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Mike Lowry
Transit: Here We Go Again
After a lull of only 3 weeks, the forces of tax subsidy are at it again. In a single day we were treated to the following:
An article in the Roswell Neighbor describing an upcoming "public meeting" to discuss the Connect 400 Transit Initiative (http://neighbornewspapers.com/view/full_story/19848031/article-Forum-will-shed-light-on-north-Fulton-rail-study-?)
This will be held at the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce headquarters on Aug. 30 from 9:00 to 10:30 AM. I encourage everyone to attend and let them know what you think about extending MARTA. E-mail KRome@gnfcc.com to confirm attendance.
A second article by Tom Sabulis appeared on the AJC blog site (http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/2012/08/20/downtown-terminal-on-track/) advising that "..plans for a billion-dollar multimodal passenger terminal downtown – connecting commuter rail, MARTA, light-rail, streetcars and buses" are proceeding. I would defy anyone to describe a problem in Atlanta for which this is a solution.
Given that two-thirds of the voters just clearly expressed their opinion of transit as a solution, why would any state agency use taxpayer dollars to support this real estate developers' boondoggle?
What part of NO don't they understand?
We need an elected DOT board that will not be beholden to the developers and contractors, and will focus on providing real transportation solutions that will meet the real demand that the states travelers and freight haulers need.
Michael Hadden
11:43 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012
Mike, Although the TIA failed to pass, I'm pretty sure it didn't fail due solely to Anti-Transit objections. It failed for a number of reasons, none of which said that alternatives for transit could not or should not be explored. Don't mistake your will and desires for that of the entire metro region. I dare say there are hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of people in this region who are interested in seeing transit expand if done in the right way.