramount to the long term economic success of the state and attracting new business to the area. A no vote will have negative repercussions for years to come. Point of fact, the roads you drive today are in dire need of repair and our vital infrastructure is counting on you the voters. Is it the best option, no but it is the only one we have available.

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I like the idea about it being called Transportation Fair Tax! That way everybody is paying, from the illegals buying a pair of pants, to the welfare mamas buying stuff for their chilluns! Sounds like the fairest way to me!!!

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All these penny SPLOSTS, year after year, add up to me going broke.

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“There are no easy answers, no secret pots of money”

The easy answer, you flipping moron, is to close the toll like was stipulated. Why don’t you stop lying to and stealing from the people?

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I’m betting that VOTE YES!! doesn’t have many friends. I don’t think you could be much more unlikeable.

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What jobs? I don’t foresee myself running an earth mover, building a highway. The guys that do already have jobs.

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THINK PEOPLE and why is there no money? hmmm I guess its not to pad the politicians pockets? or not to be used as for what it was to be used for? then to cry and say we dont have any money… tax the crap out of the public again….. again OH HAIL NO

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Who is qualified to build a road? Look at the on and off ramps! Are they in the best location? Do they contribute to the flow of traffic?
Who decided that it was a good idea to add a light at the end of a ramp? Who decided that this would add to continuous flow of traffic? REALLY! REALLY! You wasted tax dollars and your time to come up with that.

Do you know how to drive? Do you know that you should go the speed limit when merging into traffic? Do you know you are not suppose to slow down on the highway when exiting?
You may say that the lane is not long enough. WELL, poor planning would you say so how is paying a toll or raising taxes going to slow this problem

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Somebody help me on this question.Who or what is paying for all the TV advertisment supporting Tsplost??Where is the money coming from? Follow the money and you may get some answers on who, what and why.

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@ Vote Yes: Here’s an educated opinion for you. I have my degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech, so where did you get yours from? There are reasons to vote yes, and unfortunately, also to vote NO. Also, how many Republicans read that Obamacare bill before voting no, hmm? I guess that was ok with you? Here are but a few reasons to vote no:
1. The gas tax hasn’t been increased with inflation for decades, which has helped fuel (pun intended) the fact that GA is near the bottom of all states in funding transportation per capita.
2. TIA will not solve our woefully underfunded transportation system. Electric car drivers will still pay ZERO for road maintenance and anything that is NOT on the TSPLOST project list. This is legal tax evasion. Hybrid owners also don’t pay their fair share.
3. Congress should have made the decision a LONG TIME AGO and either raised the gas tax to an appropriate level to properly fund all needed transportation or else (even better) planned towards a user-mileage fee instead of the gas tax. But no, they have no problem making decisions about when life begins and ramming that down our throats, but when it comes to an extremely complex issues like how to freaking fund transportation, they kick that down to voters so that they can keep their jobs.
4. Even if this passes, the above issues remain unresolved. Every year, as more electric, hybrid and generally better gas mileage cars are produced, we lose funding for transportation because fewer and fewer gas taxes are collected. All TSPLOST does is fund a finite project list.
5. We now have an agricultural engineer/politician planning all of our highway projects at GDOT thanks to Deal’s appointment. I would think the minimum qualification for this job would be a civil engineering and/or urban planning degree…call me crazy.

Having said all of the above, I will probably hold my nose and vote yes, simply because I have zero faith in our “leadership” to actually do anything right on transportation. In fact, we are actually completely leaderless on this issue. I figure something is better than nothing. But, if voters actually know the above information, I would not fault them for voting no. What I can stand personally are people who are blindly voting no because they just want to pay any taxes and don’t take the time to study this issue in depth…but that goes back to my earlier point that this issue is WAY too complex for deciding as a referenDUMB. Isn’t this why we elect supposedly smart people? I guess not.

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T-SPLOST this year….what kind of SPLOST next year?

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Rafe….I pointed out an example. I didn’t leave anywhere. 50 cents for a toll is nothing.

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Our politicians failed us, this I can agree on. Did you know Georgia ranks last in transportation spending per capital. Additionally, our gas tax has not been adjusted since the early 80’s. The legislatures should have adjusted this years ago but failed to do so. Our only option is the tsplost. Our infrastructure is failing and will cost far more to repair if we the citizens punt this to the next generation. We have to drive and sip commerce via the interstate system. How do we support it if funds keep decreasing.

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After he abolishes SRTA, fires Gena Evans, discontinues the I-85 HOT lane, diverts the 300 million dollars from the gas tax already earmarked for the $1,000,000,000.00+ HOT lanes planned for the I-75 corridor, then we’ll talk. By the way, talking about things quietly slipping through, that $300 million dollar seed money for the I-75 HOT lanes that passed at the end of the last session of the legislature barely received a mention in the press, AJC included. That is gas tax money that could have been used to address some of these projects in the TSPLOST referendum. These extremely high up front costs put the revenue generation from HOT lanes much too far in the future to be feasible. The government trust issues have been massive from GDOT, SRTA, the governor and the legislature not Listening to their constituency that the Billions of dollars planned for HOT lanes all over Atlanta could be better spent.

