Voters
are asked to spend $8 billion so that they can lose an additional $200 million
a year. Not a good business plan.
MARTA chief presses case for more support to expand transit, 1/7/16, AJC
Days before Georgia lawmakers
convene under the Gold Dome for the 2016 session, MARTA CEO Keith Parker
stressed to key leaders the need to significantly expand metro Atlanta’s
existing public transit system.
Listening to Parker’s pitch Thursday
were several members of the General Assembly, who will soon decide whether to
allow a referendum on a half-percent sales tax in Fulton and DeKalb counties to
fund an expansion.
If the proposed referendum is
approved, and if voters then give the OK on November ballots, metro Atlanta
commuters could be looking at a radically different transit system in the
future. MARTA officials estimate the money such a tax would generate through
the year 2057 would be about $4 billion — enough when coupled with federal
grants to effectively double the size of the existing transit system.
The proceeds could fund new heavy
rail service north along Ga. 400 to Windward Parkway in Alpharetta and east
along I-20 to the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia, as well as a light rail line
connecting Lindbergh Center Station with Avondale Station through the busy
Emory-CDC corridor.
MARTA officials have also said there
might be enough money left over to help expand the Atlanta Streetcar system or
fund some other type of transit expansion in South Fulton.
“We need some help,” Parker said.
“You can do a million things to make yourself more efficient. But you cannot
squeeze $8 to $10 billion worth of new projects out of just efficiency alone.
We are going to need some new revenues.”
For those reading the political tea
leaves, there have been hopeful signs that MARTA’s proposal has a shot. One of
the most powerful leaders at the Capitol, House Speaker David Ralston, said at
a pre-session press conference Thursday that an expansion of MARTA makes sense,
but that he wants the solution to come from the Fulton and DeKalb delegations.
“I have been clear that I think we
do need to do acknowledge that transit has a future in our state transportation
policy,” said Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. “Now, the specifics … I think we’re going
to have to engage with local leaders and see what their vision may be. I’m
going to lean very heavily on their input.”
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams
characterized support for MARTA’s plan as a “continuation” of the bargain that
Democrats struck with Republicans last year to earn Democratic support for
passage of House Bill 170, the $1 billion-per-year transportation tax that took
effect in July.
Parker has said that since taking
over the ailing transit agency in late 2012, his main priority was to get
MARTA’s financial house in order before seeking more money from state or local
taxpayers. But on Thursday, he said MARTA has posted three back-to-back years
of budget surpluses and has $200 million in reserves.
Ridership increased from 129 million
to 136 million passengers rides between the last fiscal year that ended June 30
and the fiscal year prior. And on-time performance for buses and trains in 2015
was a near perfect 96 percent.
Now is the time to start building on
that success, Parker said, aiming his comments specifically at the Legislature
and Gov. Nathan Deal.
Several state lawmakers from Fulton
and DeKalb were among the crowd. Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta; and
Representatives Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta; Taylor Bennett, D-Brookhaven; and Tom
Taylor, R-Dunwoody, all said they support MARTA’s proposal. “I’m optimistic,”
said Taylor, who chairs the legislative oversight committee on MARTA. “(MARTA)
is the backbone of economic development here. I think there’s a lot of momentum
behind it.”
Others like Beth Beskin, R-Atlanta,
were withholding judgment until hearing more from constituents. “I don’t think
most people really even understand that it’s coming up for a vote,” Beskin
said. “There is going to need to be a lot of education on this.”
Transit supporters may still have an
uphill battle if they want to squeeze more tax money from parts of North
Fulton, South Fulton and South DeKalb that have been paying for MARTA for
decades with little or no service in return, said Rep. Chuck Martin,
R-Alpharetta, who chairs the Fulton County delegation.
Martin said the proposed expansions
would still take a decade or longer to build. And he wants to see more demand
studies that indicate how many people would use the new transit lines before he
would consider supporting a long-term tax increase.
“I’m looking for a transportation
solution for a year or 18 months from now,” Martin said. “And I think that’s
more an express bus system or a high occupancy toll lanes.”
Staff
writers Aaron Gould Sheinin and Greg Bluestein contributed to this report.
Comments
MARTA
wants to expand hard rail by 11.9 miles for $8 billion. Ridership is up from
129 million to 136 million. MARTA has $200 million in reserves, but the
problems with public transit as a business model are many. The Feds are broke and public transit and
government employment may take a hit in 2017. It is the most expensive way to
provide commuter service. Also, private bus service is less expansive and it
works.
Voters
are asked to spend $8 billion so that they can lose an additional $200 million
a year. Not a good business plan. The expansion needs to be staffed and
maintained. If ridership increases proportionally ticket revenue will be about
half of Operating expenses. The expansion may benefit Lithonia, Emory and
Windward.
Expansion
within DeKalb to Lithonia and Emory may make sense, but further expansion to
Windward may not have the ridership. If you look at where people live and where
they work and MARTA doesn’t go where people work.
Voters
will not be eager to add to their sales tax bills for a MARTA expansion in the
name of “economic development”.
The $8
billion would be better spent to widen and finally fix the top end of I-285.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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