Transportation & Land Use

The Issue:

The metro Atlanta region grew by over 110,000 people in the last 12 months, according to estimates by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Meanwhile, the ARC is also reporting that funding of roads and bridges through the federal and state gas taxes has not kept up with the increases in the cost of construction. It appears that for the first time since the ARC began regional transportation planning the agency will not add any projects as it updates the 25 year Regional Transportation Plan.

Add in the fact that Atlanta is one of the nation's busiest and fastest growing logistics hubs and the threat to the region's economy (as well as Georgia's economy) is readily apparent.

Perhaps the most telling statistic of all is this: Georgia is the 4th fastest growing state in the country, but we spend the 4th lowest amount per capita on transportation. The end result is that unless metro Atlanta pulls together and finds a solution, congestion will get worse.

Recent Initiatives:

A number of initiatives to help alleviate the congestion, from bus rapid transit to truck-only toll lanes and encouraging redevelopment of areas that already have infrastructure in place are moving forward.

The Regional Business Coalition was active in the passage of legislation that gave the DOT more flexibility in funding projects while ensuring that at least 85% of the money spent by the state was distributed equally by congressional districts. This new funding formula will allow Metro Atlanta and other areas of the state to make necessary improvements to the interstate system without penalizing their local road projects. It is estimated that approximately $300 million in local road projects in the region that would have been delayed due to costly interstate construction will be kept on line because of the more flexible funding formula.

Governor Sonny Perdue created the Congestion Mitigation Task Force which came up with a model to determine which projects would deliver the most impact for the investment when prioritizing road projects. The ARC has adopted the recommendations of the task force, including increasing the weight given to congestion relief when determining a transportation project's priority.

The State Road and Tollway Authority commissioned a study on the impact Truck-Only Toll lanes and High Occupancy Toll Lanes (TOT/HOT Lanes) might have in Metro Atlanta. The conclusions were very promising and have led to the formation of two public private initiatives that are interested in building the projects. Those proposals are currently being considered by the state Department of Transportation. Other public private initiatives include a proposal to widen and provide a collector/distributor system for the GA 400 expressway.

Led by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the region's transit providers have agreed to coordinate their planning and other aspects of the systems to make it easier to ride the system across jurisdictions. The Transit Planning Board will allow the easy transitioning between systems and to market the transit services on to a common website so that customers can plan their routes at one place.

The Atlanta Regional Commission is responsible for the region's transportation planning. Its current 25 year plan includes a system of HOV lanes on the Northwest Corridor that will handle bus rapid-transit. This system has the look and feel of rail but rides on rubber tires. Other transit initiatives include the BeltLine, the Lovejoy line and the "Brain Train".

Reforms in land use and planning are making an impact as well. The Livable Communitites Coalition was started in 2005 to support the concept of quality growth and mixed-use communities. The group is active in at least five cities in the region that want to develop in higher densities where the infrastructure to support it already exists. The ARC's Livable Centers Initiative helps communities plan for growth in a way that allows for more housing choices while linking transportation improvements with land use.

RBC Initiatives:

Senate Bill 4 - Rebalancing DOT Funding Formula

House Bill 194 - Telework Tax Credit

RBC Letter to the Governor Regarding Commuter Rail

RBC Quality Growth Audit

Resources:

What's the Big Idea - Possible Solutions for Georgia's Transportation Funding

ARC Mobility 2030 Regional Transportation Plan Interactive Map

Congestion Mitigation Final Report

ARC Congestion Map - Table 1, Table 3

Click here for more information on recent RBC initiatives.