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Vote Yes!!!— The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission Board is appointed by the Governor. I wonder where their loyalty lies?

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One of the MAIN functions of government is to maintain infrastructure. Its in the constitution of EVERY state, mandated federally. Roads, ports(air/sea), and rail(passenger/freight) along with water services(clean/waste) MUST be supported by taxes. A no vote will NOT change any plans only delay them until new funding is found; not only keeping the toll on 400, but ADDING tolls to MORE roads! Then bonds have to be approved and issued and we have the same projects, NEEDED projects (285/400, 285/20 to name a couple) that will take LONGER to start up, meaning we have to endure the bottle-necks longer.
Transit projects seem to be so polarizing here that hardly anyone acknowledges that MAJOR interchanges with be improved… arterial roads will be widened and most of the local project lists all have bike, greenspace, and pedestrian safety projects listed. Not to mention that the transit projects, while not perfect, are a BASE… we have to BEGIN expanding the rail system so that its attractive to more riders. Fill in the core of the transit network, and then later expand it outside of 285. Thats what was done in Denver. They LOVE their system and have voted for this SAME tax twice to continue expanding the rail system.
This is not a perfect plan, but its another building block on the existing transit system AND road improvements. Short sighted, racist thinking gave us a limited rail system that’s only efficent for a FEW to use. We have an opportunity to open a VERY useful line to the emory area, create an intown mover for last mile connectivity(beltline), and restore bus service to Clayton all while giving the suburbanites wider roads, and better exchanges around 285 to keep the ole Lexus cruising at more than 15mph.
I am a member of no chamber, nor am I employed by any company that cares one way or the other. I grew up in SW Atlanta, public school, US Navy, years of check to check living, now at 43 i’m finally degreed and working as an occupational therapist. I love my home and as a child I was excited to when the first section of MARTA rail opened. Closing on a condo in Midtown, working at clinics in Roswell, and Powder Springs I have no choice but to drive to work so none of the rail projects will benefit me, but interchanges around 285 will. I may even be able to leave my car at home, walk to a street-car, transfer to heavy rail, and get to the airport and have a chapter of the book I bought to enjoy on vacation already knocked out.

Im voting yes

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send our illegals and prison population to Cuba like Castro cleared his prisons to us during bumblehead Carter with the Mariolitos.
That’s a good start for all of our problems.

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George and federal rules are strict about e verification on state and federal funded projects. The fines if caught are enormous and can also lead to loss of contrActing license in the state. Death penalty per se.

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Really, after all this time, they annouce they taking down the toll, ah…let’s see right before a vote for more money. It’s just another tactic to get you to vote for another large “slush fund” that can be given out like candy to all of their friends. More money, more money, more money….I say no more.

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yeah, and the DOT gets all the jobs and all the money.

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Rip torn,

Have you not seen the FHWA reports on the aging infrastructure. Discovery channel did a special outlining the frail state of our roadways. If we wait as you propose, the cost is estimated to be 10 times the costs to address today. Roadways require maintenance and that takes funding. Georgia is one of the fast growing states in the union yet rank last at transportation spending. These roadways are not a sunk cost, they are an investment.

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wonder what Dwight Eisenhower would think of his Interstate system today.

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This ought to be a reason not to vote for the transportation sales tax.
If they play politics with with the last toll booth, they will do it again.
I will believe it when I see it. What booth in the nation has closed?
Gov’t loves the money too much. If this vote passes, they will put a toll booth
on I 75.

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GDOT is down to 1970’s levels of staffing and trying to maintain a far greater infrastructure. Down 2000 employees, declining gas tax revenue, aging roadway, and no means to fund improvements. How do we solve this if not for the tsplost.

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Tell Granny to add another thing of cornbread for tonight. Uncle Crump decided to stop by about 5pm.

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I love Gay people!!!

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Charles,

If every other state jumps off a cliff are you going to too? Im sure there are a lot of things other states spend much more on than us, should we just follow everyone else? What if the problem is not a lack of funds? Ever consider that??? No lets just throw together a hair brained scheme to raise an obscene amount of money, the bulk of which goes toward mass transit… in a region that mass transit will never make sense… yup, you’re right, it’s brilliant.

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The Williams road construction company is the ONLY benefactor of a YES vote.

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Better late than never, but I want to see it happen first.

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DagnyT has hit the nail on the head!
when those private planes can get me around, they can have some of that money.

