How far can $8 billion go? The Atlanta Regional Commission compiled a wish list of 436 transportation projects after tallying what cities and counties said they would like the region to fund with a proposed 1-cent sales tax over 10 years, and will hand it over to the state Friday.
Hint: The list now totals well over $29 billion, and that total will change.
The state over the next six weeks will delete ineligible projects, but it will also add other projects for the region to consider.
Later this summer, regional officials will pick the projects to present to voters in 2012.
Some highlights from the initial requests:
Most expensive
Drivers now stuck in I-20 congestion heading eastbound out of Atlanta every evening could instead sit on a swiftly moving train. By far the most expensive project on the list was an “East Corridor High Capacity Rail Service” -- likely along I-20 out to Sigman Road in Rockdale County. Price tag for the whole line: $2.015 billion.
Most requested
A transit passenger in a wheelchair making an appointment for public transit service between different counties would have one number to call. The cities of Fayetteville and Decatur, and Cherokee, Clayton and Cobb counties all suggested the regional call center to coordinate trips for special-needs transit passengers. Price tag: $7 million.
Biggest surprise
Play ball! MARTA suggested a heavy rail line from Garnett Station direct to Turner Field. ARC planners say it could start a larger plan to extend rail across I-20. Price tag: $369 million.
Biggest missing link
Walkers or bicyclists starting from downtown Atlanta “could literally go to Alabama” if this trail got approved, says ARC planner David Haynes. The city of Atlanta proposes a bicycle/pedestrian trail stretching from Centennial Olympic Park to the Silver Comet Trail’s end in Cobb County. Price tag: $25 million.
Notable no-show
All those north metro drivers who motor down to MARTA’s North Springs Station have spurred talk of extending the train line further up Ga. 400. But no one requested such a project for the referendum, according to the ARC. (At least not yet, as the state DOT has yet to weigh in.)
Most affordable
Pedestrians trying to get from homes on one side of U.S. 278 to the MARTA station or jobs on the other side may have an easier time with new pedestrian crossings that Avondale Estates has requested. Price tag: $60,000.
Sources: ARC, Cobb County, DOT
Next steps
Friday: The ARC hands over the compilation of the region's wish lists to the state's transportation planning director, Todd Long.
About June 1: Long hands his list back to the region, where 21 elected officials debate which projects to present to voters.
About Oct. 15: The region approves the whittled-down list for the 2012 referendum.
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As voters approach a referendum on regional transportation projects and the tax to pay for them, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will follow the story with in-depth coverage you won't find anywhere else. Starting Friday, you can search the entire regional wish list on ajc.com. For context and a listing of about 100 sample projects, pick up Sunday's AJC.
For more information about the referendum, go to www.atlantaregionalroundtable.com.
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