ATLANTA, Ga. — A document signed by numerous state Republican lawmakers appears to indicate that some GOP leaders favor improving and repairing Georgia’s roads, rather than launching passenger rail service, the Macon Telegraph reported.
A proposed route between Macon and Atlanta is tentatively planned to be the first commuter rail line in Georgia, with estimates of the service’s start date ranging from 2005 to 2012.
“Republicans will focus state resources where congestion is worse, while Democrats have favored transportation projects that are of dubious need,” according to the Declaration of a New Georgia manifesto, which was signed by state lawmakers at the Capitol Sept 25.
Democratic lawmakers say Republicans generally don’t support mass transit projects, including rail and bicycle lanes.
“Republicans tend to be geared toward getting to where they want to go in their SUVs,” said Sen. Doug Haines, D-Athens, who supports building a passenger rail line between Atlanta and Athens. “There’s a lot more talk about putting down pavement by Republicans. Bike trails tend to be ridiculed by the Republican.”
Republican lieutenant governor candidate Steve Stancil opposes commuter rail to Macon and other parts of the state because of projected high costs.
“There has been no evidence that heavy rail has reduced congestion in any city,” said Clint Austin, a spokesman for Stancil, who prefers buses to trains. “Only in cities with dense populations like New York does rail work.”
Bonaire’s Sonny Perdue, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, wants proof that the rail line will spur economic benefits and relieve traffic congestion in Middle Georgia, and that ridership demand is sufficient.
“If it’s slow rail, and it doesn’t bring business or help Macon, it just makes the potential to turn Macon into a bedroom community to Atlanta, which is not sustainable tax-wise,” said Perdue spokesman Dan McLagan.
State officials project the train ride between Atlanta and Macon, with only two stops in between, will last about an hour and 45 minutes.
“If we choose to build a line, we must ensure that it is truly a rapid rail that expedites and eases people’s commutes,” Perdue said.
“Otherwise, people would have no incentive to ride.”
If Perdue and Stancil don’t take the exact same stance on the commuter rail issue, that’s to be expected, Republicans say. Perdue and Stancil have campaigned together as a Republican ticket, but they shouldn’t be expected to agree on all issues, McLagan said.
“The Declaration is not the be-all, end-all for all of our candidates,” McLagan said.
Indeed, some Republicans support commuter rail. Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, said trains would be much more effective at eliminating traffic jams than commuter buses.
“The cost to run rail between Macon and Atlanta is less than adding a lane on Interstate 75,” Harp said. “Congestion on I-75 is out of control.”
Harp believes the “projects that are of dubious need” phrase in the Declaration of a New Georgia’s refers to the Northern Arc, a project supported by Gov. Roy Barnes to build a new east-west toll road in the suburbs north of Atlanta. Republicans have criticized the Northern Arc, saying it’s intended to benefit landowners in the area who have political ties to Barnes.
State Republican Party chairman Ralph Reed also denied that the Declaration of a New Georgia is an official statement of opposition to rail. Rather, it’s intended to show that Democrats have spent billions on useless transportation plans, he said.
“They’ve spent a lot of money on pork, an awful lot of money on projects without demonstrating a need,” Reed said.
Roads seem to be the major focus of the Republican transportation plan in the Declaration of a New Georgia. The platform stresses the worsening traffic situation in metro Atlanta, but mentions no other Georgia cities. It does say that in rural Georgia, the top priority is repairing and expanding surface streets.
The platform also implies Democrats haven’t built enough roads in the past decade, saying metro Atlanta’s population grew 40 percent in the 1990s, but road surfaces grew only 6 percent. The platform also points out there’s been no new major road projects since the extension of Georgia 400 in Atlanta.
Among other issues, the Declaration advocates an exemption from state income tax for teachers and seniors over age 62.