Mayor Kasim Reed predicts Atlanta’s notoriously troubled traffic woes will prompt locals, anxious for any ounce of gridlock relief, to approve spending $250 million on infrastructure fixes next month.
“Traffic light synchronization and bridge repair, on their own … really make this dog hunt,” Reed said, adding that key to the bond passage is that voters understand their taxes won’t rise as a result. “This is less about persuasion and more about awareness of the election.”
Reed has less than a month left to convince voters to say yes on March 17 to two separate bonds. The first, worth $188 million, will fund capital maintenance projects such as road improvements and sidewalks. The second bond, valued at $64 million, will pay to build or improve municipal facilities.
In late 2008, Atlanta completed a study that found nearly half of its 1,705 miles of streets were in disrepair and needed repaving. About the same time the great recession began pinching city revenues, limiting the city’s ability attend to its maintenance backlog.
Early voting begins Monday, and Reed said he’s now raising funds for a messaging campaign to reach those voters in the final critical weeks.
via Reed says traffic fixes will prompt yes vote on infrastructure | www.myajc.com.
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