notes from the TSPLOST debate, sponsored by Creative Loafing
Just got back from attending a debate, sponsored by the local alt-rag Creative Loafing, regarding the TSPLOST debate. It goes up for a vote in July, and if I understand correctly will add 1 penny to the sales tax in the area. The whole concept is to provide funding for transit and roads - and this is the kicker - on a regional level. So you have people in town/ITP who want things like better MARTA (the local transit system) funding, funding for the Beltline project (which is designed to sort of fill in the areas that MARTA doesn't cover, and is somewhat privately owned), and then you have OTP people wanting more roads in the suburbs and no transit, because transit is an urban thing and they don't want that kind of urban thing coming into their neighborhoods.
What everyone can agree on is that the traffic congestion is terrible. But they disagree everywhere else, from how bad it is here compared to other cities, to really what should be done about it.
To everyone's surprise, the Sierra Club has come out against it. They're apparently inspired by things that happened in Seattle. They claim that in Seattle something similar came out, but not enough money clearly went to transit, so it was defeated, and then something far better came along within a few years. When someone pointed out that this is Atlanta, not Seattle, and has a different demographic base, the SC said that we're becoming more like Seattle. So they're holding out for a plan that is better than the one proposed, and disagree that if this fails (which I think it will) then there will be enough momentum still around for a better checklist of projects to tackle.
I took MARTA there, and found a room full of mostly white people, who seemed to know one another. I quietly took my seat and started tweeting the proceedings as the mood hit me. Unfortunately there was a lot of rhetoric slung around - some members of the audience could not restrain themselves from emotional outbursts. Literature was handed out. One, which was printed with a logo of mandolin crossed with an assault rifle, babbled about the free market and our children being cheated. The other was a super slickly produced full color handout, complete with statistics about how much money was projected to be generated, and how it was to be used. The business community has come out in strong support of the tax increase.
After it was finished, I ended up talking with guy next to me who had been taking notes. Turned out his was a blogger, but, while he knew a few things... I don't know, I've been such a news junkie for so long I find it difficult to talk to some people about this sort of thing. It's hard to have a two-way conversation when you're basically teaching the other side the basics of Georgia politics. And many of the people loudly complaining in the audience revealed painful levels of ignorance.
People are mad about MARTA, but they're mad at all the wrong people. And since they view MARTA is not working the way they'd like it to, they're extra wary about handing over any more money to politicians (in other agencies, but I don't think they make that distinction) for it to be used for further projects. I support the bill, our infrastructure has been woefully underplanned, underfunded, under-implemented, and I think this is a great step in the right direction.
There is one thing I haven't quite figured out here, and that is the amount of repeated studies conducted for certain areas in regard to transit. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent studying certain traffic corridors, and whenever you propose doing something in a given area, even if it's already been studied to death, there appears to be a requirement to spend tons more money again. I don't know it's purely a stalling tactic or what. The road building lobby is extremely powerful in this state, historically having been in bed with the Governor, so trying to implement more transit is difficult from that standpoint alone, before you even address the socioeconomic, cultural and racial factors involved. Then some guy starts spouting off how the children are being robbed and it's enough to throw your hands in the air. I nearly walked out multiple times, because I wasn't really learning anything, and it was the same arguments, going round and round in circles. But it was nice to get out and see the city again. Atlantic Station is weird and seems like the stage for a horror film but the view of Midtown at night from the 17th street bridge is lovely. I'd share a picture, but my phone only managed to take very blurry ones.
What everyone can agree on is that the traffic congestion is terrible. But they disagree everywhere else, from how bad it is here compared to other cities, to really what should be done about it.
To everyone's surprise, the Sierra Club has come out against it. They're apparently inspired by things that happened in Seattle. They claim that in Seattle something similar came out, but not enough money clearly went to transit, so it was defeated, and then something far better came along within a few years. When someone pointed out that this is Atlanta, not Seattle, and has a different demographic base, the SC said that we're becoming more like Seattle. So they're holding out for a plan that is better than the one proposed, and disagree that if this fails (which I think it will) then there will be enough momentum still around for a better checklist of projects to tackle.
I took MARTA there, and found a room full of mostly white people, who seemed to know one another. I quietly took my seat and started tweeting the proceedings as the mood hit me. Unfortunately there was a lot of rhetoric slung around - some members of the audience could not restrain themselves from emotional outbursts. Literature was handed out. One, which was printed with a logo of mandolin crossed with an assault rifle, babbled about the free market and our children being cheated. The other was a super slickly produced full color handout, complete with statistics about how much money was projected to be generated, and how it was to be used. The business community has come out in strong support of the tax increase.
After it was finished, I ended up talking with guy next to me who had been taking notes. Turned out his was a blogger, but, while he knew a few things... I don't know, I've been such a news junkie for so long I find it difficult to talk to some people about this sort of thing. It's hard to have a two-way conversation when you're basically teaching the other side the basics of Georgia politics. And many of the people loudly complaining in the audience revealed painful levels of ignorance.
People are mad about MARTA, but they're mad at all the wrong people. And since they view MARTA is not working the way they'd like it to, they're extra wary about handing over any more money to politicians (in other agencies, but I don't think they make that distinction) for it to be used for further projects. I support the bill, our infrastructure has been woefully underplanned, underfunded, under-implemented, and I think this is a great step in the right direction.
There is one thing I haven't quite figured out here, and that is the amount of repeated studies conducted for certain areas in regard to transit. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent studying certain traffic corridors, and whenever you propose doing something in a given area, even if it's already been studied to death, there appears to be a requirement to spend tons more money again. I don't know it's purely a stalling tactic or what. The road building lobby is extremely powerful in this state, historically having been in bed with the Governor, so trying to implement more transit is difficult from that standpoint alone, before you even address the socioeconomic, cultural and racial factors involved. Then some guy starts spouting off how the children are being robbed and it's enough to throw your hands in the air. I nearly walked out multiple times, because I wasn't really learning anything, and it was the same arguments, going round and round in circles. But it was nice to get out and see the city again. Atlantic Station is weird and seems like the stage for a horror film but the view of Midtown at night from the 17th street bridge is lovely. I'd share a picture, but my phone only managed to take very blurry ones.