$6.14 billion plan’s fatal flaws
Representative Ed Setzler – who voted in favor of TIA (HB277) in 2010 – AJC, January 23, 2012 “Passed by the Legislature to relieve traffic congestion in metro Atlanta, the heavily Atlanta Regional Commission-influenced project list allocates more than 50 percent of the region’s $6.14 billion to fund transit projects that by objective accounts will
“Why Your Highway Has Potholes”
From Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2012 “Since 1982 government mass-transit subsidies have totaled $750 billion (in today’s dollars), yet the share of travelers using transit has fallen by nearly one-third, according to Heritage Foundation transportation expert Wendell Cox. Federal data indicate that in 2010 in most major cities more people walked to work or
Two Developments Must Occur Before Passing a Sales Tax
MARTA chief, Beverly Scott, on the TIA: “Most notably, three developments need to occur. A transit governance structure with regional control must past the legislature this session. The MARTA Act needs to be revised to allow for flexibility on how the agency spends its sales tax revenue — removing the restriction that 50 percent be
Some projects might not be feasible even if voters approved a regional sales [tax] this July
From AJC, April 3, 2012 “MARTA Service Cuts Loom” “MARTA’s Gen Manager Beverly Scott] and other officials said the current financial projection left open the possibility that some projects might not be feasible even if voters approved a regional sales [tax] this July that has $600 million for MARTA for maintenance and upgrades for the
1 percent sales tax for transportation: For first time, officials acknowledge it may last more than 10 years
Gwinnett County Chairman Charlotte Nash raised the issue of a second phase of the penny sales tax at a meeting Thursday of the roundtable’s executive committee. Her comment elicited one direct response. “One question on the table is: What if the next phase is not passed?” asked Nash, who’s elected countywide to head the Gwinnett
MARTA chief warns of $2.3 billion in unfunded maintenance needs
From AJC, September 26, 2011 “We do not have an answer of how it’s going to be funded,” Scott said, adding that if the regional transportation plan is rejected, the agency’s maintenance costs would spike to $2.9 billion, as the proposed plan includes $600 million specifically for taking care of an aging MARTA system. Read
T-SPLOST Related Transit Study Seems Aimed at Avoiding Inconvenient Results
If the T-SPLOST is approved, and after the projects are built, will you have a shorter commute time? The ARC recently admitted that the answer is NO. Instead, the ARC says that “alleviating traffic congestion” is defined as increasing the number of people who can hypothetically reach a given point within 45 minutes. Paying $6.14
Ed Crowell, President & CEO, Georgia Motor Trucking Association, Inc., September 30, 2011
Speaking at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation Legislative Policy Briefing on Sept. 30, 2011, Ed Crowell of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association was asked his opinion of the T-SPLOST projects list. His response: “Looking at the most recent project list, we don’t find anything that will reduce congestion.” Georgia Motor Trucking Association is a
Congressman Tom Price, May 27, 2012
“I think you got to weigh whether or not the project list and the increase in capacity or lack thereof justifies the increased tax and whether or not the regional nature of it is sufficient.” Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Congressman sounds off on TIA
Debunking the Myths: Part 2 – Emissions
Debunking the Myths: Part 2 – Emissions The myth: Building rail transit will reduce emissions. This is the thought that drives environmentalists everywhere. Their lobby has become so powerful that rail transit is virtually the only kind of transportation project that the Federal government will approve. The problem is that the thought is false.
