Regionalism is seen as a dirty word to many because it means a regional government controlled mainly by Atlanta. Counties such as Fayette are nothing more than financial donors.
More rail? More asphalt? Where, why, how and for whose benefit? The bucket is full, there is no more room.
The Single Hub Atlanta thinking is outdated, outmoded, impossible to pay for and has to change.
Using NCR, with over 1,000 employees in Peachtree City, as an example, they train 120 technicians, etc a week. They neither want or need to commute to Atlanta.
There are other industries here, some expanding, with more under construction. We are an international city with 92 miles of golf cart paths so people can walk, bike or golf cart to work.
This defies the Single Hub urban thinking.
Atlanta has a lot of areas needing redevelopment. Build villages where people can live and shop in a suburban, not urban, environment. Connect them to the high-density office and similar buildings with cart paths. Change the environment in which people work, live and play.
The District 3 (ARC) Meeting, at the Georgia Municipal Association annual convention, illustrates my point. My table, with cities on the South Side, stated what we do, and do not, need or want.
Interior cities came right back and demanded rail and roads at the expense of the whole Region. This includes rail to Griffin, requiring a station in Peachtree City, which we adamantly oppose.
Some even want the state to step in and force their wants to happen on those who dissent.
Clearly shown were inequities of regional demand and benefit, as illustrated in the T-SPLOST referendum.
This is not respect for independence, or looking for true solutions. Many interior cities want us to sacrifice and give nothing in return. Cooperation must be a two-way street.
I recognize the needs of different areas of the ARC. We are not one homogeneous whole, but diverse people with diverse goals, wants and needs. Until that is recognized and respected, there will be no real solutions, just continued tension and distrust.
