Cobb County has again found controversy in mundane activities. Georgia law requires the counties to periodically update future plans, in this case the Comprehensive Transportation Plan that is revised to reflect a vision to the year 2040.
The controversy erupts over the inclusion of the “aspirational” plan for a county-owned-and-operated transit line that would connect Kennesaw State University to the Cumberland area, roughly following Cobb Parkway, then on into Atlanta to the Arts Center Station in Midtown, using the existing HOV lanes. The proposed system, known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), would operate on a dedicated bus-only roadway from KSU to Cumberland.
In its most basic form, the problem is money. Such a system will cost no less than a half billion dollars, and likely more. Operating it will require millions each year in operating subsidies. Once established, the same pressure that built it will push to expand it, requiring more billions to build and more millions to operate. Even if unreliable federal funding helps launch a BRT line, the long-term financial burden falls on the citizens of Cobb County.
Here the reader might ask, “but what about the benefits of building a transit system?” referring to promised improvements in air quality, reduced travel times and reduced traffic congestion.
Those benefits might be called “aspirational” as well. After years of discussion, probing, studying, and debating, we have nothing that actually identifies any benefits that might accrue from building and operating such a system.
The idea for mass transit in the Cobb Parkway corridor originated with commercial real estate investors who felt that transit would focus new development into the area bookended by the Cumberland CID and the Town Center CID in Kennesaw. A feasibility study concluded that it was feasible but difficult, owing to the hilly terrain, especially near Cumberland. The question examined in the feasibility study was, could it be built, not whether it should it be built.
Nevertheless, this concept became the platform for every mention of transit in Cobb County. Since federal financial support would be essential, the required alternatives analysis was initiated in 2010. This was a study that explored a variety of alternatives for transit development. The study determined that light rail would cost more than $3 billion. Ultimately, the locally preferred alternative (LPA) became BRT, which was estimated at more than $1 billion.
At this point, many millions of dollars have been spent on studies and plans. Countless meetings consuming countless hours have been invested by county staff, consultants and citizens to create an impression that all are on board with whatever the latest idea might be. If the project were green-lighted today, hardly anyone could claim to know what would be coming.
And what about the benefits? The real estate investors who started this discussion years ago may still believe that transit will create opportunity for them. There is little or nothing to point to that confirms any other benefits.
For all the studies and reports, there is no reliable assessment that construction of the BRT or any other transit system will have positive effects on traffic congestion, air quality, transportation service, or anything else. Various parties have surveyed public opinion about transit, but never has there been an assessment of the market for transit riders.
Most telling, there has never been an assessment that compares the benefits that might be derived from a billion dollars spent on transit versus a billion dollars invested in roads and bridges for cars and trucks.
Cobb leaders already are trying to saddle taxpayers with unprecedented debt for the new Braves stadium and unknown obligations for additional related infrastructure. Buying into BRT or other “no ending” investment seems a bit too much for many.
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