TSPLOST Isn't About Congestion Relief

Monday evening, May 21, . The meeting was moderated by Roswell Councilwoman Dr. Betty Price. There was panel of six speakers – some pro, some con. Among the speakers were myself, and

• Bob Ross, a retired Army colonel,
• Steve Brown, a Fayette County Commissioner,
• Brandon Beach, president of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and a member of the GDOT board,
• Tom Leslie, Director of External Affairs, Georgia Engineering Alliance, a TIA advocacy group, and
• Steve Acenbrak, the city of Roswell’s Director of Transportation.

Each of us spoke for five minutes, then the floor was opened for 60 minutes of Q & A. After much spirited discussion, the formal meeting ended and a number of informal discussions ensued.

During one of the informal discussions Tom Leslie told one of the attendees, “population follows transportation infrastructure.” To summarize, what came out is the underlying purpose of this so-called transportation initiative is not relief of traffic congestion, it is to fundamentally change the density and distribution of metro-Atlanta’s population. By their statements and advocacy, the proponents are admitting that this is a grandiose plan to line the pockets of in-town developers, commercial realtors and construction trade cronies at taxpayer expense.   

Georgia, we can do better than this. Vote this monstrosity down and let’s have a
do-over.