Funding key for Cobb light-rail proposal

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A plan to build a $2 billion light-rail line along the U.S. 41 corridor in Cobb County has enough support from metro area officials to warrant further study.

Whether it has enough financial support to actually be built is another matter.

The 14-mile line, consisting of street-level and elevated portions, would run from the Cumberland Galleria area in Smyrna to the Town Center area in Kennesaw. Plans call for the system to be operational by November 2019.

County commissioners green-lighted plans Tuesday for Faye DiMassimo, the county’s transportation director, to roll out a series of public meetings on the proposal. Earlier this month the department hosted a bus tour along the proposed light-rail route for county commissioners, businessmen, and officials from the cities of Kennesaw, Marietta and Smyrna, Kennesaw State University, MARTA and other transportation agencies.

The proposed rail line would include seven stations from Town Center/Kennesaw State University through Dobbins Air Reserve Base and on to the bus transfer station at Cumberland Mall. A circulator -- a bus service that would take light-rail passengers to locations beyond the stations -- would operate at each end of the rail line. Daily boardings for the rail line and two circulators is estimated at 92,600.

“[Light rail] is expensive, and I don’t know that it’s really financially feasible in the immediate future," said Rep. Judy Manning (R-Marietta), whose district includes Kennesaw State. “We’ve got other vital issues on the table, and transportation is certainly one of them, but probably in a horse race with the rest.”

Typically, projects like these are funded through a 50-50 match from local and state governments and the Federal Transit Administration, said Jane Hayse, the transportation planning chief for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The federal funds would flow through ARC, which is currently updating its long-term regional transportation plan. The current plan, which currently recommends light rail along the U.S. 41 corridor as a long-term project.

A key to getting federal funding for such a project is that it appear on the list of short-term projects recommended in ARC's regional transportation plan. The current plan, which is being updated, recommends the light-rail line as a long-term project.

To get on the short-term list, Hayse said the project's supporters would have to identify a stable funding source for construction and operations.

The chances of obtaining federal funding also would improve, Hayse said, if there were a connection between the light-rail line and MARTA.

“The thing to remember is that the No. 1 priority of transit in this region is having MARTA operating at full capacity," Hayse said. "Until MARTA is able to be restored to its full capacity, that will affect all other projects.”

The next step for project leaders is to examine the requirements of a rigorous federal funding process, said Jeffrey Boothe, a transportation expert and partner with the Washington-based law firm Holland & Knight.

“No project that hopes to seek federal funding can hope to advance until [ARC’s regional plan] advances to the FTA to ultimately evaluate cost effectiveness, ridership and how competitive your project is,” said Boothe, who briefed participants on the May 4 bus tour.

DiMassimo projects operational costs -- estimated at $18.5 million to $37 million per year -- to be paid for through a mix of federal funds, money from the three cities and Cobb County, fares, parking fees, and contributions from the Cumberland Community Improvement District. The project could also qualify for funding under newly passed state legislation that would allow for referendums to create a special sales tax for regional transportation projects.

Plans for easing congestion in the Northwest Corridor along U.S. 41/I-75 date to 1994, when the first of many local, regional and state studies was released. Since then, light rail has emerged as a viable option for the area.

“It’s important to point out that this project has to be part of an overall system that works for the region,” Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott said. “If the system is going to work, someone has to be able to almost go from the county to the airport without having to drive almost the same amount of time and get out of their car to transfer to another system like MARTA to complete the trip.”

Public hearings on what people would like to see and concerns they may have about the light-rail project will be held in the fall. Dates and locations will be announced later.

A regional transit committee will hold a retreat next week to work on a long-term comprehensive plan.