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Rip torn,

The aging infrastructure is a nationwide issue, Georgia is just part of the roadway issues so I am not so sure how cogent your cliff jumping argument is. Regarding funding, I know for a fact it is, the amount of contracts award by gdot were down 2 billion dollars to a level not seen since the early 80’s when they roadways served a population that is half the current size.

What do you propose to solve this shortcoming. Private investment.

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@ Vote Yes:

You sound rather arrogant when asserting that people voting against the tax have not read the bill. Perhaps they have and just don’t like it. Perhaps they don’t trust that it will do what it is intended to do. I say this having not made up my mind, whether I am voting yes or no. However, one this is for certain, the ‘elites’ of this state have done no favor with passing it, by acting like you have and insulting people who are against the measure.

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Deal can’t “unlie.” He is what he is: another Republican that lies to gullible rube voters knowing they have the attention span of a flea. except this time… Maybe there’s hope for the future if even conservative voters can be educated.

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@OH Hail NO!: Right, the illegals who are the civil engineers, the contractors, all the services associated with this. Yes, definitely, we are a country where not only are construction workers all illegals, but so are all the educated… Geez, give me a break. By jobs, in addition to construction, it will create a demand for hundreds (if not more) of engineering jobs, the thousands of services that support engineering, leading to increased spending, yadda yadda, all of which can only help the regional economy.

Keep coming with the anti-progress. It seems to be the pattern, and not just with projects like TSPLOST. If this keeps up, we’ll have our own “brain drain” from Atlanta.

Btw, I’m fairly certain not all of our taxes go to “pad the politicians.” You may not see it, but a penny sales tax can go a LONG way. Check out Gwinnett’s SPLOST, new schools and parks are just a glimpse at what a 1% sales tax can do. Unlike so many other projects, everything on TSPLOST has been laid out in plain sight. If that doesn’t offer any “transparency”, then you need to open your eyes.

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Voter,

A penny is what they say but what they should say is,

Would you like to increase the sales tax by 12.5%?

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In this we have a clear example that when politicians are caught in a bald faced lie they will eventually do what it takes to neutralize the charge. Now, if the Governor would just demand from Atlantic Station the money that was used from the tolls to make that site habitable, we will be closer to calling it even

Perhaps while he is at it, he can swear off crony capitalism and appoint actual qualified people to the boards of these innumerable authorities in Georgia instead of friends and friends of friends that somehow magically become qualified because of their association with the Governor.

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Speaking of monkey….Obama just spent another borrowed trillion $ of money we can’t pay back.
He thinks the government is his own personal ATM.

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vote NO to Obama in Nov. he also undid what Clinton did for having to work while on welfare….

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oh this is just good.. Washington to offer voter registration over face book. **thud**

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Oh Hail……They want the vote early and often chicago type voters

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@ WOW. I’m sorry if it came across as an assertion. What I said was if you vote without reading the law first you are irresponsible. If you have read the law and are voting “no” based on correct information then no problem. Everyone is entitled to vote however they want. I would just hope they do it with all of the correct knowledge.

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The campaign to vote yes is being privately funded.
The backers had a large meeting at the St. Regis this week.If I’m spending money on the campaign and holding meetings at the St. Regis, you bet I’m looking for a huge return via contracts and paybacks.

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VOTE YES!!! since you are so in belief of what the govt is going to do with this money.. can I get $1000.00 from you.. I promise to pay you back

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Funny this crooked Governor announces this just prior to the T-Splost vote… Don’t trust him, VOTE NO on Transportation bill. He could have said that when he was asked many times before.

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8 million

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@GregKennesaw. No, you don’t. Do you think we can fund transportation relieve without raising taxes of some sort? Toll roads I guess. I can’t wait to hear the complaints about those.

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NO!!! to T-Splost

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Rip Torn,

Georgia actually got $700 million and a lot of that money has bent spent on projects that were shovel ready. However if you don’t trust GDOT, then why do you drive on the roads? In fact, why do you even live here if local and state government is so untrustworthy?

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Vote yes, What did the St. Regis serve for breafast?

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Now how about the toll on 85???

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@OH Hail NO! – If I had that kind of money I would not be in this state to begin with.

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You guys are getting so angry because I’m just quoting HB 277. Crazy.

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I think the tolls should stay, in the long run, the money is only going to help the state

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How about the one you came from?

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TSPLOST: You ain’t getting my penny!

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Well, Vote No, sounds like you’re a little insecure that people with differing political views may be eating better than you…

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Vote Yes.. I am looking at the Ga Gen Assembly and it states that the HB 277 is a Hunging, baiting, and hunting of deer and feral hogs…(http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb277.htm)

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I believe Mr. Jim Galloway came up with a hot topic today!

