The Marietta Daily Journal – Remove BRT from any tier

Enough of the gamesmanship by Cobb Chairman Tim Lee in trying to get his bus rapid transit project included in the proposed special purpose local option sales tax referendum to be voted on in November.

Lee could find no support from fellow commissioners for putting his initial $100 million BRT line item in the “Tier 1” SPLOST list. So he has downsized the figure to $72.5 million and moved the BRT to the “Tier 2” list, which would be funded only if tax collections exceed the current $750 million estimate.

The chairman’s dream is a bus rapid transit line along the Cobb Parkway corridor from Acworth south to the Midtown MARTA station.

If he can get the local funding through the SPLOST, he would count on raising $300 million more in grants from other sources including federal funds to build the BRT — which would need still more millions each year in operating costs. Transit lines of whatever stripe need tax money to survive and do little if anything to relieve congestion. On top of that, there’s no groundswell of ridership support, and Cobb voters overwhelmingly rejected the similar “premium bus line” in the ill-fated T-SPLOST referendum two years ago.

The proper course for the sitting commission is to: (1) remove the BRT proposal from any “tier” of the SPLOST and submit the question to the voters in a separate referendum if that’s the will of the commission, (2) have the projected SPLOST collections re-estimated with the Braves projects included, and (3) spell out what projects would be funded from any excess taxes collected.

It will end the gamesmanship and demonstrate the stewardship this commission owes to the citizens of Cobb County.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Remove BRT from any tier.