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Metro mayors emphasize greater role for cities

Mayors from the metro Atlanta area say cities need local option greenspace funding, the ability to use cameras to reduce speeding in school zones, and faster review of transportation projects.

The Metro Atlanta Mayors Association passed resolutions supporting each of these items at its quarterly meeting Thursday in College Park.

The mayors of the 62-member organization noted cities are expected by citizens to provide greenspace and many metro cities have responded, calling on state leaders to give local governments more options for greenspace funding.

Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown, chairman of the organization, said, “I am excited that the metro area mayors are determined to protect greenspace and promote a better quality of life for their citizens.”

The mayors said the Georgia Department of Transportation’s current guidelines do not take into consideration the unique needs of urban areas and that there is inconsistency within the five DOT districts covering the metro area regarding urban design solutions.

MAMA encouraged the state to consider unifying the five DOT districts in the metro area or cross training officials on urban transportation issues. The group also discussed the need to streamline the approval process for road and streetscape projects in the metro area.

“As traffic congestion worsens on our arterial and collector roads, commuters are taking alternate routes on residential roads, which include many of our school zones,” said Brown. “High-speed commuter traffic does not belong in our school zones, and the ‘speed cameras’ are the best way to keep things under control.”

MAMA also asked that cities be given the ability to use cameras in school zones in order to reduce speeding around schools.

Other items on the agenda for the quarterly meeting included impact fees for schools, management of septic tanks and opposition to a statewide imposition of a property tax freeze.

The Metro Atlanta Mayors Association, or MAMA, brings together mayors from the 62 metro-area cities and is modeled after a similar organization in the Chicago metro area. In addition to Brown, and a 10-member executive committee with mayoral representatives from each of the 10 counties in metro-Atlanta also provides leadership.