Gwinnett CID study shows interest in sales tax for light rail

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett County residents are opening up to light rail, and most would support sales tax dollars going to its development, a survey released Thursday showed.

The study, commissioned by the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District, showed traffic ranked second behind crime as the most important issue facing residents. Of the 761 registered voters polled, 36 percent ranked crime as the primary issue, 28 percent traffic, 27 percent the economy and 4 percent water.

The phone survey was conducted Nov. 22 by Insider Advantage, a Georgia-based opinion research firm. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.

“By now, we all know that easing traffic congestion is a critical component of improving the quality of life for Gwinnett residents,” said Chuck Warbington, executive director of Gwinnett Village CID. “We commissioned this poll to get a sense of what solutions those residents would like to see and what kind of funding mechanism they would support.”

The poll shows 40 percent considered development of a local rail service the best option (2:1 over any other option) for easing traffic congestion, ahead of expanding commuter bus service (18 percent), widening and improving existing roads (18 percent), building new roads (12 percent) and carpooling (7 percent). Also, 61 percent said they would be either likely (38 percent) or somewhat likely to use such a rail service if it were available. A 2007 poll showed 56 percent supported the development of a rail system in Gwinnett County.

Finally, the survey showed that if Gwinnett County could establish a rail service, 55 percent would favor or somewhat favor an additional one-cent sales tax to fund it.

Gwinnett Village CID is pursuing a detailed ridership and marketability study of light rail service along the I-85 corridor, from Norcross to Gwinnett Arena in Duluth.  Initial plans call for a 14-mile route with nine stops, including Gwinnett Place Mall, the hub for the county's bus transit system. Plans also call for construction of a multimodal transfer station, probably in north DeKalb County, that would allow MARTA rail passengers to link up with the Gwinnett system.

Overall construction cost, including right-of-way, would run just under $1 billion, and annual operating costs are estimated at about $25.5 million.