November 26, 2008
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, among other elected officials, addressed a large luncheon hosted by the Council For Quality Growth. The luncheon crowd was largely composed of members of Get Georgia Moving, an advocacy group for increased transportation funding.
Below are two articles summarizing the event and include quotes from the Lt. Gov. indicating the introduction of a funding bill early when the General Assembly convenes in January.
TRANSPORTATION TAX: Cagle: Consensus must pave the way
By Ariel Hart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said Monday that the Legislature could consider a bill in the first week of the legislative session that starts in January to address transportation funding shortfalls —- if interest groups could come to a consensus first.
Cagle said transportation problems like congestion were the issue most often holding back the state, and he was a “strong supporter” of a 1 percent sales tax to address it.
Details of what that bill would fund and how the process would work are still under discussion. Questions such as whether and when a county can opt out of a region that’s voting itself a tax have stymied the issue in the past. Cagle said interest groups need to come to consensus in the next few weeks.
“When we talk about opt-in or opt-out … that sometimes is difficult in the legislative process,” Cagle said. “But we are committed.”
State transportation officials spoke at a lunch held with the Get Georgia Moving Coalition, a big-tent group that has been trying to raise funds for transportation.
Last year, the coalition brought together interest groups, from mass transit advocates to asphalt companies, and united them around a transportation tax that voters could approve in a referendum. It failed in the state Senate by three votes.
In panel discussions after Cagle’s remarks Monday, state Transportation Commissioner Gena Evans and Georgia Regional Transportation Authority director Dick Anderson cited the findings of a state study on transportation just completed.
It found that the state may forgo 320,000 jobs and $515 billion in economic benefits over the next 20 years if it doesn’t reverse funding shortfalls.
Monday, November 24, 2008, 12:34 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jim Galloway
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said Monday that a package to fix metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion and build new roads in rural Georgia will be one of the first issues addressed when the Legislature convenes in January.
“I’m going to introduce it during the first week,” Cagle said — adding the caveat that it would require Senate and House leaders, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, to reach a near-consensus on the package beforehand.
The lieutenant governor said he thinks an agreement could be reached “within the next several weeks.”
Cagle made his remarks before speaking to a gathering of nearly 400 business and transportation leaders called together by the group Get Georgia Moving, for the purpose of building momentum in the Capitol.
On Monday, it was this gathering — not the two leftover campaigns for the U.S. Senate — that provided the biggest show of political force in the state.
The theme of the afternoon was a very pointed question: “Do We Have the Political Will?” Last year, an attempt to pass an optional sales tax for regional transportation projects failed by three votes in the Senate — after it was entangled in multi-issue negotiations between the House and Senate.
Cagle emphasized that he didn’t want to see this happen again. “There’s nothing more important than transportation to our state,” Cagle said. “The thing that is hold us back more often than not is the issue of transportation.”
Cagle said some changes had been made in what was offered last year. Two popular votes would be required — a 2010 constitutional referendum, then a local vote by the counties involved, after projects for spending have been identified.
Transportation is very closely tied to the building 2010 race for governor, and Cagle is a likely Republican candidate. “I think we need some good strong leadership in the state, particularly around transportation,” Cagle said.
Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens, who is also studying a GOP campaign for governor, was in the audience.
Passing what many will call a tax increase in the middle of a horrendous economic downturn could give some lawmakers pause — as it did last year. But Cagle framed the effort as an economic stimulus that could produce 230,000 jobs. You’re likely to hear more about that.
Neither House Speaker Glenn Richardson nor Gov. Sonny Perdue were present, but several legislative leaders, both Democratic and Republican, showed up — as did Gene Evans, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation. She emphasized that Georgia has underfunded transportation needs for the last 22 years.
November 26, 2008
United States Secretary of Transportation was in Atlanta on Tuesday, November 25 and announced $110 million in funding to be used on Interstate 85 between Spaghetti Junction and Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett County. The project would cover a total of 14 miles.
Below is both a press release from the Governor’s office and an AJC article covering the announcement.
Governor’s Press Release:
Federal Government to Invest $110 Million in Innovative Plan to Interstate 85 Address Traffic Congestion
Plan Will Bring Congestion Pricing to I-85, Finance New Commuter Bus Routes
ATLANTA— Governor Sonny Perdue and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today the federal government is investing $110 million to support an innovative plan to reduce traffic congestion on the Interstate 85 corridor in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. The plan will allow more commuters to take advantage of I-85’s HOV lanes, and will allow for the establishment of new high-speed commuter bus service into downtown.
