Gwinnett County voters should weigh the lack of foresight and costs regarding the proposed March 19 MARTA expansion referendum which seeks to hike the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. (Advance in-person voting will be held at the Gwinnett elections office in Lawrenceville every day between Feb. 25 and March 15.)
The Gwinnett MARTA expansion (in round figures) is a $12 billion deal to build a three-and-a-half-mile railroad to nowhere— and which is right at the intersection of I-85 and Jimmy Carter Boulevard. This is one of the most over-populated motor vehicle corridors in the state. Jamming 10,000 cars and buses per rush hour (morning and evening) into this intersection will shut down I-85, which is already congested with two lanes headed south in the morning backed up sometimes as far as three-fourths of a mile.
In a little over a year the state will finish a $12 million study focused on the I-985/I-85 intersection through Spaghetti Junction. The study will reveal exactly how to attack this congested corridor. Common sense dictates that we wait to see what is needed instead of adopting this politically-motivated Atlanta Regional Commission MARTA expansion plan.
The state spent over $1 billion to improve I-75, $200 to $300 million on Ga. 400 at I-285 and neither Cobb nor Fulton paid for those improvements. Gwinnett has received nothing to unclog it’s congested I-85 corridor and is faced with paying for the state’s indifference. Common sense dictates that we wait and see if the state will help us rather can trying to solve the problem solely across the backs of Gwinnett taxpayers. (The state did pay to add lanes on I-85 at the Mall of Georgia. But the widening was for the benefit of developers– not the people of Gwinnett. Our traffic problems and the MARTA expansion plan focus I-85 south of the Mall.)
Bus rapid transit and express buses along I-85 are the state’s responsibility, not the people of Gwinnett. Where is the fair treatment for Gwinnett taxpayers? Wait awhile longer and let the state do its job.
This vaguely-worded scheme on the ballot is projected to create 12 new bus routes. A closer look shows only four new routes with minor realignments of nine existing routes. Gwinnett has purposely manipulated the bus system to create discontent among poor people so they will vote for this financially irresponsible plan.
Remember, too, that the 1-cent sales tax hike proposed on the ballot will not pay half the interest on this $12 billion debt. The cost will fall on the property and business owners of Gwinnett to repay this loan, if it can ever be repaid.
Commissioners started buying property for this project in 2017; they bought three pieces and condemned another piece that year. Last month they closed on a $35 million land deal for the multimodal transit station on Jimmy Carter Boulevard. All these purchases will be paid for from the general fund. And Gwinnett taxpayers haven’t even voted on the 1 cent sales tax yet.
Voters must consider the real cost of this ill-conceived project or the long-term consequences of assuming the state’s obligation for inter-county thru traffic that is legitimately the state’s responsibility.
Neither I nor the coalition of people who support me are opposed to rapid transit. We recognize that our problem is part and parcel to the entire north metro traffic mess. All we want is a well thought-out, cost-effective solution.
Joe Newton of Norcross is chairman of the Georgia Republican Assembly committee on transit and the coalition against the Atlanta Regional Commission MARTA expansion plan.
