No Relief From Pain At The Pump For Roswell Residents

Roswell commuters, like those in other parts of Atlanta, are watching gas prices come dangerously close to hitting $4 a gallon. Watching the costs rise to a level previously thought unreachable in the U.S. has encouraged many residents of Roswell to try saving money wherever they can.

According to data obtained from goergiagasprices.com, 16 Roswell area gas stations currently have their prices anywhere from $3.71 a gallon to $3.89 a gallon, an average of $3.78 a gallon. To accommodate stretched budgets, many Roswell residents are finding different ways to try to save money.

Roswell Patch hit the streets to talk with local residents about what they do to save. One resident at a local store said she drives an extra mile just to find a gas station where she can save 20 cents. Her husband said he tries to work at home more often. 

Roswell resident Jamie Parsons commutes to his job at a U-Verse office in Duluth. He said his company provided him with the use of a company vehicle. They also cover his gas to and from work. However, when he's not driving to work, he uses a motorcycle to get around. 

"I'm definitely not driving as much, but I've been riding a motorcycle a lot more. It's more efficient gas-wise. It gets about 30 to 40 miles a gallon," Parsons said.         

Richard Arena, a resident of Roswell since 1974, has a political take on the current gas price uptick. Arena believes the significant hike in local gas prices occurred under the current administration. 

"When President Obama took office, the average gas price in Roswell was about $1.85," he said.

Craig Oliver, a computer programmer and a contractor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who moved to Roswell five years ago, has a different take on politics affecting the cost of petroleum. He says that no matter who is in office or what we do as a nation to try to become energy independent, there are still things that are out of our control. 

"We're at the mercy of the commodity exchanges in New York. No matter what we do, we are at the mercy of the world market," Oliver said.

Oliver has watched those markets go up and down, recalling an average of $2.50 per gallon for regular unleaded when he moved to Roswell in 2006. To try to save money, he telecommutes more often and takes MARTA when he has to go downtown to work. However, Oliver pointed out that the fares to ride MARTA are going up as well, making it actually cheaper to drive sometimes.

Arena believes the "summer formula" that large metropolitan areas use to help eliminate air pollution is partially to blame for the pinch at the pump. 

"During the summer, large metropolitan areas change the way gasoline is distilled so that the type of gasoline used during the summer time limits air pollution. This is done in large cities all over the country," Arena said. "They use several different types of distilled gasoline depending on the size of the community. If they eliminated this 'summer formula' and used one type of gasoline, I think the gas prices would go down about 20 cents, but the down side to that is there would be more air pollution."  

As far as trying to save money during this time of extremely high gas prices, Arena does what many other citizens of Roswell do. 

"When I have to go down to the airport, I take MARTA and when I have to drive, I try to get done as many things as I can in one trip," he said. 

Relief at the pump doesn't appear to be on its way any time soon, which is why for many Roswell residents the best thing to do is to follow guidelines from The Clean Air Campaign by driving as little as possible, telecommuting, or taking public transportation modes such as MARTA.