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@ OH Hail NO!. Well it was passed in 2010 so maybe you’re looking at a more recent one? Anyhoo, here it is:

http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/search/hb277.htm

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Steve-o, you’re right since I don’t want to throw my money away on unnecessary tax hikes I don’t deserve to live here. I’m pretty sure we got more than 700 million, we’ve already “invested” over a billion in stimulus funds. http://www.dot.state.ga.us/informationcenter/gastimulus/Pages/default.aspx

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GOV. Deal you are the real deal.. I won’t believe it till i see it but,I will take your word for now..
For all you that say keep it or raise it obviously don’t pay the daily toll. Oh and that’s a NO to the T-SPLOST also.. We are taxed out… These people want a blank check.

How is it that when we run out of money, we have to cut back but when you run out of money you want more taxes? How about being conservative and and find innovative ways to fund these projects.. Fix what needs to be fixed now and find areas that can be cut, then proceed with the new projects (When you have the money)..I am not giving you a blank check..

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I was here when 400 was a two lane….there have been quite a few widenings throughout the years and it still hasn’t kept up….the toll was built strictly for the extension to I-85 and easier access to and from downtown.
Roads will never be wide enough or long enough…..the minute they’re completed, there is so much of a new influx of population to that area, that the road is immediately outdated.
And a road constantly under construction (like 400, I-285, etc. in the 70’s and ’80s) ticks off daily drivers too.

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Rip Torn,

Good job! You went straight to the source – GDOT’s website – and found the facts. However it’s pretty funny that you’re quoting GDOT figures since you don’t trust them so much…

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Road construction is like technology today. The minute you have something new, it’s immediately outdated.

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Steve O , It’s the bought and paid for politicians
that bother me. Remember Purdue, Richardson, Franklin?

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GeorgiaDuck
July 19th, 2012
2:01 pm

T-Splost will create a lot of construction jobs.
———————————–
Done by illegal aliens doing the work for less money and without benefits hired under contract to C.W. Matthews.

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Construction jobs by the DOT are already safe. And how many people have the skills to run that equipment? The ones that do have jobs.
You might add a few jobs for people to rake the tar and cement….and the guys right, probably for a few illegals

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we dont need the street cars in down town and we dont need bike routs in douglasville. I also do not want to put any more money into the ever failing MARTA!!

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my key board is sticking on keys.. I really can spell…………………. (I think)

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Do not remove the tolls, just reverse the proceedure and start giving back to each motorist 50 cents each time they pass through. Keep this in place for the number of years that the toll was extended.

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The GA Hwy Tolls need to be dropped now!No stupid excuses. Deal promised to end the tolls in 2011 and should tell the dumb ass bondowners to see us in court. And lets see the rich bondholders federal income tax returns. Many of these bondholders are foreigners anyway. We the commuters are not beholden to these rich foreigners! Tgis is a Free Country. Basicily what we have here are working class Georgians paying money to rich foreigners. That is hogwash!!!

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NO to T-SPLOST. The projects are politically motivated with payouts to insiders, while more needed projects do not make the list. Rockdale County will four lane Flatshoals where there is little traffic, meanwhile nearby, Salem Road that is backed up for miles receives nothing. The decision is entirely political. Additionally, more roads means more traffic and more maintenance, while we can’t maintain what we have now. A large metro area has to use mass transit, there is no other way, and more roads are the wrong direction to go. Our auto insurance is already too outrageous, and parking fees far too expensive, not to mention the stress and time wasted in commutes. T-SPOLST is entirely the wrong direction. Besides, there are ample funds already if they weren’t so wasted. NO TO T-SPLOST!!

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Read the fine print & you’ll see that Deal can make great headlines, but he can’t actually do this as it has to be (and has not been) approved by the State Road & Toll Authority.
Also, if you closely look at TSPLOST, you’ll see a parallel with Obama’s over $800bn stimulus spending package Itnlooks Ill conceived and a little for each community, but it simply looks as if everyone threw their pet projects in. Look at all of the sidewalks, airport spending, etc. many of these projects will do nothing to untie anything except more money from the taxpayers. Give politicians more & they want & spend more.
Vote no!!!

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How about allowing the roads to be sponsored by private business? For example, electronic billboards over the roads could flash “Funding for this road is provided by Coca-Cola…Enjoy!” They could be electronic signs that change monthly or weekly.

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So happy to hear that the toll booths will be coming down on GA 400. What a contrast to the northeast where the tolls have become a permanent tax on the commuting public DESPITE having been paid for years ago…Just one of many reasons why businesses are leaving the northeast and moving south & west….

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@na. You just said you would not vote for TSPLOST but also said the roads need to be enlarged….I”m confused. How do we pay for that?

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Sonny lied!

