Clayton County is a county with tremendous potential. What makes Clayton so promising is our proximity to Atlanta; being home to the world’s busiest international airport; our excellent educators within the school system; and last, but not least, the people who reside here.
What immediate steps may be taken to move us toward greatness? We believe the restoration of a public transportation system would be a definite move in that direction.
In March of 2010, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners terminated the C-Tran transit system which had been operational in the county for nine years. For many of our citizens, especially our elderly, the shutdown of the transit system left them with hardships where their transportation needs were concerned. Many new residents came to Clayton County during that time as a result of the public transit system which provided a means to get back and forth from school, work, doctors’ appointments and recreational outings.
People lives were changed dramatically when public transportation was ended in Clayton County.
Many citizens have come forward to express opinions about either joining MARTA or privatizing a Clayton County transit system. All options available and the best interests of our citizens must be considered.
It is my belief that restoring public transportation in Clayton County is a necessity. Having a transit system allows businesses to see that we are progressive as a county and that there are alternative forms of transportation available to deliver consumers to merchants and employees to their workplace.
Clayton County has been underdeveloped; specifically, when you consider the fact that Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is a multi-billion dollar revenue producer capable of generating thousands of jobs and moving millions of people through the airport annually. Clayton County should be experiencing great economic growth throughout our county, especially around the airport area. We must have a way to connect our citizens to opportunities which can provide them with a better quality of life. Whether the better quality includes jobs, hospitals or simple traffic congestion relief that plagues our county roadways on a regular basis, our constituents deserve the very best we are able to provide.
Reestablishing a transportation system in Clayton County will not be an easy thing to do, nor will it happen overnight. We must be smarter about the creation of our new system. We do not want a transit system so that we may say we have one; we must create a system that truly addresses the needs of our county and the people who will be riding the buses.
We will request citizen input and consult with industry experts to seek their advice about what type of system would be successful for Clayton County. As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Even though our citizens are anxiously awaiting it, we must be patient to ensure that we are doing it right.