I agree with the ACES on this. We've seen the majority of transportation money being spent in Atlanta for decades. Local control is the only chance the rest of the state has.
The most important long-term decision that the Georgia General Assembly will make this session comes down to today:
How will the state provide for our transportation future?
In particular, the legislature is choosing between a "statewide" transportation special purpose local option sales tax -- T-SPLOST -- and a "regional" approach that allows counties to band together in groups of mutual interest.
It's not even close, lawmakers. You've got to pick the Senate's regional approach, which gives local voters and officials infinitely more control over their transportation futures.
Under the House's statewide approach, it's likely much of the money will gravitate toward the metro Atlanta area, and the rest of the state will have less money and less say.
The House has also come up with an odd two-part proposal in which the regional approach would be adopted if voters decided against the statewide plan. That's confusing and convoluted -- and an admission on the part of lawmakers that "we can't decide, so you decide."
We need leaders on this issue, not a menu of choices.
Because the two chambers could not agree, the issue now goes to a joint "conference committee" today, which we fervently hope will come down on the side of the regional, local-control approach. We hope leaders in the Senate, who have passed the regional plan twice, continue to have confidence in their proposal and can convince their friends from the House to go along.
The entire state is depending on it.
Accordingly, editorials from Rome and Columbus to Gainesville to Athens to Macon and Savannah have strongly endorsed the Senate plan.
The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce diplomatically, but firmly, has made it clear that this region strongly prefers the local control available under the Senate's regional approach. Others around the state agree.
"The Chamber," wrote Augusta chamber President/CEO Sue Parr in a letter to local lawmakers March 16, "hopes that the Georgia General Assembly will adopt legislation allowing local communities to come together at a time of their choosing, (and) develop a program of their design, to be approved by their voters, to address their transportation needs."
The Senate bill, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and other Senate leaders note in a written statement, "creates only one defined 10-county region in Metro Atlanta while the rest of the state can either move forward as a single county or band together voluntarily with two or more counties to meet regional transportation needs."
This is by far the best plan we've seen for addressing the state's long-term transportation needs, while respecting the all-American principle and undeniable practicality of local control.
We've come to a huge fork in the road, but the path forward is clear. Pass the Senate's regional T-SPLOST, lawmakers. Do it today.
Comments
I agree with the ACES on this. We've seen the majority of transportation money being spent in Atlanta for decades. Local control is the only chance the rest of the state has.
I knew when I started reading it would come down to the rest of the state against Atlanta. We are still trying to get grandpa off the red clay wash board road where the dust billows up from behind his pick-up while Atlanta is designing some kind of amusement park like loop de loop superhighway junction to get us to the jetport faster.
Get out more. We're getting our own super-humpty interchange. Soon, You can feel just like you're in a big city (for a good twenty seconds). Next, we might be able to sit in our stalled cars for several hours--just like the folks on 285.
dashiel, current construction on Augusta roads is 25 years over due.
Metro Atlanta would be more than happy to have a regional approach to funding trasnportation projects. Taxes collected from within metro Atlanta would be more than enough to fund all of the projects needed in that area, including commuter rail. The truth is that metro Atlanta actually pays more in taxes then it recieves back in transportation spending. What is needed is regional tax districts with more local control on how the money collected within those tax districts are spent. A statewide authority should only be needed on a major project with a statewide scope, such as a highway that spans the entire state. But the vast majority of road projects are more local and regional in nature. Spend the money where it is collected and have local control.
At first blush, I like the Senate version, but the House version may be the better option as the Augusta Metro area is listed as one of the top 30 areas in the State, and would receive preferential treatment for DOT funding. Several local elected officials I have spoken with seem to think we would receive more money locally with the House version.
I think HillGuy is correct in his tax analysis. Regional control sounds great, but when the region does not generate much tax revenue, potholes will grow.
Atlanta needs to build elevated long haul lanes that have no exits. Drivers going through the city can use these and alleviate local congestion.
If we had local control, how long would it take for our goons to initiate a study that would determine that I-20 should be through downtown? Lets face it, our guys can't even plan improvements in neighborhoods and we want them to do interstate planning. I say keep it like it is until we find out what is meant by the terms "local control" which can have many meanings. I was amazed by CCGUYs comment that the second largest city is considered in the top 30 metro areas. Does that mean we are number thirty? What are our legislature representatives doing for us that we are so low on the totem pole?
Rufus has an exectly idea. Many freeways up north and in Canada have "express lanes" for thru traffic with minimal exits.. and then local lanes with more exits for local traffic. Metro Atlanta should really think about doing this. I have seen it work in Montgomery County Maryland and in Toronto.
But Little Lamb is right, without access to tax revenue from metro Atlanta (the economic engine of the entire state) roads in rural Georgia will suffer. And it is unlikely smaller metro areas like Augusta can generate enough tax revenue on just their own to fund large scale projects like the new interchange and other improvements on I20.
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