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The amount of ill-informed people in here makes me shudder to think of how many are in Atlanta…

@na: HOT lanes are federally funded, not state funded. It was never intended to make money, but rather give people an option at alleviating traffic. Do some research into what the purpose is and how it works… The HOV lanes were already underused to begin with, and if you have 3 or more it’s STILL FREE. Price changes are part of a complex algorithm called “congestion pricing” that changes depending on how many cars are in that lane so encourage/discourage drivers from using it, in order to keep the lane flowing. It’s not nonsensical.

Roads enlarged, HUGE capital costs, and doesn’t fix traffic (will only encourage people to drive more). Overhead lanes, oh my, EVEN HUGER (think astronomical) capital costs. No one has the money for that sort of thing. TSPLOST is the first thing to come along in even TRYING to make a dent in fixing all these things you say are wrong, but you don’t even give it a chance.

Also, businesses are moving because of horrific traffic. If you can’t efficiently move around, if it takes so much time to do anything, and time is money, why would you relocate here? Brain drain…

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VOTE YES!!,

That’s all you have is scare tactics. I guess becasue you say so there are no other alternatives, either we throw money away via TSPLOST or we throw money away via toll roads ehh? Is it really that unreasonable to ask that the money we give them now be spent wisely before we give them more money? You can’t possible believe that all the pork projects in this bill are absolutely necessary. If we don’t build some bike paths or hire more Union Marta Employees the city will fall back to the Dark Ages?

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ref: Also, businesses are moving because of horrific traffic. If you can’t efficiently move around, if it takes so much time to do anything, and time is money, why would you relocate here? Brain

Reason: Its worst elsewhere , why add insult to injury more paying out of pocket for that even more

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Well it’s about time. They were wrong to continue the toll past the original date. They lied to us NoFulton folks. So yes, end the toll. And yesterday I voted NO to TSPLOST, so they still won’t get my support for it.

The DOT has wasted so much money on road projects that don’t work; I wish they’d just stop. I don’t trust anything they say, nor their competence.

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Too late, Gov, I already early voted against TSPLOST.

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I am voting YES!!!!! It is not perfect, but it will help us move into the future!!!

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..that’s the REAL question and the choice before us. The musings of all the petty, misguided racial and special interest groups aside, this 3rd generation native knows that Atlanta has always thrived on the deeds of its citizens and their fabled good cheer and samaritanship. What was once termed “southern hospitality”.
The largely self-indulgent suburban electorate today, only knows it wants maintenance free yards, paint-free houses, drug-free youth, a mythical crime-free community, big box solutions and discount store prices. All without worrying if the remote control batteries will ever die.
However much the cronyism and back patting that can occur (and does in every form of public business) every single commitment to transportation and mobility that has been advanced in this region, has benefited everyone at some time and in some way. So suggest that – even if its business as-usual – would yield no common good, is to crawl back into a cave and stare longingly at the cold dark walls.

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@Jeff What do you mean tourists don’t come to Midtown?! I live in Midtown and people flood our neighborhood every weekend to go to Piedmont Park. I don’t know where they’re coming from for sure but I’d guess it is the suburbs where the taxes are nice and low and the parks are minimal. Our taxes and our Piedmont Park Conservancy membership fees pay for that park. If we could find a way to keep you people OTP, that would be great.

I’m going to vote yes on the TSPLOST because I believe it will be good for the economy of Atlanta–not because I want to make it easier for you people to go to our park.

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This is just a gimick. They say this now because everyone knows the tolls will never end just like the T-Splost will not go away after 10 years

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Here’s a little tidbit from the LAW (HB 277) for anyone that is worried about fraud, waste, and abuse.

48-8-249
(d) The commission shall maintain or cause to be maintained an adequate record-keeping system for each project funded by a special district transportation sales and use tax. An annual audit shall be paid for by each special district and conducted by an independent auditing firm as selected by the commission. Such audit shall include a schedule which shows for each such project the original estimated cost, the current estimated cost if it is not the original estimated cost, amounts expended in prior years, and amounts expended in the current year. Such audit shall verify and test expenditures sufficient to provide assurances that the schedule is fairly presented in relation to the financial statements. The audit report on the financial statements shall include an opinion, or disclaimer of opinion, as to whether the schedule is presented fairly in all material respects in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.

48-8-251.
(a) There is created a Citizens Review Panel for each special district in which voters approved the levy of the special district sales and use tax to be composed of three citizen members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and two citizen members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Each member must be a resident of the special district of which Citizens Review Panel they are appointed to serve.
(f) The panel shall be charged with review of the administration of the projects and programs included on the approved investment list. The panel may make such recommendations to and require such reports from the Department of Transportation, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, any other agency or instrumentality of the state, any political subdivision of the state, and any agency or instrumentality of such political subdivisions as it may deem appropriate and necessary from time to time in the interest of the region.
(g) Upon the completion of a project on the investment list, the panel shall annually review the specific public benefits identified in the investment list to ascertain the degree to which such benefits have been attained. This benefit review report shall be delivered to the director and the state revenue commissioner and shall be published on the website created pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-245.
(h) Beginning January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the panel shall provide a report to the General Assembly of its actions during the previous year. The report shall be available for public inspection on the website created pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-245. The report shall include, but not be limited to, an update on the progress on each project on the investment list for the region, including the amount of funds spent on each project.

