CEO: TSPLOST Needed to Give Metro Area 'Sex Appeal'

Could TSPLOST help Atlanta gets its groove back? That's what one metro executive believes, Smyrna-Vinings Patch recently reported.

Speaking at the ’s First Monday Breakfast, Dave Stockert, CEO of Post Properties and Chairman of Citizens for Transportation Mobility, said passing the Transportation Investment Initiative, commonly known as TSPLOST, is critical to keeping Atlanta competitive and attracting a younger, more mobile, workforce. 

“We tend to cater to young, educated people,” he said according to the Smyrna-Vinings Patch article. “That’s our customer and that’s the lifeblood of our community. We don’t have the same sex appeal that we once did and we’ve got to get that back.”

Stockert, along with a panel of other metro area business leaders, called on the Atlanta business community to work for the passage of the transportation referendum.

“It’s up to us though, to carry this thing across the finish line—the business community,” Stockert said. “What I want you to do is walk out of here saying, ‘What can I do to encourage my people, my employees, my friends, family to get out there and turn out this vote. It won’t be done if the business community doesn’t do every single thing it can in the next 22 days to win this vote.”

What do you think? Will passing TSPLOST help the metro area gain "sex appeal"? Let us know in the comments.

See here for an Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece where Jim Stokes, executive director of the Livable Communities Coalition of Metro Atlanta, and Baruch Feigenbaum, senior fellow at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and a transportation analyst for the Reason Foundation, explain TSPLOST pros and cons.

While District 39 State Senator Vincent Fort, who represents a portion of Midtown, has been very vocal against the TSPLOST, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed again came out in support of it on Tuesday.

“I am tired of folks rooting against this region, especially when those on the other side of the debate haven’t put up a solution to our traffic and connectivity issues,” said Mayor Reed at an Atlanta Business League luncheon. “So I applaud the Atlanta Business League, which represents African-American business in our region, for really stepping up and supporting this referendum. They understand that if we don’t improve our competitive edge with job creation and wage growth, we won’t deal with our infrastructure issues or recover the thousands of jobs we have lost in this region since 2007.”

If the Regional Transportation Referendum passes on July 31, it is estimated that more than $7.2 billion will be invested over a 10-year period across the 10-county Atlanta metropolitan region with 15 percent going directly to municipalities. In addition to regional projects, the City of Atlanta is expected to receive more than $9 million every year for 10 years, or about $94 million total, dedicated for local projects.

Citywide –

There are a total of 108 Transportation Projects:

– 36 Final Investment List Projects (2013‐2022)

– 10 High‐priority Projects (2013‐2018)

– 10 Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Projects (2013‐2018)

– 52 Neighborhood Projects (2013‐2018)

• With these projects, it is expected that 92.9 percent of city population lives within a half-mile mile of one or more of these projects

Projects in or near NPU-E

Regional Transportation Referendum- Draft Local Investment Framework

Project #

Project Name and Description

N-2.3

18th St from Spring St (US 19/SR 9) and W Peachtree St (US 19/SR 9) – Milling, Repaving and Two-way Conversion

N-3.3

Mecaslin St from Loring Heights to Atlantic Station – Multi-use Path

N-6.1

Monroe Dr from Amsterdam Ave to 10th St – Pedestrian Safety Improvements

N-6.3

Monroe Dr at 8th St to Ponce de Leon Ave at Ponce City Market (US 78/US 278/SR 8) – New Street Connection

N-7.2

Atlanta BeltLine Trail from Peachtree Rd (US 19/SR 9) to Peachtree Creek Area – Multi-use Path

N-7.4

Peachtree Rd (US 19/SR 9) at Collier Rd – Intersection Realignment & Capacity Improvements (Council District 7)

N-8.3

Deering Rd from Northside Dr (US 41/SR 9) – Traffic Calming

N-8.5

Peachtree Rd (US 19/SR 9) at Collier Rd – Intersection Realignment & Capacity Improvements (Council District 8)

N-8.4

Atlanta BeltLine Trail from Dellwood Dr to Peachtree Rd (US 19/SR 9) – Multi-use Path