Clayton County is the home of the world’s busiest airport, yet many Clayton residents can’t even get there. Some of our service workers employed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport also sleep there, on cold concrete floors, because they can’t afford to go back and forth home.
The buses stopped running in Clayton County three years ago and our transportation struggle continues.
Recently, my granddaughter had a car accident and totaled my car that she and I shared. She used the car to go to her classes at Clayton State University. Like so many other families, we had no other transportation. It is very difficult to get a ride when most of your friends and neighbors are at work or don’t have cars. Cabs are few and expensive. Eventually, my granddaughter had to drop out of college. That was a heartbreaking decision, prompted by the stress of trying to get a ride to class or missing school.
Since the Clayton County Commission discontinued the C-Tran public transit service in 2010, life has been extremely difficult for thousands of citizens who depended on public transportation to go to work, to school or to get medical treatment. Local businesses continue to suffer as well. Apartment complexes reported reduced occupancy rates because many families moved to other areas near public transportation to keep their jobs.
For those who think transportation is a personal problem, consider the businesses that have abandoned the county and taken hundreds of jobs with them; consider the vacant buildings, empty shopping plazas and hundreds of teens who don’t have summer jobs. Foreclosures continue to rise, property values continue to fall, economic development declines, new businesses don’t come and county revenue is reduced.
Quality of life is the measure of a good community. In 2010 the citizens spoke loud and clear with 67 percent voting yes on a nonbinding referendum to pay a 1 percent sales tax to bring MARTA to Clayton County. I believe this is the best viable option to restore quality affordable public transportation to Clayton County. Having buses running through our county again will give us an emotional and financial uplift.
According to the Association of County Commissioners in 2010, the one-cent sales tax option to join MARTA would generate $49 million dollars per year, just for Clayton County, and could provide bus and rail service throughout the county. We propose that our elected officials step up to the plate and do the right thing by Clayton County.
The county commission has the ability and authority to restore this vital service, sooner rather than later. Talk of more studies falls on deaf ears. Failing to act at this crucial time will be sending an insidious message to our residents: Clayton County is closed for business. We don’t care about your needs.
In the meantime, if you are blessed to own a car, please think about that senior citizen who needs to go to the doctor, those you see walking carrying groceries, or those who’re trapped at home who want to go to school or work. All they need is an opportunity — and a ride.
