The continuing debates in Fulton and DeKalb counties and in the Georgia General Assembly over funding for proposed future expansion of MARTA transit service are part and parcel of the democratic process.
In the end, after the last speaker leaves a podium somewhere, the best routes forward would be for voters in these two core counties to decide the matter for themselves. The Legislature should do its part as well by enabling a path forward that is adequate to let MARTA gain maximum effective leverage from any new revenue.
Until those decisions are made, the discussions — and arguments — over the merit, or drawbacks, of transit will continue, as they should. Bring the facts — and opinions — into the public square. In the verbal scrum, we’re hopeful ideas of merit will surface and distortions and misstatements — or worse — will fall away from the debate.
The back and forth will be passionate, even heated at times, because we believe the underlying tug-of-war is really about the future of the Atlanta metro — a region that doesn’t like to think of itself as being just that. Yet each part of this great powerhouse metropolitan area depends to some extent upon the whole. How well we connect and cooperate will determine how efficiently we can move around, between — and across — towns. It will also impact how the world sees us; no small point when Georgia and Atlanta are incessantly seeking to lure capital and its jobs.
There’s great interest among the grassroots and think tanks alike over the transit discussion here. On this page, you’ll find an expanded selection of guest columns offering various viewpoints on this issue.
We are hopeful that all of the debate and research will leave metro Atlanta an even stronger competitor for the future.
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