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At Annual Forum, Conservatives Talk New Transportation Plan

September 23rd, 2012

This summer the majority of voters across the state rejected a proposed one percent sales tax to fund regional transportation projects.

With the defeat still fresh in mind, conservatives recently gathered in midtown Atlanta for the year’s annual Georgia Legislative Policy Forum.

The main transportation presentation began on a slightly more therapeutic note than normal.

Kerry McCutchen of the conservative think tank Georgia Public Policy Institute urged about 100 policymakers to put the T-SPLOST behind them.

“We cannot sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. We need to move forward. That’s really the purpose of what we’re doing here today.”

McCutchen said any serious Plan B would require additional revenue sources.

He called for fundamental reform of the motor fuel tax. He wants it restructured so lawmakers can’t divert any portion of the funds away from transportation, as is currently the practice.

“We ought to be spending it where people think it’s going, on transportation.”

He also wants the tax locked in at a specific rate, instead of tied to the price of gas.

“It is somewhat of a calculated risk if the price [of gas] goes up again but I think it’s at least one way to guarantee a set amount of revenue.”

McCutchen says gas tax reform would allow for greater state investment in transit, which he says serves a critical economic role.

“If you don’t have transportation, you often might not be able to get a good education, get to college or a university class. You might have a hard time getting to a job. If your car breaks down, you don’t have a job problem, you have a transportation problem.”

McCutchen dismissed new rail as too expensive for a sprawled-out city like Atlanta. He’s supportive of cheaper options like bus rapid transit.

Meanwhile, among attendees, there was general agreement that more coordination was needed between the state’s various transportation agencies.

“Whether it’s called MARTA, or whether it’s called something else, I think the most important thing is to illustrate to the public in the region that you can get on a bus in Cherokee County and you can go all the way through the system to Henry County and you’re in one seemless system,” said Michael Paris of the Council for Quality Growth.

Paris and others also agreed the state needed to rebuild trust with voters. One concrete proposal called for the Department of Transportation to begin streaming their board meetings online.