If transportation vote fails, is there a plan B? (Atlanta: real estate, neighborhoods)

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Well, seems to me the solution is simple. Let the GA authorize a vote on a local tax, ie MARTA 2.0 ( but obviously dont call it MARTA). Let individual counties in the metro vote on whether or not they want to be part of the tax, which would likely involve commuter rail, the beltline , Clifton corridor, some sorta line to Cumberland, etc.

Since this is a optional coalition, not foolishly dictated at a state level, this would be politically palatable. The state politicians would not dictate the terms, I see no reason why politicians would avoid this. The biggest objection to the current tax is that counties were pulled into this unwillingly, as far as the electorate is concerned.

So with the new tax, its not some jumbled wish list of random projects. It would be targeted and effective solutions to congestion.

How could this NOT be Plan B?

Yes, if the legislature revisits this, the Atlanta region needs to be smaller with fewer outlying counties included or it needs to be up to individual counties.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

How many people a day would a new I-285/400 interchange impact? Hundreds of thousands. Huge impact.

How many people would a light rail line impact? 10,000 new riders (by 2030) would ride the entire route. Impact, minimal.


A vote against this is not a vote in support of the status quo policies. It is a vote against this particular proposal. I do think the state and region's funding of transportation and infrastructure do require a massive re-work. However, this proposal does not fix the real problems.

I'd ride the light rail before I'd ever use 285/400. Transit riders in Georgia need to have a serious discussion with their legislators about being taxed for roads since road users don't like being taxed for transit.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by Box

I can kinda understand why Georgiana would vote against this. I mean Georgiana's aren't the thinest people, and taking public transportation would require walking and nobody wants to walk to wafflehouse. If God didn't want us to have fossils fuel, then he wouldn't have killed the dinosulaurs 3000 years ago.

Hahaha! That is so true! It's the same here too...people think it's an abomination not to have at least one vehicle and try and spend 10 minutes looking for the closest parking spot so they can park their fat ***** right at the door and get their twinkies and chicken fingers.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by mattee01

I'd ride the light rail before I'd ever use 285/400. Transit riders in Georgia need to have a serious discussion with their legislators about being taxed for roads since road users don't like being taxed for transit.

Sure. The less than 5% in the metro area that ride transit should rise up against the majority that subsidize their transit rides to a tune of over $6 a ride.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by mattee01

Hahaha! That is so true! It's the same here too...people think it's an abomination not to have at least one vehicle and try and spend 10 minutes looking for the closest parking spot so they can park their fat ***** right at the door and get their twinkies and chicken fingers.

Yeah we're not exactly talking about the epicenter of fit America here. Quite the contrary.

[NY2ATL2NY]

If this Vote fails (which I feel like it will ) I almost guarantee This kind o oppurtunity will never rise up again and if it does it will be in another 10 or 20 years....Its a shame that so many Folks are opposed to improving the transit situation here...So what can ya do...jus sit in the traffic and be at peace...Georgia Does not and will not ever show any real leadership on this Issue...they will take the simple minded attitude of "well we tried and the people said no..Oh well"...And jus leave it at that...Lets Instead focus on how to Add More Lanes and See if we can make the Guiness World Record For City with most Lanes on a Highway!!

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

Sure. The less than 5% in the metro area that ride transit should rise up against the majority that subsidize their transit rides to a tune of over $6 a ride.

I have to agree with you on the fare subsidy issue. Why do transit riders get that much of a subsidy? How does that compare to people who have to drive? And how many of them are getting reduced fares?

$6 a ride just sounds like way too much to be doling out. Are other cities with transit handing out that kind of money. That can't be sustainable.

[cqholt]

How could this NOT be Plan B?

It is not 100% guaranteed that we get another chance.

Sure. The less than 5% in the metro area that ride transit should rise up against the majority that subsidize their transit rides to a tune of over $6 a ride.

You still dance around my first question of why you only chose to attack MARTA, when CCT, GCT, and GRTA get subsidized even more than MARTA. Do you just hate anything that has to do with Atlanta, are you one of those City of Atlanta haters? Are you scared of the city and that's why you stay locked in your car and house in Cobb County?

$6 a ride just sounds like way too much to be doling out. Are other cities with transit handing out that kind of money. That can't be sustainable.

All transit systems in the US get federal subsides to operate, just like the gas tax doesn't cover all the road maintenance so it gets federal subsidies as well and oil companies.

Lets Instead focus on how to Add More Lanes and See if we can make the Guiness World Record For City with most Lanes on a Highway!!

Well we already have one of the widest sections of freeway on the interstate system at 75, just north of 285.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by NY2ATL2NY

Instead focus on how to Add More Lanes and See if we can make the Guiness World Record For City with most Lanes on a Highway!!

Where are we going to get the money for that?

That's going to cost a lot too, even if the voters don't like this plan or its cost.

Some kind of tax increase will probably still be needed unless the state budget is significantly restructured.

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by neil0311

I did read all of that the first time, but the point is that a Plan B is not out of the question. It may take some holding feet to the fire and political pressure, but the law provides a path to a Plan B. If a majority of the voting public wants a Plan B and communicates that fact to their elected officials, then the framework exists.

Neil, just curious . . . are you one of those voters who plans to hold politicians' "feet to the fire" and apply "political pressure" on the legislature to formulate a plan B? While I don't typically see eye-to-eye with you on economic matters, I've found your posts expressing opposition to the T-SPLOST usually logical and principled. And importantly, it still seems like you care about these issues: it's just that (according to you) this TSPLOST doesn't address the right concerns in a logical fashion.

So do you plan to contact your state rep and demand a better plan? Will you get others to do so as well?

What I've been missing from all the T-SPLOST opposition--from the Tea Party types to the Sierra Club to the NAACP--is the call to action to create a better alternative, to put pressure on the legislature to do a better job. My biggest concern here is that the public will buy into this crap about "the legislature doesn't have the political will to try this again." Hogwash! They will if the public SAYS they need to. These politicians are only able to get away with cowardice and laziness because the public keeps voting them in without asking them to be better at their jobs.

And I think opponents to the TSPLOST need to take a LEADING role--not just a peanut-gallery-style criticial role--in making this legislature follow up with a plan B.

Why not push for the assembly to allow individual counties to vote in their own tax measures? That seems like a sensible next step.