Atlanta Forward / Another View: Time for a long-term transportation solution

By Sam A. Williams

Now that the General Assembly has passed a transportation funding mechanism, it’s time for us to come together as a region to prove we can make the most of this opportunity and take a bite out of our traffic congestion problems. Lane Beattie, former Utah state legislator and head of the Salt Lake Chamber, offered this sobering piece of advice years after he helped win his region’s authorization for a multi-county sales tax dedicated to transportation: Getting the bill passed was the easy part.

It is time to act, and build what is needed to allow metro Atlanta to prosper. Traffic issues do not know the borders between cities or county lines. If we fix a congestion bottleneck in one county, it can benefit people all across the region. Now is not the time to let bureaucracy interfere with progress. This bill asks the local governments of our region — 10 counties and dozens of municipalities — to come together to decide which transportation projects and programs are the best for the region as a whole. This is the only way to ensure that we get good results and value from the sales tax dollars that will fund the projects selected.

Now is also a great time to learn the lessons from regions across the nation that have used this method to fund their transportation improvements. Salt Lake City used a mix of road and transit projects to address their gridlock.

In Denver, the Chamber worked with regional transit organizations to fund new projects with their sales tax money. These examples clearly show that if we can come together as a region, we can accomplish some very smart solutions for the future. Working together, we can build a mix of roads, bottleneck fixes and transit that can provide long-term gridlock relief for everyone in our region.

Opponents of this plan like to say what the bill does not do. Instead, we should keep our focus on what it does. This plan provides an opportunity to build new urban and suburban transit to connect the region. Linking the region with new transportation infrastructure is a great way to ensure that metro Atlantans have the mobility and connectivity that improves the quality of life in our communities. Expanded transit means expanded opportunities for economic development. The money can also fund improvements to our current interstate interchanges, now one of our biggest sources of bottlenecks. Improving these choke points, and funding projects that relieve congestion, should be our No. 1 priority as we move ahead in the project selection process.

The solutions that come as a result of this transportation funding legislation should be a strong start to developing a long-term solution that allows metro Atlanta to remain in the top tier of cities in the nation. It should allow us to grow jobs and encourage economic development.

Now that the transportation funding bill has passed, it’s time for this region to put our money where our mouth is. We no longer have the General Assembly to blame for not moving ahead.

Sam A. Williams is president of The Metro Atlanta Chamber.