BeltLine rail is vital for relieving Atlanta traffic
In the Opinion article “BeltLine doesn’t need a streetcar,” AJC May 29, author Jay Miller says the pro-rail reasons are short.
He seems to miss that Atlanta is expected to add 3 million people by 2040 for a total population of 8.3 million. He seems to miss the fact that the Atlanta Regional Commission projects a daily ridership of 31,000 people for BeltLine rail as a 22-mile transit corridor when it is completed.
All that intense housing density built along the Eastside Trail was zoned that way because it is expected to have light rail. If we don’t put the rail in, but we put the density in, then Atlanta’s roads will become more of a traffic-snarled mess, and summer air quality due to extensive traffic and hot climate will decline further. Is that what we want – summers where children and seniors are told not to be outside? The cost he points to as high pales in comparison to Georgia DOT’s budget of $4 billion annually. It’s easy to say no but hard to have vision.
PATTY DURAND, ATLANTA
PRESIDENT, COOL PLANET SOLUTIONS
Border Act won’t solve nation’s immigration problems
Sen. Jon Ossoff is publicly calling for legislation known as The Border Act to be passed by the Senate and is trying to frighten everyone with a “national security risk.”
The Senator apparently doesn’t see the forest for the trees. Since President Biden took office and reversed many of the previous administration’s efforts, over 1.7 million “getaways” have entered the country, and their whereabouts are unknown. In the past month or so, two Jordanian nationals here illegally attempted to gain access to Marine Corps Base Quantico. Two Chechen nationals (one here illegally) were recently caught trespassing in North Carolina and apparently seeking information about a special operations officer.
In short, the “national security threat” issue has already left the station, Senator. Another poorly crafted bill slammed through Congress, which no one actually reads, won’t solve this.
GARY S. O’NEILL, MARIETTA
