TSPLOST: Fulton Leaders Prepare For Next Steps

ATLANTA, GA -- After more than a year of negotiations on how to solve the county's transportation woes, Fulton leaders will now have to pull together and carry out the will of its citizens.

The Nov. 8 general election resulted in the approval of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales tax for transportation projects in cities outside of Atlanta. The referendum passed 53 to 47 percent, or 125,463 to 112,578 votes.

Collections on the $.75 sales tax will start in April 2017 and end March 2022, and is expected to generate about $570 million in transportation investments.

Money collected through the tax will be dived up among cities based on population. Each of the participating cities selected a project list with citizen input and transportation planning.

• A master list of those projects can be reviewed here.

"I am ecstatic," said Fulton County Commission Chairman John H. Eaves. "We worked so hard for so long to get the 14 mayors of Fulton County to work together and agree to map out the future of transportation in Fulton County. Thank you to the voters for saying 'yes.' This is a game changer and will begin to end our traffic nightmares."

Roswell Mayor Jere Wood agreed, noting Tuesday's approval will "make a big dent" in the congestion plaguing that city.

The biggest complaint he's received while serving as the city's mayor is the traffic city residents and stakeholders experience on a regular basis, so the referendum's approval will hopefully allow residents to spend less time in their cars and more time with friends and family, the mayor continued.

"This will be the biggest investment in transportation improvements in Roswell that we’ve ever had," Wood stated.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul pointed out to Patch what he called a somewhat surprising contrast in the breakdown of how the referendum performed in various precincts across Fulton. The measure was approved in all of Sandy Springs' precincts and nearly all of Roswell's. Farther up, the referendum was rejected in several Alpharetta, Milton and Johns Creek precincts.

• View the TSPLOST referendum results here.

On the south side, precincts bordering the city of Atlanta generally voted in favor of the referendum while those farther south voted against the proposal. At a glance, Paul said, it appears voters in Sandy Springs could have made the overall difference in how the referendum performed at the polls.

"The folks in Sandy Springs are anxious to get something done about traffic in this area and we are already at work this morning trying to get the process and the plans together," Paul told Patch Wednesday morning.

Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood said his city looks forward to "ensuring that our portion of TSPLOST revenues are used effectively and in a manner that meets Milton's unique transportation needs."

Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle did not return calls and emails requesting comment on the referendum's passage.

Over in Johns Creek, Mayor Mike Bodker said he was not particularly surprised by the contrast of voters closer to Atlanta showing their inclination to support the TSPLOST while those living on the outer rings of the county expressed more hesitation. He also added he would not have been surprised if the measure had failed altogether.

He noted that while citizens inherently do not trust the government when it proposes a tax increase to pay for projects, many residents may have grown tired of complaining about traffic and decided doing something "aggressive" to reduce the congestion could be worth a shot.

“Traffic is just so bad in Atlanta that we will do anything to get rid of it," he added.

However, Bodker expressed caution on the theory that widening roads will alleviate congestion. What will bring about real change, he added, will be to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road.

Some form of transit, "not trains," has to be part of the long-term conversation, Bodker stated.

At any rate, the TSPLOST will be the "single most impactful thing to happen in Johns Creek" in his lifetime, the mayor continued.

"It’s a long time coming because we’ve grown so much in such a short period of time, but our roads have not kept up with it," he added.

Image via Shutterstock