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I am just glad all u idiots voting NO on here are the ones that stay home Tuesday. the plan goes out for many years and if you are really sincere about voicing your “educatef” comments then read the proposal 1st! I am from the south (not clayton county) and wish more were earmarked for here but when I go through north cobb, Decalb and others in the bottleneck I support them first.

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@Rip Torn: I never said that. If you read his comment, na clearly did not know how HOT lanes worked. You seem to have missed the entire point of the HOT lanes. If the HOV lanes were already underused to begin with, it’s not changing much at all in terms of “adding congestion to other lanes.” In fact, now that single occupancy drivers have the option of using them, it should not only lessen congestion other lanes, but also provide a much better guarantee (nothing is “perfect”) of a shorter commute.

@Dr M and many others: What about the projects that do work? Why are people only targeting the bad? How do you think the first highways were built? Or even roads like 400, which is relatively new (their toll is a “tax”)… guess what? It WASN’T there before… How many of you complainers use it every day now? If you see it as a tax, PLEASE act as if it was never built and drive around Atlanta as if it wasn’t there… It’ll make it so much easier for those of us who want improvements to drive down.

Geez, focus on the negatives only, and nothing will ever get accomplished.

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To “Yes Vote”. You should follow your own advice and READ the law. It only covers the maintenance for the 10 years of the increase in sales tax. After that, all of these projects will need to be maintained indefinitely. Who will be paying for that?

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You’ve got to be kidding! – Funny, I don’t see where it says maintenance only lasts 10 years. Where is that?

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Whatever happened to the days when wholesale anti-government sentiment was called anarchy and unpatriotic?

What a bunch of spoiled, self-indulgent, whiny, bed-wetting, pseudo-proselytes! You want government out of YOUR lives, but not out of your neighbors’. You want to have your cake and eat it too.

Word-up: the federal highway trust fund that built all this stuff you like to drive on is insolvent!! Congress (both parties) just raided the general fund to prop it up.

Other than bridge repairs and minimal road maintenance and safety improvements this means that after 40+ years of never caring who built it or how, the WELL IS DRY!

If you want ANYTHING else to improve your mobility. Vote yes, stay at home, or keep waiting for a messiah… dumb-masses!

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To Yes Vote:

go to the main T-Splost website (http://www.atlantaregionalroundtable.com/documents/final_report.pdf )
, this is the final project report, look at page 56 and 57 on the detailed project fact sheets for the two $600,000,000 projects for the street cars down Auburn Ave. You will see the following wording:

“The project includes the construction of a streetcar line with
stations approximately every ½ mile and 10 years of operations and maintenance funding.”

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Iconoclast,
So since the money that was allocated to pay for such things was wasted we should just shell out more, no questions asked. Now thats how you run things! I’ll vote yes If you promise that it’ll help me stop wetting the bed at night.

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My NO VOTE represents my disdain for politicians who don’t do what was promised. Try me for TSplost after the tolls are gone and I may change my mind

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@ Rip Torn: I’m not saying things shouldn’t be called into question, but be sure you’re willing to let the meter run for another 2-4 years while you’re in your’re wetting your bed. Eventually, you’ll find you’re getting nowhere and your bed-clothes reek.

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Iconoclast,
I think I can hold out a little while longer without bike paths… Thanks for looking out for me though

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Iconoclast,
Do you “win” most of your discussions by name-calling?

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Its nice to see some of reeds and deals cronies in the comments section…spewing lies.

I would perhaps think about the Pocket lining cronies tax,,,,,

IF DEAL resigns tomorrow.
IF REED resigns tomorrow
If they were to prevent Thrasher and Matthews for ever doing business with the state .
Arrest Sonny Purdue.

I lied…VOTE NO

I vote MEEBO go as well

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I have a DEAL for you, governor. You take down the 400 Booths first, then we can talk about your TSPLOST. As long as those booths are up, there’s no trust and nothing to talk about. So you come back January 14 with those booths demolished and flattened and we’ll talk. Without that precondition, nothing to talk about.

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My initial thought was that this is sincere and completely unexpected. I admire the attempt and it’s good that they are agreeing to make this right by canceling a toll that was unjustly extended against the will of the people. This might literally be the first time I’ve seen govt get rid of a tax and not immediately replace it by another one but…wait….they ARE. You see, they’re sacrificing a smaller tax revenue generator for a much larger one.

