More Roads as Traffic Solution?

[teshadoh]

^ The Transit Union & the Sierra Club put together an amusing & relatively large protest in front of the Fox. Also, in case there was anyone that liked Travis Tritt - you might want to reconsider

[Andrea]

Also, in case there was anyone that liked Travis Tritt - you might want to reconsider

Well, I'm a huge Travis fan but I would have preferred it if he'd stuck to the orginal lyrics -- or better yet, declined to appear.

The fact that they could get a big star like Travis Tritt to change one of his hits into a highway booster jingle speaks pretty loudly to the clout they have.

[Hotlanta]

Road Hog Supper

Creative Loafing's report on the recent lobbying extravaganza at the Fox. This was put on by a group called Georgians for Better Transit, which the paper describes as a lobbying group representing road builders, concrete companies, bulldozer vendors and other highway interests. According to the Loaf, supporters paid $10,000 a table and the program featured Travis Tritt singing a song called "Let's keep Georgia drivin' on!"

I wish I could put together a gala like that to present my views to the Governor and the legislature for creating fewer roads, more rail service and better access for pedestrians and bicyclists. Oh well, maybe I'll just send a letter.

This is totally ludacris! Coming up with a song and having supporters from all transportation backgrounds just to keep Georgia on its roads is totally proposterous!

[Jerseyman4]

I suspect too much outsider influence stops/prevents the needs of new highway construction outside of the Atlanta perimeter. Not the nicest thing to say unfortunately but the majority of natives seem to be on the same page, positively speaking, regarding transportation & city related planning issues but when you add in outsiders from allover the country, progress oftently gets disrupted/delayed/killed because everyone has a different opinion but all too often, have not lived in the area as long as the natives did to understand there is a need for expansion and change. Selfishness and not seeing the bigger picture is what kills proper planning to help serve everyone.

[Andrea]

Two on DOT board vie for new terms in secret balloting

As I understand it, the board of the Geogia DOT is elected by secret ballot among state legislators, and I think the vote is probably agreed upon in advance (although no one really knows how it's done). The board is composed of members from the state's various congressional districts. One member is from Atlanta, one is from Decatur, and one is from Marietta. The other ten members of the DOT board are from other parts of the state.

I wonder if the DOT would handle things differently if Atlanta had more input into who is on the board, how it operates and what its priorities are?

I thought this was an interesting comment:

Both [Robert]Brown, a well-connected architect, and [David] Doss, president of a real estate management company, have attracted influential support. Richardson, Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams and House Transportation Committee Chairman Vance Smith sent out a letter to the legislators asking them to pick Doss, noting his role in the "Paving the Way Home" road funding Gov. Sonny Perdue recently announced.