People love Gwinnett County – and it’s no surprise why. With a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities, a culture of business and diverse family friendly environments,a top-quality school system, and a wide variety of entertainment and leisure activities, it’s easy to see why so many of us (just under 900,000 strong) choose to call Gwinnett home.
It was Gwinnett’s can-do attitude over the years that made our county all that it is today – and now, it is up to us to continue that legacy as we build a 21st century community.
One of the biggest challenges facing Gwinnett County as we look toward the future is mobility. Every day, this issue has a direct impact on our quality of life as we spend countless hours locked in traffic congestion.
In prior decades, Gwinnett successfully tackled congestion by expanding roads and constructing new corridors throughout the county, but we are now stretching the limits of that 20th century strategy. In order to plan for our community of tomorrow, we can no longer look to the limited model of road construction alone as the only way to solve our transportation issues.
Gwinnett is now the second most-populous county in all of Georgia, having more people than six entire states. Even conservative estimates predict more than 150,000 people will move into Gwinnett within 15 years, pushing Gwinnett over the one million mark. This would make us the most-populous county in the state. These staggering numbers alone call us to engage in a countywide conversation about how we tackle mobility going forward.
Today, we are seeing some of the side effects of a large metropolitan community with a focus of one mode of transportation. Some of Gwinnett’s top technology companies are moving back into Atlanta in order to attract the needed talented workers who desire walkability and choice. We have witnessed this firsthand with the recent announcement of State Farm’s and Mercedes Benz’s intention to move specifically to transit station locations.
The fact of the matter is that a robust transit system fulfills two roles in the 21st century community. More than a mode of transportation, it is also a critical component for economic development. According to the Center for Transportation Excellence, 77 percent of new economy companies rated access to mass transit as an extremely important factor in selecting corporate locations. Almost half of all Fortune 500 companies, representing over $2 trillion in annual revenue, are headquartered in America’s transit-intensive metropolitan areas. What are we doing to position ourselves to capitalize on the expected growth, changing market demands and anticipated economic development opportunities?
We need to start a conversation and build consensus around all modes of transportation, including transit. It is possible to maintain the unique character and integrity of our community while upholding Gwinnett’s reputation as a southeastern competitor for jobs and a statewide leader in quality of life. However, this will not happen without a forward-thinking approach to transportation and visionary leaders who are willing to have cautious but intentional conversations about what is needed to ensure Gwinnett’s continued success.
We will not arrive at our decisions overnight, nor should we base them on a few polls. Yet, the needed county-wide conversations about multiple modes of transportation should begin. The future success of our community depends on it.
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