Commuter Rail moves forward (Atlanta, Macon: lease, construction, high school)

[JPD]

Hooray, finally something sensible happens regarding transit - - -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2007
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Board ‘moves forward’ with Commuter Rail
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ATLANTA – The State Transportation Board (STB) Thursday instructed the staff of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to “move forward” with implementation of the Atlanta-to-Lovejoy and Atlanta-to-Tucker commuter rail lines, including identifying funding sources for maintenance and operations. The department has $107 million in start-up money for the Lovejoy line but lacks identified sources for ongoing operation.
Eighth Congressional District representative Larry Walker of Perry, chairman of the board’s Intermodal Committee, which recommended the resolution, said the lines would be the “first phase” of rail service south to Macon and east to Athens “if the ridership warrants it.”
Mr. Walker said “concession financing” with highway tolls subsidizing the lines might be one alternative that GDOT should consider.
STB Chairman Mike Evans of Forsyth County said the metro-Atlanta area Transit Planning Board is “digging deep” into identifying traffic congestion relief alternatives, including “mapping out routes” for transit; he said the Transit Board’s work will help GDOT in its commuter rail program.
In regards to metro Atlanta congestion, the board approved a resolution from its Public-Private Initiative Committee that GDOT solicit private companies to develop a “comprehensive transportation system” in the greater Atlanta area – an undertaking that PPI committee chair David Doss of Rome said could have a price tag of $30-to-$50 billion. Public-Private ventures are partnerships between government and private industry in which the costs are shared and industry recoups its investment, usually in the form of tolls.
Board Vice Chairman Garland Pinholster of Ball Ground suggested the resolution, which seeks “a viable candidate or candidates for a solicited public-private initiative to develop, design, finance, construct, operate and maintain a comprehensive transportation system in the greater Atlanta area that is designed to significantly reduce traffic congestion, increase safety and improve mobility.”
Pinholster said the development of such a system “would be contingent upon the utilization of innovative financing and toll revenues to recoup the initial investment and a reasonable profit; a revenue sharing arrangement with the Department during the terms of the lease with the system reverting to the Department at the expiration of the lease; and certain stipulations within the lease regarding oversight of construction and maintenance activities and final approval of a toll rate mechanism.”
In other business Thursday, the board selected a photograph taken by Olivia Anne Hartley, 15, of Gainesville , as the cover shot for the 2008 State Highway Map. She is the daughter of Dan and Julie Hartley. She is a student at North Hall High School and took the photograph – a shot of a fisherman on the shores of Lake Lanier in an early morning mist – as a school project.
The board selected the photo after a statewide contest in which the public submitted hundreds of entries.***********
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 19-20 in Brunswick .
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Communications Office – Georgia DOT – 2 Capitol Square SW – Atlanta , GA 30334 -1002 – (404) 656-5267

[clsmith15]

Hooray! Do you think the northside will ever follow suit? I hope the property values along the commuter rail routes skyrocket!

[Merin]

Yeah!!!!!!!!!

[wxjay]

I'm not too optimistic. The money from the feds has been there forever for the Lovejoy line, and the Assembly has blocked all ways of using that money.

I'll believe it when the first train runs on the line (if I am here or still alive when it happens).

[blondandfun]

This is retarded, you can't fix sprawl with a rail line, its NEVER been done in any city.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by wxjay

I'm not too optimistic. The money from the feds has been there forever for the Lovejoy line, and the Assembly has blocked all ways of using that money.

I'll believe it when the first train runs on the line (if I am here or still alive when it happens).

I hate to say it, but I agree. I would say you can expect the Governor's Office to try their very best to block this in any way they can. Perdue has been very vocal to the media about his lack of support for any type of public transit, and even if lots of state money isn't directly involved, my guess is his office will try to find reasons to block this from happening.

[Derrick_TheRiskTaker]

Oh, well forget about the neysayers and negative spirited folk and let's get the rail moving... This is an awesome step forward!!!!!

[Parsec]

Is this part of MARTA that will connect to the N and NE lines?

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Is this part of MARTA that will connect to the N and NE lines?

No, it will be separate from MARTA. It's commuter rail, not high-speed rail.

[backfist]

At the risk of sounding like a doomsayer, I have to concur with atlantagreg. This commuter rail prospect is, so far, something to merely talk about. By contrast, governors and elected officials have had decades to take action, but have found reasons not to.

There are excuses to pooh pooh this project; the governor will surely find them.