Members of the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable used the word “historic” when discussing the group’s unanimous passage of a set of transportation projects to be funded with a 1 percent sales tax. The referendum list will now go before voters for approval in the 2012 general primary, scheduled for July 31.
It’s true that nothing like this has ever been attempted at the regional level in Georgia. And, with 21 elected officials from 10 very different counties, some people said that it couldn’t be done.
But, those officials put aside their geographic and philosophical differences and thought about what’s best for the region, creating a list of transportation investments that will battle congestion, create jobs and enhance the quality of life for all of us. They did so by listening to each other and to residents during unprecedented public outreach efforts. In the end, everyone compromised a little to get what would be best for the whole.
This level of cooperation across real and perceived boundaries bodes well for the future of the region. Our leaders have forged stronger relationships and a deeper trust in one another. More importantly, the roundtable worked to earn the trust of their constituents and reflect their needs and desires in the final list of investments.
Our transportation needs are many and varied. No matter where you live, all of us have been late for work, doctor’s appointments, soccer games and family dinners because of traffic. We all understand the need for an improved transportation network, with more options and greater efficiencies. This referendum gives us the opportunity to have that.
The roundtable began with an initial list of $23 billion worth of stated transportation needs and worked for months to whittle them down to $6.1 billion, the amount projected by the state economist to be generated by a penny sales tax during the 10-year period.
The roundtable’s work of finalizing a transportation investment list is done, but its members are forever changed by the process and the opportunity to create positive change for metro Atlanta. I want to thank them all for their hard work.
Now it’s up to the residents of this region to make a choice. Just as our metro area made choices in the past, to invest in building the busiest airport in the world or expanding our extensive interstate systems, we must again decide what kind of future we want for metro Atlanta.
We have a new choice for how to keep our region competitive, maintain and attract jobs and improve quality of life for us and for generations of metro Atlantans to come. Let’s make it a good one.
Bucky Johnson is Norcross mayor and chairman of the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable.
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