MARTA Brass Court Clayton for Transit Expansion
Top MARTA representatives Tuesday presented more details to the Clayton County Commission on a possible transit expansion into the south-metro county. As heard on the radio
The presentation comes as the transit-starved Clayton – the only metro county without a dedicated transit system – weighs whether to join the bus and rail system, or potentially develop its own.
MARTA CEO Keith Parker and board Chairman Robbie Ashe’s sales pitch to Clayton highlighted economic development and job creation.
“MARTA’s hiring bus operators, rail folks, engineers, station agents, you name it, and we’ll hold those job fairs right here in this area,” Parker said during the presentation.
Parker didn’t lay out any plans on how a possible MARTA expansion into Clayton would work. He said details on specific routs and fleet sizes would be negotiated should the county decide to move forward.
Parker however assured commissioners they’d be able to customize the system to fit the county’s needs.
“We would work with you,” Parker said. “Your planners would work with our planning team, and in all likelihood, the way we typically do these things, is go out into the community and find out where they want to go, and develop the service plan around that.”
Clayton has been without a mass transit option since it’s former MARTA-operated bus system, C-TRAN, was shut down in 2010 amid county budget shortfalls.
Local officials and community members have been demanding a transit revival, but how the county will do that is still in question.
State lawmakers this year passed legislation permitting the county to adopt up to a penny sales tax to fund mass transit. However, Clayton Board Chairman Jeff Turner said that legislation only permits for a binding resolution, meaning the options under the law are either MARTA or nothing.
Turner said despite that stipulation, Clayton is still exploring options outside of MARTA.
“Because if the majority of the citizens of Clayton County vote it down, joining MARTA, we still need transit,” Turner said.
Turner said Parker’s presentation answered some lingering questions, but he’s still trying to determine whether the transit system is a good fit for Clayton.
It’s a concern shared by resident Larry O’Keefe, who during public comment cautioned the board against joining MARTA without exploring all other options.
“I’d like to ask you to look at how MARTA operates now – North v. South,” O’Keefe said. “Look at south Fulton and how they’re served as opposed to how north Fulton and the Dunwoody area is served. My fear – and I hope my fear can be alleviated – my fear is that we would become a cash cow for MARTA, and our services would be minimal.”
The county has until July 7 to vote on whether to put the referendum on the November ballot.
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