MARTA to make an $8 billion pitch to change the face of Atlanta (taxes, light rail)

[No2Monsanto]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Cue arjay/netdragon with the "we'll be just fine without MARTA" schtick.

Cobb and GWINNETT??? I thought Gwinnett was onboard?

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

That would make sense. Goes to the problem of duplication. That's going to be a helluva station at Lindbergh (or infill) one day.

Heck Yeah! Which is also okay with me. There are already plan / options to run the Beltline light rail up to Lindbergh; I wonder how hard it would be to connect the Clifton Corridor RoW to the Belitline Loop RoW?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Heck Yeah! Which is also okay with me. There are already plan / options to run the Beltline light rail up to Lindbergh; I wonder how hard it would be to connect the Clifton Corridor RoW to the Belitline Loop RoW?

They could make a connecting track for train movements, but that would be too long of a line for adequate train operations.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by skbl17

Nothing's final yet, but the main reason for LRT is to keep costs down. I'm personally hoping for HRT myself, though.

- skbl17

I am too. Although I think the biggest reason was the people in LaVista Park threw fits about having HRT in their backyards. The original plan was HRT, but after public feedback they re-evaluated and switched the LPA to Light rail.

Its not a dumb question at all.

[cqholt]

How healthy is MARTA’s bottom line? | Route 666

MARTA recently presented reporters with details about its financial picture, and it’s beginning to look quite rosy.

The agency’s reserves are forecast to rise by $25.5 million in fiscal year 2015. Last year, they rose by $14.7 million. That’s a huge turnaround from being on track to lose $35 million in reserves in fiscal year 2011.

Meanwhile, the agency’s total reserves are climbing, and projected to top $191 million in fiscal year 2015.

Both sales tax revenue and passenger revenue have increased over the past four years, last year the gains were 16.2 percent and 26.8 percent respectively.

All of these measures are good signs that, as CEO Keith Parker is fond of repeating, the transit agency has gotten its financial house in order. And that could put MARTA in a better position to seek state legislation that would enable a half-percent sales tax increase it so badly wants in DeKalb and Fulton counties.

MARTA has said the additional revenue from such a tax could be leveraged to fund up to $8 billion worth of major expansion projects up Ga. 400 North, out I-20 East and through the Clifton Corridor. It might even allow MARTA to “start a “conversation” with the city of Atlanta about using some of that money to bring transit to the Beltline, said MARTA Board Chairman Robbie Ashe.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by cqholt

How healthy is MARTA’s bottom line? | Route 666

Kept waiting for a "but" and was pleasantly surprised when it never came.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Kept waiting for a "but" and was pleasantly surprised when it never came.

The but is that Cobb and Gwinnett still refuse to be any part of the system and would rather serve their residents with a half-a$$ bus network.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The but is that Cobb and Gwinnett still refuse to be any part of the system and would rather serve their residents with a half-a$$ bus network.

Gwinnett at least sorta recognizes it as an option.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Gwinnett at least sorta recognizes it as an option.

60% of it's residents do, but the county commissioners are a different story.

[cqholt]

MARTA
MARTA's plan for executing the 1/2 cent tax increase and expansion plans.

“Assuming that those conversations go well, and they have so far, we will go to the 2016 General Assembly (and) ask them to permit our member jurisdictions to ask their voters for an additional half-penny sales tax that would last the duration of MARTA’s existing penny (tax). That half-penny would go to finance these expansion projects. They would then roll (into) operations and maintenance once (the projects) are delivered.

“We believe that the math on that (half-penny) leads us to about $8 billion worth of projects over the next several years. A half-penny in Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton is approximately $200 million a year. If it lasts the duration of our existing penny, we would be able to, conservatively speaking, without remotely taxing our credit card, get to $4 billion.

“Because it would last that 40 years, we get bonding capacity.

“The other important piece of it, in addition to increasing our bonding capacity, is the ability to go to Washington and to guarantee to the FTA (Federal Transportation Administration) that we have a local match that lasts the duration of the build-out for these projects. These are all billion dollar-plus projects. They will not be delivered — they cannot be delivered — in five years or less, which means that unless we get a longer duration on that sales tax we can’t get federal money to match. At the very best we would get very limited federal money.

“But equally important, to get the highest level of federal match, we are looking to have that demonstrated long-term operations-and-maintenance revenue stream. That’s why delivering capital projects on the front end and then having the revenue stream roll over to O&M is so important, because the FTA is tired of paying for projects that get mothballed 5, 6, 8 years after they get built.

“The half-penny, if it lasts for the duration of MARTA’s existing penny (tax), would be a revenue stream and a local match that is virtually without peer anywhere in the United States. It makes us very confident that we could go to Washington and get the highest level of federal match.

“I am optimistic that we will be able to make that case (to the General Assembly). We are spending a lot of time and effort talking to our local jurisdictions. We’ll go to the 2016 General Assembly and hopefully get the authorization. At the end of the day, what we’re asking for is permission for Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb residents to decide for themselves. Do they want to make the initial investment in their system?

“I hope we will be able to make that case. The 2015 General Assembly showed that we came really close. There were a few unanswered questions that really prevented us from getting across the goal line, but we’ll have the opportunity to answer those questions. We don’t pretend to have all the answers. If somebody has a better idea about how we should finance these projects, we’re more than happy to listen to it. But this is just the best idea we’ve been able to come up with.”