As representatives of the health community in metro Atlanta, we are urging members of the Atlanta Transportation Roundtable to prioritize transportation investments that will contribute to better public health when selecting projects for the Transportation Investment Act list to be put before voters in 2012.
We support investment in transportation projects and safe bicycle and pedestrian routes to expand opportunities for exercise, provide alternatives to car trips, and reduce unhealthy concentrations of ozone and fine particulate matter in our region.
Metro Atlanta has failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ground-level ozone since 1978 and for fine particulate matter since 2004. According to Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, emissions from Atlanta’s roadways account for more than half of the nitrogen oxides that combine with other compounds in summer sunlight to form ozone, and about one-third of the region’s fine particulate matter concentrations.
Traffic-based air pollution is linked to many serious health problems, including respiratory and heart diseases, cancer, premature death, and reduced lung function and development in children. Despite widespread vehicle emissions inspections, mandated use of cleaner gasoline during smog season and cleaner-burning vehicles, Atlanta continues to experience many “bad air” days every year as a result, at least in part, of transportation investments focused on car commuting and limited state investment in public transit options. This summer, Atlanta already had experienced 18 “code orange” ozone days and two violations of the fine particle standard by the end of June, with several months of smog season still remaining.
A car-dependent lifestyle also is associated with obesity, a growing problem in Georgia. Studies show that although increased daily time spent in a car is associated with a higher body mass index, the use of public transportation can result in daily physical activity with significant health benefits.
Investing in a comprehensive public transportation system for metro Atlanta and safe pedestrian and bicycle routes will be costly. But continued failure to invest in car alternatives could prove even more expensive.
The economic costs of living and commuting in a region that fails to meet federal air quality standards have been estimated in the billions. An analysis that considers all the costs associated with air pollution and car-dependent lifestyles — hospitalizations, medical treatments and lost school and workdays associated with preventable disease resulting from air pollution exposure — makes transportation investment a bargain.
Rebecca Watts Hull is director for Mothers & Others for Clean Air. Also contributing: Dr. Kathryn K. Cheek, president of the Georgia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Dr. Frances J. Dunston, the A J McClung chair of Pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine; Dr. Barbara J. Stoll, chair of pediatrics and president of the Emory-Children’s Center; David R. Tatum, chief public policy officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Paige E. Tolbert, professor and chair of the department of environmental health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University; and Ateya Wilson, regional manager, American Lung Association, Georgia.
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