Citizens for Progessive Transit is one of the relatively new crops of grass-roots groups that are actively pushing Georgia politicians and transit officials to stop favoring sprawl and roads over smart-growth and mass transit.

They’ve enjoyed a small degree of success, but leading the Atlanta region towards a car-less future is akin to turning around a battleship – it’ll take years, possibly even decades, and it’ll be built upon the widespread support of citizens rather than top-down leadership from elected officials.

CfPT, along with the Concerned Black Clergy, Atlanta Transit Riders Union and Atlanta Jobs with Justice are the common sense voices seeking to change the oil-dependent and polluting status quo.
One of the more imaginative, and controversial, actions CfPT has taken has been the creation of a Atlanta transit map that includes seven options capable of taking commuters from as far north as Cartersville and Canton to Macon, in middle Georgia.
Of course, MARTA is currently the only mass transit rail option, serving the citizens of just two counties: Fulton and DeKalb.

But CfPT’s dream map demonstrates the potential that the region has, should elected officials decide to put quality of life and the environment over the profits of developers and road builders, not to mention the suburbanites race-based fears.
Following is a recent conversation with attorney and CfPT President Lee Biola about Atlanta’s transit potential, and potential failures.

What do you think is the biggest impediment to a more transit-friendly Atlanta?

Over-subsidized car travel. We have over-invested public dollars in single person car travel. One out of every nine dollars in the state budget goes to roads that subsidize car dependent developments away from transit stations.

No transit system can function when so many public dollars are distorting the development market and pulling development away from transit.

Over subsidizing car travel doesn’t just hurt transit. Excessive road spending subsidizes development away from sidewalks, parks, schools, libraries, fire houses, and police stations.
Every type of infrastructure needed to make our society function must constantly spend money to keep up with development consistently moving further out.

The fastest way to make Atlanta transit friendly is to cap or reduce our car travel subsidies. Pull the plug on 23 lane road projects. Stop giving free parking to state employees who work near a MARTA station.

Although we certainly need a road system, we do not need the overbuilt system we have today. Every effort should be made to reduce road spending, convert some of that spending to sidewalks and transit, and let the market do the rest.

Are there any trends - political, market or grass-roots driven - that give you any hope?

Yes. Opinion polls show that people support alternatives to road travel. A significant majority of Gwinnett County voters support commuter rail. Both the Republican and the two remaining Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor support commuter rail.

We have money in hand to build the commuter rail line to Clayton County. We have a tax allocation district to pay for transit on the Beltline.

More and more people are choosing to live on the MARTA line. Donald Trump is only one of many developers taking advantage of the market demand to live near a MARTA station. In a few years, Midtown will have an large affluent population living steps from the North-South line. This will inevitably lead to more retail, restaurants, and office space along on the MARTA line. It will create an affluent constituency with little use for and likely distaste for the downtown connector.

We have a very pro-transit mayor and city council. The Atlanta Regional Commission supports transit in principle, even though some of its official statements have tried to scare up more money for roads.

People across the country are approving referendums for transit projects. In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush is pushing a commuter rail line. We are going to face ever-increasing gas prices. The oil industry itself is warning that it will not be able to get oil out of the ground fast enough to support increased world wide demand. At some point in the next 10 to 40 years, oil will actually become harder to pump out of the ground as the big oil deposits empty out.

There are many forces at work that could still lead to a world class transit system in Atlanta. There are also forces that could undermine that goal. It will not be easy, but I see many reasons to be hopeful.

Have you seen any signs that the pro-road, good ol’ boy network is resisting this type of progress?

Yes. The Congestion Mitigation Task Force was a back door attempt to smack down transit projects. Georgians for Better Transportation was clearly behind the Task Force findings. Those findings, if implemented, will make it very hard for transit projects to score well in competition for federal funding.

Other actions that have a less clear connection to GBT but certainly are pro-road and anti-transit include the secretive last minute efforts by Rep. Ben Harbin in the legislature to place more financial restrictions on commuter rail than on roads.

Harbin now is calling for an audit of the commuter rail program, without calling for an audit of the road program. We can expect that Harbin will use any irregularities found in the audit, and audits always find irregularities, as further excuse to slow commuter rail.

A powerful minority on the DOT board is outspoken in its opposition to commuter rail. Current Chairman Mike Evans is openly opposed to commuter rail. Former Chairman David Doss once compared transportation alternatives to asking people to ride skateboards or ponies to work. A seven member majority, led by Dana Lemon, has said commuter rail should go forward. But DOT staff seems loyal to Doss and Evans.

There appears to be an assumption that any new regional transportation funding mechanism proposed by the new Transit Planning Board will be mostly money for roads. Even though it is supposed to be the Transit Planning Board.

Road interests have been successful in getting Arial Hart to run a series of articles in the [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] calling the lack of money for roads a “crisis.” A foundation is clearly being laid to give cover to politicians to call for an increase in the state gas tax [which can only be used for roads and bridges].

That’s a great point. I’ve seen local television news channels run the same type of story Just last night, there was a piece on Rep. Mark Burkhalter’s proposal to get rid of the ad valorem tax - what driver’s pay when they get their tag renewed. Sure, the media loves stories about consumers saving money, but there wasn’t a single perspective given saying that Burkhalter’s proposal would subsidize more automobile travel, and therefore more fossil fuel consumption. What’s it going to take for the mass media to realize that we should stop subsidizing, and begin penalizing, automobile travel?

I think knowledge is key. Most people just have no idea how much roads cost
or how they are paid for.

Atlanta resident Michael Wall is a seventh generation Georgian.