Sandy Springs mayor takes to YouTube to push transportation tax

With Election Day on the horizon, Sandy Springs officials are making one last plea to residents to support a three-fourths of penny sales tax measure that they say could raise hundreds of millions of dollars to ease the city’s increasing transportation needs.

A new YouTube video surfaced this week featuring Mayor Rusty Paul calling Fulton County's TSPLOST "an answer" to the area's frequent traffic congestion.

Paul is seen in the video talking in front of traffic control monitors and showing areas of the city where major bottlenecks occur, like I-285.

When I-285 was first built in 1969, the city's population stood at 39,000 people, the mayor said. The population has increased to 100,000 residents and that number doubles daily due to commuters, he said. To complicate matters, the city is bracing for more traffic come next spring once the Atlanta Braves make SunTrust Stadium its new home at the I-285 and I-75 intersection.

A green light on the TSPLOST could alleviate the gridlock, he said.

The Nov. 8 ballot measure is just for Fulton County residents — except those living in Atlanta city limits, who have their own TSPLOST question on the ballot. If approved, the sales tax increase could generate up to $655 million over five years for transportation needs across all Fulton County cities.

Sandy Springs' possible share of the TSPLOST package ranges from $104 million to $119 million over five years. The city's wish list includes nine "tiered" projects like roundabouts at Johnson Ferry Road and Mt. Vernon Highway, filling sidewalk gaps, improvements along Hammond Drive, and a multi-use path from City Springs to the Sandy Springs MARTA station.