Thursday, December 8, 2011
Guv'ment / Transit What should metro Atlanta's regional transit agency look like?
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 9:27 AM
The debate over whether MARTA should be overseen by the state, continue on its own, or become a part of an entirely new agency that would oversee metro Atlanta's bus and rail systems, has begun. Maria Saporta reports:
The Atlanta Regional Commission has taken the position that a majority of those appointed to a new umbrella transit agency should be local elected officials that represent areas that contribute to transit operations.If the Task Force does propose repurposing GRTA and keep it under state control, “that would put us in a position of having to oppose a regional transit governance bill,” Leithead said.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who serves on the Transit Governance Task Force, took it a step further.
“I believe GRTA is the wrong entity,” said Reed, during the ARC executive committee meeting. “We ought to be trying to shift course and create a new entity where every one can be at the table. No governor that I have every met is going to give up power on board appointments.”
Bodker agreed, saying that GRTA has a statewide mandate, and metro Atlanta needs an umbrella agency with a regional mandate.
Saporta has much more. Look for this to be one of the most closely watched topics under the Gold Dome when state lawmakers convene in January for the legislative session. A Gold Dome committee that studied transit governance suggested earlier this year that an existing state agency oversee the region's myriad of transit systems.
Comments (5)
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Interesting that Reed is publicly opposing his close ally Republican Governor Nathan Deal. You have to imagine the Governor didn't appreciate his comments.
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I thought GRTA only had a mandate for non-attainment areas? I forget if another region has fallen into that, I think the metro Atlanta non attainment area has a couple more counties than the ARC region.
And this is what makes the make up of the GRTA board all the more troubling. Far to much suburban and exurban representation.
Problem is the politics of the state, the legislature could give a flip about DeKalb and Fulton. As seen with those comments from the legislator in south Georgia regarding his scuttling of the MARTA bill to eliminate the antiquated 50/50 capital/operations requirement.
True, most recognize the need for the city, but in the end at best its not a priority.
Shouldn't the State be just as involved in Atlanta metro transit as it is in the Port of Savannah?
QM: It's not because scary scary black people ride MARTA trains, and the state guvmint shouldn't get involved in letting them get out to our precious lily white suburbs, because "crime" and "terrorism" (I love this new excuse from the teatards for not funding mass transit expansion) threaten all of our nice European-American children.
i wish the teahadis would just come out with it and say that they find other people scary. they're like abused children - always acting out for attention, scared of the simplest things, etc.
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