Why? It’s obvious they’re realizing how broken promises of the past are negatively affecting public opinion in this T-SPLOST vote and they are desperate. Just look at the comments here. Popular opinion has swayed against it primarily due to govt mistrust. Did anyone read how the Beltline officials were already caught using taxpayer money to pay for dinners and gifts that weren’t authorized. If not, read up and become informed.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-beltlines-taxpayer-funded-1473445.html

The Ga 400 Toll is nothing compared to a 10-year sales tax increase across Metro Atlanta & Clarke County. They want us to choose the GREATER of two evils. They want us to “trust them” that this project won’t go over budget and need more money. That it won’t take longer than planned. That it will actually alleviate congestion and traffic problems in the metro area to a degree that will be noticeable. That it will create jobs and improve our standard of living. But what reason have you given us in the past to trust you?

They think we’re plain stupid. Naive? Yes, we were in the past. Let’s show them we’ve wised up.

Let’s show them we do not approve of tax increases during a recession. That we are not their piggy banks. That they have to make do just like the rest of us. And that they have a long, difficult, uphill battle to gain back our trust. The fact is that the Ga 400 toll should’ve been gone already, so they’re not being nice; they’re being manipulative.

They need a different approach. Have town halls. Show maps and mockups. Make the plan more accessible and personal for individuals. Let local communities help name the new construction. Put faces to this plan, this development project, faces that at least look trustworthy. Put them all over local news, on tv, put forth some effort. All I’ve seen so far are yard signs and billboards trying to cram this down our throats. Their approach is impersonal & insulting, and that’s why it’s a failure.

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This is manipulative, self-serving nonsense – the timing is suspect, too. Does Deal think we are so stupid we would believe him? I’ll believe this when the toll booths are dismantled and not a minute before. So, he says we will FINALLY get the burden of the toll removed right before that TSPLOST vote – and when it fails I have absolutely no doubt those toll booths will stay up another 10 or more years, long after Deal is gone.

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@VoteYes – can I sell you a nice bridge in Brooklyn? You sure are trusting, aren’t you?

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Anyone actually believe this? I don’t.

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Here we go again. Politicians being, well…politicians!! Give me a break is right – now why oh why didn’t Deal come out with this before 12 days of the T-SPLAT vote??? Big government and big business is behind this and we do not need any of that – we’ve had enough. Vote NO NO NO for T-SPLOST !!!! This funding will never ever go away….. the politicians in GEORGIA have long since proven their unfaithfulness, and for many, their untrustworthiness…….VOTE NO !!!!!!

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@Midtown Mom at 3:39 p.m…. no, the TOURISTS are not coming to Piedmont Park via Ga. 400 from the north. We have our own parks and recreation options, thank you very much. Besides, who chose to LIVE that close to Piedmont Park? You did. The so-called “tourists” you talk about coming there are actually Atlantans… the ONLY people I know who go there are people from Virginia Highlands, Decatur, Vinings and Midtown… I don’t know of anybody from the northern ‘burbs who flock to Piedmont every weekend. I’ve actually never been there myself — I don’t care for the traffic and the cluster. I have a couple of friends who might go once a year, but only for a special festival or something. So let’s not start an OTP vs. ITP war… your statement seemed quite judgemental, intolerant and stereotypical… I thought ITP people were supposed to be all open-minded?

If you live close to Piedmont Park, don’t bi-yatch and moan when people come visit — that is why you moved there, remember, to be close to everybody and everything? Tourists that come to Atlanta stay ITP — that is where the bulk of the hotel rooms are in the area (the VAST majority of them). Most of the typical tourist attractions are ITP — Turner Field, Coca-Cola, Six Flags, museums, the Varsity, Underground, Piedmont Park, the Ga. Aquarium, etc. etc. etc. Not many people stay in Buford or Cumming or Alpharetta and trek down 400 to go visit all the “Atlanta stuff”.

The issue is still that it is absurd for one group of people to ask any other group of people to pitch in more because they are not “doing their fair share.” The best way to solve that is move to a fair tax system, raise sales taxes a bit, and spread the burden more equally on EVERYONE, citizens and visitors alike. To suggest otherwise is to incite class envy, class warfare, and more selfish people digging in their respective positions, and nothing gets resolved.

Fact — the Ga. 400 toll SHOULD have been stopped long before this. Any move to eliminate it is a good thing. And passing the T-SPLOST is not the perfect solution to Atlanta’s traffic problems, but it’s a start, and to vote no is to just settle in to another decade of worsening traffic and gridlock and wait for something to magically get done.

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It would be interesting to see the savings to the state by ending the HOT lane, GA 400 tolls and eliminating all of the SRTA. SRTA itself has to cost money to operate, and its only reasons to exist are the HOT lane and GA 400 toll collections and oversight.

