Don’t Ask, Demand Transit Funding From GA General Assembly

 

Billions in transit funding needed to build and connect MARTA as additional counties “get with the program”. Billions found for toll lanes.  And, former Gov. Deal even kicked on $400 million for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).  @AJC article explains it well. Read & demand more funds for all More MARTA projects to connect to future regional projects as the other 19 counties complete their transportation plans later this year.

If the state can find hundreds of millions for the GA 400 BRT Transit project, then they can also find hundreds of billions the rest of the region for much needed Light Rail (LRT) & Heavy Rail transit projects. OUR legislators always find funding for their pet projects!

Our voices and our votes matter!  We can no longer simply allow state elected officials to vote as they please. ‘Democracy is not a spectator sport’.  Democracy is a representative system of government.  Those elected are paid with our tax dollars. So, they work for us!  Do not get it twisted!!  What happens in the halls and chambers of the Georgia State Capitol determines our quality of life both now and in the future. Traffic gridlock is at an all time high and getting worst as  tens of thousands of new residents annually moving to Georgia…especially the metro Atlanta region.

And, we all know, as proven by research done by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and numerous other organizations, the solution to Atlanta’s growing traffic nightmares is to heavily invest in a regional transportation plan. So far, we see that toll lanes around I-285, except the southern (Airport) section has been funded.  Anything wrong with that plan?? 

And, MARTA is struggling to find local and federal matching funds for its long list of worthy transit expansion projects. The state can no longer dance around their fiscal responsibility to correct the fact that they controlled, yet did not fund MARTA during its’ first 45 years.  Yet, these same state officials love to brag, Georgia is the #1 state to do business!  Really??  How many more companies are being told the dirty secret about why Georgia chose to “starve” its only commuter transit system…to reveal the real reason why Georgia was the only state to not fund its’ transit system until January of 2018. The AJC, the Saporta Report (in the Atlanta Business Chronicle)!and many others have revealed these dirty little racist decisions.

It has been 47 years of injustice and outright sabotage to the regional and state transportation plans. Are we as taxpayers going to sit back and let this current 30-40 year transportation plan suffer the same fate?  Or, are we going to stand up, speak out, and demand state lawmakers right this wrong with by finding hundreds of billions to expand and build a “real” transportation system as our northern, Midwestern, and western states; and countries overseas that includes:  Germany, European countries, Rio de Janero, Japan, China, etc. that allow residents and tourists to avoid the traffic and take public transit. It is smart, efficient, and expensive. Yet so worth it if Atlanta really wants to be a world class city.

Georgia State Legislators are elected every two years.  There are 180+ state reps and 56 state senators.  That means they are all up for re-election in 2020.  So, do we tell them they must change their views and votes to fully support transportation funding?  Do we find and fund opposition for those who refuse our demand?  This is a chance we can make next year, if we start right now!  We can no longer ask or beg. We have the power of our vote to make sure our 2020 votes send a message all the way down our presidential year ballots!!

Are you in?  Will you commit now to make sure everyone who voted against HB 930 and those against fully funding and securing additional P3 (public private partnerships) transit expansion funds?

This is a huge opportunity for us to draw a line in the sand and make sure our state lawmakers know to support our transit expansion NOW, or to spruce up their resumes for their next job.

What are your thoughts??

https://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/are-toll-lanes-really-the-answer-atlanta-traffic-mess/IH4lSj3oA6u6OIhXH4MLCI/?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8628667&ecmp=newspaper_email&

BeltLine Group, “The Haves” Are Claiming Victory

If the BeltLine Group, “the haves”, that is well-organized wins; that means south and southwest Atlanta loses. That includes transit dependent riders, who do not own or have access to a car, lose.  We are Atlanta!  We are the home of Civil Rights!  How can this be allowed to happen??

Please read the info below and contact MARTA Board members AND all Atlanta City Council members via email, phone, social media AND snail mail. Contact them ASAP, and definitely before September 28 since the MARTA Board is scheduled to vote on October 4.  “The have nots” need a modified plan of the first proposed project list that connects 126 neighborhoods and adds the Fulton Industrial MARTA Station.

