I’ve been reading with interest efforts to streamline the state Department of Transportation. Apparently it may involve an internecine feud between the executive and legislative branches of state government (must be taking a cue from Washington!). Governor Sonny Perdue appears to be trying to wrest control of the DoT from state lawmakers. He wants to replace their 13-member board, that the entire General Assembly elects, with an 11-member board the 
governor would appoint along with the Speaker of the House & the Lt.Governor. Now I’m all for streamlining the DoT. It needs it. Too many disparate agencies are involved in the decision-making process about what gets done which is why not much gets done or it takes so long. But I’m against a board appointed mainly by the governor. Atlanta has enough problems getting anything from a Governor from south Georgia. We haven’t been all that lucky either with a legislature dominated by downstaters. But at least we get to elect lawmakers in both houses every 2 years while the governor gets 4 years (limited to two terms.) But Sonny’s argument is it makes the agency more accountable to the citizens of Georgia because we could go directly to the governor’s office if there was something we didn’t like (like toll lanes). And we could show our disapproval when the election rolled back around. Once. Versus 4 times if control stays where it is. In the state legislature. Where we have more more control.
transportation
In an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle legislation is being introduced, again, to let us vote by region for transportation infrastructure improvements through local taxation. No one likes more taxes. But no one likes the prospect of traffic in Atlanta getting worse.
Unless your House Speaker Glen Richardson. Richardson opposes the idea of a regional approach to traffic instead proposing a statewide approach telling the ABC, “Let’s look at fixing transportation in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Valdosta, you pick the area. Okay I will. ATLANTA, ATLANTA, ATLANTA! You can put the entire population of Valdosta into Turner Field! You can put the entire population of “metropolitan” Valdosta in the Georgia World Congress Center! And still have parking! No disrespect intended towards the “Azalea City” but I smell pork. And I know they used to have a great barbecue contest down yonder in Moultrie. But that’s not the kinda’ pork I smell and I’m not a “Packer backer.” Atlanta is the economic engine that drives the state. Glen Richardson doesn’t speak for me. Nor does he speak for the majority of people and businesses doin’ bid’ness in metropolitan Atlanta, the population of which would need about 100 Turner Fields. Let the people decide. Let them vote on a constitutional amendment. We don’t have time anymore to stop and smell the Azaleas in Lowndes County. Except maybe in March during the festival, if there’s not too much traffic trying to get outta’ Atlanta.
Okay, let’s get this year started! I just read an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about a big pow-wow Wednesday about the future of transportation in Georgia hosted by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). I like the people at the ARC. I believe they have very good intentions and direction. But what I don’t like is that we’re not anywhere near enough to 
recognise the “little things” in transportation that, when added up, make a big d*mn difference! I’m talking about traffic light synchronization. I’m talking about permanent funding for the TRIP program (more on that later). I’m talking about enforcing the traffic laws other than speeding, ie., people stopping in the middle of an intersection blocking traffic trying to get through when they couldn’t make the light; or “steer it and clear it.” I’m talking about leading edge programs into variable speed limits to control traffic flows and accidents. And guess what? None of what I’m talking about costs very much when compared to some of the other “shovel ready” ideas some of politicians want to shovel down our throats or give lucrative contracts to btheir cronies. Start at the beginning. Manage what you got!
I read with interest this weekend about continuing efforts to privatise a portion of our highway system in Atlanta. It’s a subject I’m familiar with having met and talked to some of the players. I am totally opposed to this idea for one big reason. Any effort at privatising roads is an admission by our elected representatives, etc., that they are incapable of running state government and providing for the health and welfare of the citizens of Georgia. If you think you don’t 
have anywhere to go now then you’re really not gonna’ like what’ll happen if the state unconstitutionally gives some of our highways to private racketeers. And that’s just what they are. You will not have any redress of your grievances. You’ll have to try to use the civil court system rather than the ballot box to force them to comply with the law. Plain and simple, it’s a money grab. And an opportunity for some elected and appointed officials to have nice cushy jobs when they’re run out of office. Instead we need to hold our elected and appointed people accountable for their actions or lack thereof. We need better management of available resources. Not people in state & local offices that are only looking to leap frog into bigger jobs and houses by feathering their nest on the backs of the hard-working commuters of this region.
I read a story in the AJC that Forbes magazine ranks Atlanta’s commute as now the worst in the nation. The news should not be too surprising in light of what I told you late last year when we got word from federal transportation people that Atlanta was the “poster child” for bad traffic in the nation. Our area is so bad, according to Forbes.com, we’ve qualified to share in over a billion dollars of federal money to find ways to improve our congestion. I’m encouraged to see that many of the ideas follow my mantra, “manage what you got.”
What I’m having a hard time managing is this drive towards making drivers pay to drive the roads, we already paid for, during peak driving times. I understand why planners might like this idea. With the DoT dollar crunch it makes dollars and sense, to them, to plow the money back into the system to keep the infrastructure from crumbling. But to me it’s like being taxed twice for the same thing.
Another idea I really like is allowing single occupant vehicles to use the HoV lane. Yeah, they would pay. But that’s different. That’s a privilege on top of a privilege you’ve already paid for. Personally, I like the idea of express lanes. HoV lanes really are ineffective. Go ahead and make em’ express lanes and let people go! Then vigorously enforce traffic by making sure slower moving vehicles are kept out of the way.
One more thing. We need ALL local government jurisdictions thinking one way on this. Too many cooks spoil the broth. And we’re already stewing in our own juices now in America’s poster child for bad traffic.
Recently, I got a copy of an article from the AJC about some of the area’s mayors meeting to talk about my favorite subject, traffic. The problem I have is they see the problem incorrectly. They spoke about wanting to come up with taxes or fee’s. Typical politicans. Trying to spend their way out of a problem, I guess. What amazes me is none of them is aware of the work of a number of agencies and people here in the metro area who meet on a regular basis to come up with practical low-cost or no-cost solutions to easing congestion. That would be the TIME Task Force. There’s link on this page. I recently became a board member of the group. How can I talk and write about traffic if I’m not willing to get into the game? These are dedicated professionals from the DoT, police, fire, EMS, towing & recovery and the state and federal government all actually coming up with practical answers or ideas to the questions these community leaders claim they’re looking for. They need to get involved. It’s as plain as the poorly-timed traffic lights in their cities.
