I am baffled and amazed at the lack of facts and logic used to support issues. Often, issues are being justified by using a “red herring.” A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue.
I represent all six cities in North Fulton County and speak to residents every day. The people overwhelmingly tell me they don’t want a heavy rail solution forced upon them. This is the case for the proposed, nearly 3 billion dollar expansion of MARTA rail into North Fulton County. A project of this magnitude will likely increase traffic and taxes for North Fulton residents. Cobb County learned through a study by the Board of Commissioners that their proposed transit system could make traffic worse. North Fulton needs innovative solutions to circumvent traffic congestion. A heavy rail expansion is not the solution. Citizens understand the reality of the situation.
North Fulton ranks high in Georgia and nationally in most major categories, including: public safety, level of higher education, household income, parks, best place to start a business, best place to raise a family, lowest unemployment, cutting edge businesses, best quality of life, top ranked schools and so much more.
One popular red herring argument is that the millennial generation contends they’ll never own a car or live in the suburbs. I think the millennial generation is very talented; and I’ve already seen them moving to North Fulton in large numbers, and according to Bloomberg, they account for 27% of all new car sales.
Another myth to debunk claims is that businesses need to have heavy rail transit in order to thrive. Businesses locate to our area because we lead in most major areas, as previously referenced, and employees live and work in their community.
Furthermore, I read an article where someone compared the quality of life to the number of miles of heavy rail. We’re already thriving and leading in most every metric in North Fulton — without MARTA rails.
Lastly, and perhaps the most outrageous, a “Twitter Poll” claimed strong support for expansion, with no basis or controls whatsoever. This was the height of irresponsible journalism. I speak to constituents every day, and this could not be further from the truth. As John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
Let’s review together; an expansion of MARTA will increase taxes, cost billions, take countless years to complete and increase traffic. Additionally, it will not improve our public safety, household income, parks, business climate, quality of life, unemployment rates or our top ranking public school system.
However, adding additional lanes to GA400 and then adding a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system could provide a reasonable solution at a fraction of the cost, time and impact.
to your business!