Remember:  “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings!!  So we still have time to get what we want, need, and have paid for; yet we still being denied equity…equal distribution of the $2.5 Billion available through the Atlanta half penny sales tax.

 

BeltLine Rail lands front page in the AJC We’re heartened to see that the public’s views are being heard. The AJC articletoday states the More MARTA project list is being revised in talks between Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the MARTA board. Some remaining funding may go to to the BeltLine as a result of these discussions. BeltLine Rail Now! is optimistic about this development. However, it’s not clear how much funding would remain, or how that funding would be applied. We look forward to learning those details. We encourage you to keep making your voices heard! Sign our petition and contact your City Council representatives, Mayor Bottoms’ office and MARTA before the board votes on October 4th. Let them know you want transit that connects all 45 neighborhoods along the BeltLine to jobs, destinations and opportunity.

More MARTA – Using Atlanta’s 1/2 Penny Sales Tax

This great AJC article by David Wickert is so informative, I have included the full article below.  Enjoy and share. Take the online survey (5-7 minutes) and support the Greenbriar and Campbellton Road Projects at: http://www.itsmarta.com/moremarta

https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/marta-atlanta-expansion-more-demands-for-service-than-money/vA1zkaLkasxKixPBDHAPLN/

MARTA’s Atlanta expansion: More demands for service than money

Aug 03, 2018

By

• David Wickert, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

May 25, 2018

MARTA is close to finalizing an Atlanta transit expansion plan that will influence where people, jobs and prosperity flow in the economic capital of the South for generations.

But with city residents demanding far more rail and bus improvements than the agency has money to pay for, the final plan is bound to leave many people unhappy.

MARTA has $2.5 billion to spend over the next 40 years, thanks to a transit sales tax approved by Atlanta voters in 2016. But it’s working from a list that includes $11.5 billion in potential projects, and many won’t make the final cut when the board approves a final list in September.

Among those lobbying for their favorite projects are supporters of light rail along the Atlanta Beltline, the Clifton Corridor and Campbellton Road. In recent public meetings, Beltline supporters have made the most noise. They fear the sales tax money MARTA is preparing to spend is their best – and maybe last – chance for funding for decades.

“We’re pulling out all the stops,” said Beltline supporter Rick Hudson of the Grant Park Neighborhood Association. “We’ve had 600 people in the room at a City Council meeting and a thousand people at City Hall to let our voices be heard. We’re not newbies to this.”

Atlanta Beltline supporter Rick Hudson asks questions during a recent public forum on MARTA’s proposed Atlanta expansion. Supporters for various projects are jockeying to be included in the final project list. STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE AJC (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

But the new sales tax money may also be the last best chance for other big-ticket projects. If Beltline supporters get the 22 miles of light rail they want, other projects may have to be scaled back or put on hold.

MARTA officials have spent weeks soliciting public input on the proposed list. They’ve assured residents that no final decisions have been made, and that public opinion matters.

But they acknowledge there simply isn’t enough money to pay for every project.

“We are working very hard to get this right,” said MARTA Board Chairman Robbie Ashe. “But we realize that, at the end of the day, somebody’s likely to be disappointed.”

The Atlanta expansion is a milestone for an agency that hasn’t built a new rail line since the completion of the Red Line to North Springs in 2000.

City voters overwhelmingly approved a half-penny sales tax for MARTA two years ago. And in May the agency unveiled its proposed plan to spend the proceeds.

The plan includes 21 miles of light rail; 18 miles of bus rapid transit lines; other new bus routes; two new transit centers, and renovation of existing stations.

Among the major projects proposed:

• The four-mile Clifton Corridor light rail line from MARTA’s Lindbergh station to the Emory University/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention area recently annexed by Atlanta.
• A third of the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline light rail loop through dozens of Atlanta neighborhoods.
• Transit improvements along Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta. MARTA would start with enhanced bus service, then upgrade to bus rapid transit in dedicated lanes before finally building light rail along the line. The plan would create a continuous light rail line stretching from Emory to southwest Atlanta.

