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.
toll
They’re out there floatin’ that idea of toll lanes again. This time on I-75 and 575 up into Cobb and Cherokee counties. And once again they’re talking about one of those so called, “public-private partnerships.” Only the state would fund most, if not all of the project according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And that’s where I have problems. If my memory serves me well (let’s hope) President Eisenhower came up with the interstate highway system because of the mishmash of toll roads and highways across the nation. Now we want to return to that because we can’t keep our spending priorities in order? If you’ve ever driven in and around Chicago you know what a pain in the butt all those toll roads can be. I am against toll roads. I see them as a symbol of failure. And I am dead-set against any private-for-profit companies getting involved because their priority is profit not traffic. They want to move money, not cars. And other than the TVA (and you can probably give me an argument there) these so-called public/private ventures simply don’t work. And you, as a citizen, are denied due process when you try to bring a grievance or change. There are a myriad of legal hurdles to overcome when we could simply MANAGE WHAT WE GOT!
Create express lanes; all you have to do is move the jersey walls (the concrete median barriers) to create the lanes. You can even utilize the idea of reversible lanes for rush hour traffic. It works! HoV lanes are a failure. This city has to move cars. Also start looking into leading-edge technology and innovation. Some fascinating work has been done in Florida on predictive accident technology (more on that later). It includes a new idea for variable speed limits. Instead of a posted sign you have electronic signs designed to slow things down or speed em’ up depending on the flow. We already have those big message signs in place.
Instead of thinking about profits why don’t we profit from our thinking?!?
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.
