Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Wednesday, February 20, 2002 |
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Will GRTA bus plan obligate Fayette for MARTA? By DAVE
HAMRICK
Fayette residents could be tapped for MARTA dues if the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority sets up express bus routes here. That's how County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn is reading GRTA's proposal anyway. Dunn has invited representatives of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to explain their proposal. The item will probably be on the agenda for the commission's March 6 work session, 3:30 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex, said Dunn. Local officials are skeptical of the proposal, but GRTA is dangling the promise of extra road improvement funds as an enticement. GRTA proposes to run express buses up Ga. highways 85 and 74, connecting to the MARTA system at Hartsfield Airport. But with no expressways or express lanes, there won't be anything "express" about the buses, Dunn predicts. "How is an express bus going to get out of Fayette County any faster than a car," he said, adding he doesn't think many local residents would use the system. "I told them we just had a private bus company go out of business on those two routes," he said. But GRTA officials are adamant in pushing all metro Atlanta counties to accept bus routes. The agency would provide the buses using federal money, but would not subsidize their operation, which might cost Fayette a million dollars a year or more, Dunn said. In addition, because the buses would connect to MARTA, which is in financial trouble, the transit authority would then be justified in demanding that Fayette and other counties begin contributing to the system's operation, Dunn said. As for the road funds being offered as part of the bus deal, Dunn said the money won't help Fayette finish projects that are not yet approved by the Atlanta Regional Commission. With right-of-way purchases and engineering not yet begun, the county probably won't be able to take advantage of the funding, he said. "But I have not yet been able to make any progress in making them see that Fayette County should not have to take these buses in order to have access to our own tax dollars," he said. The Atlanta region's rush toward more bus and rail service doesn't make sense in the long run either, Dunn argued. "Every other large city has already done all this and they all have grid-lock," he said.
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