“Today’s announcement will bring new investment and new ideas into Georgia’s transportation strategy,” Governor Perdue said. “This demonstration project will give commuters options – more transit choices, more park and ride lots and the ability to choose a congestion free lane.”
The $110 million federal grant will be matched by $37 million in state and local funds.
“This ambitious plan will tame traffic, pump new money into the region’s transit services and redefine the way people use I-85,” said Secretary Peters. “The goal is simple, make commutes reliable, not ridiculous.”
The project development and delivery will take two years. The first phase of the demonstration project will institute a network consisting of dynamically-priced high occupancy toll lanes on I-85, stretching from I-285 to Old Peachtree Road by January, 2011. The state will monitor the demonstration project for multiple success factors and report its performance through extensive outreach to the general public and lawmakers. Future phases of Atlanta’s congestion plan will include a 49-mile network of additional HOV-to-HOT lane conversions along I-85, I-75 and I-20. Similar HOT lane projects have been implemented in Minneapolis and Southern California, and these areas have already seen a reduction in the amount of congestion during peak travel times.
Also included in the grant is $30 million for transit service enhancement that will operate on the newly converted expressways. The funding will go towards the purchase of new buses and the construction and expansion of park-and-ride facilities.
Georgia is the most recent state to receive federal funding from the Department of Transportation for its efforts to establish a more permanent federal program focused on innovative solutions to improve mobility and fight increasing congestion in metropolitan areas. Details on Secretary Peters’ innovative Reform Proposal can be found at www.FightGridlockNow.gov .
“The money we are providing today will make commuting faster, transit better and small businesses more competitive,” said Secretary Peters. “Together, we’ll make traffic in Atlanta go with the wind.”
AJC Article:
Feds to fund ‘Lexus lanes’ on I-85 from Perimeter into Gwinnett
Electronic device in cars would pay toll; price would vary with traffic
By ARIEL HART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A $110 million federal grant headed to Georgia to create a toll lane along I-85 would guarantee a free-flowing lane of traffic on a heavily traveled thoroughfare in Atlanta, the second-most congested urban area in the nation.
Touted by federal and state officials and announced Tuesday, the money would be spent to transform an already existing HOV lane of highway from Spaghetti Junction to Old Peachtree Road into a toll lane that anybody could use — if they were willing to pay a fare.
But not all commuters were enthusiastic about the proposal.
“That’s nuts,” said Rumiko Rios, who frequently uses the HOV lanes. “Fourteen dollars is a lot,” she said, referring to a California project that charges about $1 per mile to use the lanes at peak times.
Here, along the 14 miles of mostly Gwinnett County highway, the toll would rise with congestion in the main lanes, keeping the price high enough to guarantee the lane would always be free-flowing.
It could open by January 2011, according to Gov. Sonny Perdue.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the federal grant hoping to jump-start the transformation of high-occupancy vehicle lanes into toll lanes, or HOT lanes, throughout metro Atlanta.
“The concept is simple but it is a proven way to keep traffic moving,” Peters said.
High-occupancy vehicle lanes are reserved for cars that carry more than one passenger. The number of passengers required depends on varying regulations.
A HOT lane allows a single driver and sometimes two-person carpools to use the lane in exchange for a toll. Large carpools would likely still drive free.
Other states have instituted the tolls to create at least one lane of traffic that is not congested during peak travel times.
Officials at HOT lane offices in San Diego and Orange County, California, said their projects had done just what they were supposed to: maintain a free-flowing highway option.
In San Diego, the government is expanding its original 8-mile Express Lane along I-15 with 12 more miles of HOT lanes. San Diego uses the excess toll revenue to fund mass transit.
If there were a surplus of toll revenue from Georgia’s project, it would go to transportation projects, Georgia Transportation Commissioner Gena Evans said Tuesday.
The federal grant included money that Congress traditionally earmarks for mass transit, and a large part of the grant would go toward buying 36 new commuter buses.
State and local governments would add about $37 million as well, said a spokesman for Perdue, who supports the concept.
In Georgia, toll roads historically haven’t been popular.
The state hasn’t built a new toll road since the Ga. 400 extension opened in 1993, according to the state Department of Transportation. That road cut through Buckhead and sparked a storm of controversy.
An aide to Peters and lead advocate of congestion pricing, Tyler Duvall, conceded that the Obama administration could reverse the grant. But he said such grants were traditionally honored.
