ARC Plan Fantasy

The ARC, Atlanta Regional Commission is a State tax funded new urban planning advocacy group for public transit, public trails and “greenways”. 

The Atlanta Regional Commission used to be a Planning commission for GDOT projects.  City Councils and County Commissions, elected to make transportation infrastructure decisions within their cities and counties used to make these decisions.  Now they also have to keep ARC happy.  ARC became a “Regional Commission” to comply with UN Agenda 21 federal implementation authorized in 1993 by Bill Clinton.

Cities and counties still collect taxes and allocate some of these taxes to road and bridge maintenance, road widening and intersection upgrades. They also allocate some funds to “greenways” and public trails.  

ARC doesn’t collect any taxes except for the 3 central Georgia Regions who approved the 2012 T-SPLOST.  Voters in the other 9 Regions, including ARC, rejected the 2012 T-SPLOST and therefore rejected Regional Commission taxing authority.

See Summary of AJC Article below:

‘Billions set for roads, transit, AJC, 3/2/16, B4 announces that ARC has voted to approve a plan to spend $85.1 billion on between now and 2040 on transportation needs.  $56.8 billion would be spend for road and bridge maintenance.   $3.1 billion is for highway interchanges. $5.8 billion is for widening major roads. $7 billion is for highway toll lanes. That totals $72.7 billion.  $11.9 billion is for transit and $.5 billion for trails that will also receive funding from cities and counties.’ Data source: AJC 

Comments

The ARC Plan is a “suggestion”.  It requires approval by the Gold Dome, cities and counties.  Cities and counties in 9 Regions can ignore their Regional Commissions and often do. Cities and counties can also opt to apply for federal transportation grants with “strings” attached.  They do this to placate local activists who want “greenways” and public trails to ride their bikes.

Commercial real estate developers and builders are interested in “economic development” projects that should be 100% private sector investments, but because of UN Agenda 21, can get public subsidies. Trails and “greenways” should be funded by city and county Parks Budgets, not transportation funds.

Government central planning doesn’t work. There is no way ARC can approve a transportation plan that goes out to 2040.  They would like to usurp our elected city councils and county commissions, but we dare not let this happen. We would have adopted the same unelected, appointed governance described in the USSR Constitution for the now defunct Soviet Union.

Protecting and restoring the US Constitution requires the repeal of GA HR 277 that created the T-SPLOST and other laws that created the Regional Commissions. Georgia’s Board of Regents structure is also appointed, unelected governance; it also operates with no oversight.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader