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Why you should vote ‘YES’ for road SPLOST

If you try to travel anywhere in Fayette County these days, you know how bad the traffic can be. If projections by the Atlanta Regional Commission are true, commuters can expect even more gridlock in the coming years.

After looking at the projections and the daily traffic patterns, the Fayette County Commission came up with an ambitious $400 million plan to help alleviate congestion over the next 20 years.

The plan includes 20 intersection or traffic signal improvements, 28 roadway upgrades, 10 bridge projects and seven street beautification and trail projects.

Some of the major components of the plan include a bypass around Fayetteville, an improvement of the Ga. highways 54 and 74 intersection and the widening of Hwy. 54 from Fayetteville to Clayton County.

All of the projects outlined in the transportation plan will help keep Fayette County from becoming like its traffic-clogged neighbors to the north.

It’s one thing to have a nice plan, but it’s another thing to make it reality. The Fayette County Commission has proposed increasing the retail sales tax in the county by one penny to raise nearly $116 million over five years to help pay for the projects.

That money will be used to pay the local portion, usually about 20 percent, necessary to apply for federal and state grants for road building. Without the local share, Fayette County has no chance of being awarded the grant money, and our roads will only get worse.

The plan has the support of nearly every municipality in the county. The lone exception is Peachtree City, where Mayor Steve Brown has become a one-man band banging his drum against what he calls the “unfairness” of the proposal.

Brown claims the city should be getting more than the $16 million or so it will be allotted to spend at its own discretion should the SPLOST pass. (It should be noted that some members of the City Council don’t share Brown’s view.)

What Brown fails to grasp is that all of the transportation projects together will help improve traffic conditions throughout all areas of the county, including Peachtree City. No one is being left out.

None of us lives in a bubble. No matter where you live, each of us shares responsibility for clogging up the roads whenever we head north to the Fayette Pavilion, west to The Avenue or to Tyrone to a ball game.

We’re all part of one community known as Fayette County, and the SPLOST gives us an opportunity to make sure it’s a desirable community for years to come.

We also like the fact that many out-of county residents who come to Fayette County to shop, eat or play will help pay for the SPLOST.

Drive through The Pavilion or The Avenue and notice how many cars are from Coweta, Clayton, Fulton and Henry counties.

As things stand now, our neighbors clog up our roads without paying anything. Isn’t it time the burden of paying for new roads is shifted to some of our visitors?

That’s why The Citizen supports this proposal and urges you to vote YES on the SPLOST referendum next Tuesday.