“That’s their decision,” Duvall said, “and we obviously hope they honor the commitments made by the administration.”
A spokesman for the Obama transition, Reid Cherlin, said staff there had to review the grant before they could comment.
Duvall called the HOT lane grant “a pretty good stimulus,” referring to a massive economic stimulus proposal for funding infrastructure projects that Congress is considering.
The details of the Atlanta project — such as the price range of the tolls — haven’t been decided yet.
In Georgia the HOT lanes would probably charge tolls to single drivers and two-person car pools to let them drive in the lanes. The project also has legal hoops to clear. The Atlanta Regional Commission, made up of local officials, has to vote on the project and put it out to public comment for at least 30 days.
They don’t expect to vote until spring, but chairman Sam Olens said the ARC is “100 percent on board.”
November 20, 2008
For Immediate Release
Nov. 19, 2008
Contact: Terry Chastain
(404) 827-9780
terry@getgeorgiamoving.com
www.GetGeorgiaMoving.com
Get Georgia Moving Coalition Encouraged
By Report of Governor’s Transportation Task Force
ATLANTA – The Get Georgia Moving coalition today commended Gov. Sonny Perdue for calling attention to Georgia’s transportation funding shortfall and highlighting voter-approved funding mechanisms as a way to help close the gap.
The coalition, which represents more than 100 groups across Georgia — including business leaders, government leaders, transit advocates, road builders and environmentalists — is encouraged by the report released today by the Governor’s statewide transportation plan task force, said Bill Linginfelter, area executive in Atlanta and North Georgia for Regions Bank, chairman of the transportation committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and co-chairman of the Get Georgia Moving coalition.
“We thank the Governor for drawing attention to this critical issue,” Linginfelter said. “The Get Georgia Moving coalition has long advocated the need for comprehensive new transportation funding to combat this growing threat to our prosperity and quality of life. We are pleased the Governor’s office has determined that regional, voter-approved funding mechanisms would provide significant relief.”
Georgia is the third fastest-growing state in the nation, but spends less per person on transportation infrastructure than any other state — leading to the cancellation of hundreds of projects statewide and the nation’s second-worst traffic in Atlanta. The Governor’s task force found that Georgia could lose out on 320,000 new jobs and more than $500 billion in economic benefits unless it can generate up to $160 billion for new transportation investments over the next 20 years. The task force also identified several funding mechanisms that could help make up the shortfall.
“With the release of this report, it’s clearer than ever that our state lacks the transportation infrastructure dollars to support our booming population,” said Charles Tarbutton, assistant vice president of Sandersville Railroad Company, chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and co-chairman of the Get Georgia Moving coalition.
“Fortunately, the report also shows this problem can be overcome. We applaud the work of the Governor’s task force — and we look forward to working with him, the Lt. Governor and the Speaker to develop and pass new funding legislation in the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly.”
The Get Georgia Moving coalition supports a meaningful, voter-approved funding mechanism that will relieve traffic congestion, ensure air quality and promote economic development. To that end, the coalition also supports efforts to optimize current revenue sources, streamline project delivery, invest in transit and all other modes of transportation, and develop innovative funding programs.
Participants in the coalition include:
- AAA Auto Club South
- American Council of Engineering Companies
- Association County Commissioners of Georgia
- Atlanta Regional Commission
- Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development at Georgia Tech
- Central Atlanta Progress
- Citizens for Progressive Transit
- Civic League for Regional Atlanta
- Clean Air Campaign
- Community Improvement District Alliance
- Council for Quality Growth
- CSX
- C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Inc.
- Georgia Asphalt Pavement Association
- Georgia Association of Regional Development Centers
- Georgia Chamber of Commerce
- Georgia Concrete Pavement Association
- Georgia Conservancy
- Georgia Construction Aggregate Association
- Georgia Department of Transportation
- Georgia Economic Developers’ Association
- Georgia Electric Membership Corporation
- Georgia Engineering Alliance
- Georgia Highway Contractors Association
- Georgia Municipal Association
- Georgia Policy and Budget Institute
- Georgia Power Company
- Georgia Railroad Association
- Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
- Georgia Transit Association
- Georgians for Better Transportation
- Georgians for the Brain Train
- Governor’s Office of Highway Safety
- Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
- HNTB Corporation
- Livable Communities Coalition
- Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
- Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
- Norfolk Southern
- Regional Business Coalition
- Sierra Club
- Transit Planning Board
- Zipcar
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