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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2009 > February > 18 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMARTA chief: No new expansion through stimulus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beverly Scott, general manager and CEO of MARTA, said Wednesday that the Atlanta-based transit system could see $60 million to $70 million in new money from the federal economic stimulus package.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call for Transportation for America, Scott said her system would not use the money for expansion projects.
Instead, she said, her “absolute focus” would be on repairs and “system preservation projects.”
“Quite candidly, what it will give us is an opportunity to do some, an I emphasize only limited, back-fill for the loss of what we’re seeing in terms of the dramatic downturn in sales tax revenue,” Scott said.
The money also cannot be used for general operating expenses.
The federal stimulus bill, signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama, included more than $8 billion for transit systems and projects.
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Comments
By Ovrcomimpossible
February 24, 2009 10:06 AM | Link to this
Oh wow, what a surprise…I didn’t expect Marta to be expanding anyway. Instead, Georgia will do what it has always done. Waste money on more roads and highways so that traffic can be even more hectic and congested than it already is. It would seem to make sence to put money into a transit system that allows for the state to have cleaner air, dramatically less congested roads, and would build people’s trust in a transit system. Instead, no, let’s keep those black people in the city where they belong and let’s keep coming up with small, and limited serviced transit system to and from the more rural areas. I mean after all we wouldn’t want an influx of people into places like Cobb, and Clayton, Dunwoody, Woodstock, Norcross, Alpharetta, Covington, or even Augusta. They might steal our jobs, and may become a threat to our way of living. It’s funny but this is exactly how white lawmakers in Georgia think, and if you don’t believe me, review all the actions that have been acted upon within the past years. Like I said, that old south’s way of thinking is still thick in the air. But they’ll lose when it’s all said and done. yYes, you will still lose, even with all your efforts.