In 2011 (the last year reported on Open.Georgia.gov), over 25% of SRTA employees made over 100,000 during that fiscal year, including one with the title ‘Former Employee’. When examining the job titles, none appear to operate the computers that process the tolls and collect the fees. This makes me also wonder how many contractors they use to run their computers?

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To VOTE YES & @Charles is Voting Yes:

#1: The people behind this are the same people (government, big business, city officials, etc.) that for years did not enforce our laws, creating havoc for our schools, jobs, housing, etc. You know, the ones that “allowed illegal immigrants” into our fine state to the tune of hundreds of thousands so that they could “do their bidding” re cheap labor for housing, farming, businesses, government, etc. Oh, excuse me, now they will “e-verify?” Right ! They all knew what was going on and did it anyway. Not to mention the banks who gave out loans knowingly to people who could not afford them – yes – in our state. Also – not to mention the “robo-signing that took place that illegally took away thousands of peoples homes in this state. And – none of these people cared nor did anything about it. They failed the people of the state miserably. And, our current situation in this state economically – and in our schools – is their fault. They were all too busy “padding their pockets” forsaking the people here. Now these same entities wish us to “trust them?” These people are just “salivating at the mouth” over this.

#2: “They are proposing spending over $600,000,000 (about 7.5% of the total $8 billion for Atlanta Metro Area) on a STREETCAR down Auburn Ave.” What does anyone think those who do not live downtown care about this one? While I do care about the history behind Auburn Ave. let the people who live downtown take care of that one. Oh, that’s right, most of them can’t because of the unemployment and lack of jobs. You know, the ones these big builders, banks, businesses and government took away from them and gave to the illegals!!

#3: Perhaps our state and big biz simply does not understand – we are in a massive recession still….Atlanta has been going down the tubes for quite a long time due to crime, schools, etc. Let the people in “Atlanta fix Atlanta.” They might start with the massive corrpution that has gone on for years out at the airport. And no, I don’t want “metro Atlanta” to turn into a “New York metro” with rails, etc. bringing said crime further out into our communities.

#4: Georgia was citied as the most corrupt state by politifacts – there are reasons for that…

#5: Our state was supposed to use the big bucks they received from the tobacco companies for cancer research. Not even half has ever gone to that – they took those funds and used them in the “general funds.” Our legislators and gov. didn’t even bat an eye…

#6: Lest anyone forget – you are speaking of the same officials and big businesses who turned a completely deaf ear to our most vulnerable citizens for years and still are doing so. If all of these people really care about Georgia citizens and their welfare…someone tell me where were they when innocent handicapped people were getting abused, neglected, and killed in our state institutions so much so that it went on for years until the AJC brought it out in their “HIDDEN SHAME” articles. The Dept. of Justice had to sue the State of Georgia to correct these horrors and we did not see politicians, governors, officials, nor the head of the Chamber of Commerce or big business stand up and “do a shout-out” demand for these atrocities to cease and assist in protecting those people. Why? Dead silence, sweeping it all under the rug. And we are to historically trust these kinds of people? I would suggest that all incumbents at voting time regularly be voted “out of office” in this state – unless united we can see some great changes in Georgia from them. They didn’t care about those people – you think they care about the money? Sure they do – the $ this will bring to them…

#6: I am so sick of seeing the commercials on TV regarding this – backed by these people, T-SPLOST is supposed to “UNTANGLE” the “TANGLED UP MESS” these SAME PEOPLE “TANGLED UP” to begin with !!!! Makes great sense to trust these same people for regarding their “visions” for our fine state.

VOTE NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO on T-SPLOST!!!

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The REAL problem is all those that green-lighted endless sprawl in Atlanta. Past unchecked growth is killling us all. That’s why I’m moving to a city with good public transportation. I can’t take it anymore here.

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Correction: @Emma: with all due respect “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you get what you’re already getting”….that is indeed what This IS ALL ABOUT….VOTE NO, NO, NO, NO…and remember: T-SPLOST is supposed to “UNTANGLE” the “TANGLED UP MESS” these SAME PEOPLE “TANGLED UP” to begin with !!!!

Vote NO NO NO

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Yes, the timing is absolutely geared towards weakening some of the resistance to the T-SPLOST vote.

didn’t fool me then, won’t fool me now. had enough of the mismanagement of funds, quit coming to us with your hand out for more…

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Do not be fooled T-Splost tax!!! Take sales tax off gas add $ .05 to gal of gas.

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I am not sure doing away with the toll is the best idea. If the funds from the toll could be deposited into an escrow account for the I-85 / GA400 interchange and GA400 maintenance only, i think most people would support it. i am ok with paying a little for the piece of road i am using – as long as the person controlling the checkbook can be trusted. I wonder how hard it would be to postpone the referendum until after the tools booths have disappeared? It is just a line on an electronic ballot – delay until the promise is fulfilled.

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