Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called for mayors to have a greater say in how federal funds are directed to local transit projects Tuesday in an appearance before a U.S. House transportation committee.
Testifying on behalf of the U.S. Council of Mayors, Reed said city leaders should be consulted along with governors as federal officials divvy up transportation dollars. He cited his own partnership with Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, an alliance that Reed, a Democrat, said has earned both men flak from their bases but works well.
“I understand that he’s Batman and I’m Robin, but I do believe mayors have to have a voice,” Reed said.
Reed appeared at the committee hearing to give input on a new surface transportation bill, which congressional leaders hope to have in place by the time the current one expires this September. Surface transportation funds can be spent on highways, bridges, transit capital projects and more.
Reed’s appearance comes amid Atlanta’s quest to be its own transportation agency. The city was named a Federal Transit Administration grant designee last fall, allowing Atlanta to compete against agencies like MARTA and the Georgia Department of Transportation for federal funding for projects such as the streetcar.
The mayor described a variety of ways local transportation endeavors such as the Atlanta Beltline could be funded and reiterated his intention to explore a public-private partnership for the Beltline’s $2.3 billion planned streetcar system as early as this decade.
And in keeping with his inaugural address, in which he called for a “two or three” county version of the failed 2012 T-SPLOST referendum, Reed floated the idea of asking taxpayers to fund a “fraction of a penny” to pay for regional transportation projects.
Reed vowed to lobby hard for a new surface transportation bill, a funding source Beltline officials have identified as one way to help build out its transit plans.
“I think the solution is multi-pronged,” Reed said in an interview with Channel 2 Action News. “What isn’t happening at the federal level is mayors are not being allowed to participate directly with the federal government in enough measures and we have a verifiable track record that we can move projects along faster.”
At the hearing, Reed also discussed the Port of Savannah deepening, a project that can get underway once Congress puts the finishing touches on a large water resources bill passed by both chambers last year.
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