In D.C., Reed pushes streetcar fund request

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is in Washington this week and will return next week with what he says is a sole mission: to try to secure funding for the Peachtree Streetcar system that has become one of his signature initiatives.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Oct. 15 is expected to make a decision on a $56 million funding request from Atlanta to help pay for the system, according to Reed. Until then, it's the one issue he's focusing on, he said.

"I'm Johnny-One-Note," Reed said in an interview while in Washington. "We're talking about one thing and one thing only between now and Oct. 15. This will be the only record we're playing."

Thursday, Reed said he met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss the issue and other national transportation initiatives. Reed is chairman of the transportation committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is meeting this week in Washington.

Next week, Reed plans to return to Washington to meet with Georgia's congressional delegation to urge them to pressure federal officials to approve Atlanta's request for funding.

The Atlanta City Council in July approved a plan to pursue building the streetcar system from Centennial Olympic Park to the King Center to try ease traffic congestion, increase safety and better compete with other cities for convention and tourism business.

According to city plans, the project would cost $72 million, with the city and the Central Atlanta Progress' Downtown Improvement District putting up about $20 million for it. Atlanta is hoping to get the rest through the DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery -- or "TIGER" -- grant program.

The DOT in February rejected an earlier request by the city for funding for the Peachtree Streetcar system. What makes the current request different, Reed said, is that the city is promising to put up more money to share the cost.

Reed said his primary pitch to LaHood and other federal officials is that federal funds do the most good and create the most jobs when they flow directly to city projects instead of state projects. According to Reed, the Peachtree Streetcar project would create 5,200 jobs over 20 years.

"Cities are at the center of economic activity," Reed said. "If you want to see real job creation, you need to create a direct path from the U.S. DOT to the cities."