Among the projects that didn’t make the proposed list: a heavy rail extension on I-20 west and a bus rapid transit line along I-20 east.

This MARTA presentation shows the major transit improvements proposed for the “More MARTA” program approved by Atlanta voters in 2016. The projects include light rail (yellow), bus rapid transit (blue) and arterial rapid transit (red) lines. Not pictured: Local bus improvements, new bus transfer stations and renovation of numerous existing transit stations. SOURCE: MARTA. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

MARTA officials said they used a variety of criteria to compile the list. Their goals included connecting people to jobs, reducing travel time in various corridors and dispersing transit improvements across the city, so that as many people as possible benefit.

But no matter how they slice the data, they say there isn’t enough money for everyone’s favorite project – even with federal matching funds.

“Two and a half billion dollars is a lot of money,” Ashe said. “But we have more needs than that.”

That’s touched off some intense lobbying, with supporters touting the benefits of their favorite projects and questioning the merits of others.

The Clifton Corridor has been the top punching bag. Critics say the Emory area wasn’t even in Atlanta when city voters approved the transit sales tax. But they say it’s jumped to the front of the line for transit funding – at $503.6 million, it’s the single-largest project on MARTA’s proposed list.

“I hate to see them prioritizing Emory, which – up until after we voted – wasn’t even part of Atlanta,” Hudson said.

The project was on the potential project list approved by the City Council in 2016. And supporters say there’s a reason the Clifton Corridor is a priority: It’s the region’s largest employment center without direct access to MARTA rail or an interstate highway.

Betty Willis, a senior associate vice president at Emory University, said the Clifton Corridor also could be the city’s best shot for federal funding – crucial to any rail project.

“I don’t think you want to go to [Washington] D.C. asking for federal funds for projects that are not realistic,” Willis said. “That will be rejected.”

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Charnette Trimble walks to her office space from MARTA’s Five Points stop. She is a community activist from southwest Atlanta who is advocating for the proposed Campbellton Road light rail line.

‘City with huge aspirations’

Campbellton Road supporters note the existing bus route serving the corridor is one of the busiest in the MARTA system – a sign that a light rail line might be well-used. And they say southwest Atlanta has long waited while other parts of Atlanta got infrastructure improvements.

“We’ve been putting up with everything out here, and it’s time we got ours,” said Charnette Trimble, who lives in the Oakland City neighborhood. “And we’re going to get ours.”

Some Beltline supporters have suggested using money from both the Clifton Corridor and the Campbellton light rail lines to complete the proposed light rail loop around the city.

The Beltline is a proposed loop of trails, parks and other amenities connecting Atlanta neighborhoods. Supporters say transit is essential to fulfilling a vision for urban living that has gained national attention.

“Atlanta has always been a city with huge aspirations. But often they haven’t carried them out fully,” Grant Park’s Hudson said. “I’d like to see them take this through from beginning to end. That’s what the city needs.”

But even some Beltline supporters doubt the full loop will make the final project list.

“That’s just not realistic,” said Brian McGowan, the outgoing CEO of Atlanta Beltline Inc., the organization overseeing its development. “There’s Campbellton Road. There’s Clifton Corridor. There’s $11.5 billion [in projects] on that list for $2.5 billion [in funding].”

McGowan said he supports transit along the entire Beltline route and is still hopeful it can get more funding.

For projects that don’t make the cut, there are other possible sources of revenue, including state funding, local taxing districts and public-private partnerships.

Compared to $2.5 billion from a sales tax that’s already been approved, those revenue sources are uncertain. But MARTA has pledged to keep searching for money.

“However we end up allocating these dollars, we will continue to pursue additional transit funding,” Ashe said, “both for the projects we identify and for those that don’t make the final list.”