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American Dream Coalition

American Dream Coalition. Presentation by Representative Steve Davis Georgia House of Representatives Transportation Committee Member. Getting the Story Straight!. Taxpayers have already paid for millions of dollars of consulting and planning(15 years worth).

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American Dream Coalition

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  1. American Dream Coalition Presentation by Representative Steve Davis Georgia House of Representatives Transportation Committee Member

  2. Getting the Story Straight!

  3. Taxpayers have already paid for millions of dollars of consulting and planning(15 years worth). Taxpayers have already paid close $3 Million in interest on the bonds for a passenger rail line that has never been approved! Taxpayers will pay for all track improvements Taxpayers will purchase all park and ride lots Taxpayers will purchase all locomotives Taxpayers will purchase all rail passenger cars Taxpayers will pay all insurance Taxpayers will pay all right of way maintenance Taxpayers will pay to improve all signal crossings Taxpayers will pay for all marketing Taxpayers will pay all fuel costs Taxpayers will pay NS for labor to maintain signals Taxpayers will pay NS as subcontractor for Engineers to run the trains Taxpayers will pay NS to lease limited use of the tracks Taxpayers will pay NS 12% of fare box Taxpayers will pay NS a per passenger incentive Taxpayers will be obligated to FTA for $87 million if line fails (Lovejoy).

  4. Taxpayers (local municipalities) will pay all operations and maintenance shortfalls no matter how much and with absolutely no control of expenses! The taxpayers will not own the rail line. This is called Corporate Welfare!

  5. Competitive Bids? The FTA and USDOT require competitive bids for all new rail projects however no bids have been used. Lovejoy has been exclusive with Norfolk Southern and the Athens line has been exclusive with CSX. And this is on all aspects of the project!

  6. Example of impact simplified: Current situation 100 Acres = 100 units 100 Units = 200 cars on road All new taxes from new houses used for new infrastructure improvements. Transit Village situation 100 Acres = 600 units 600 Units = 300 transit riders and 600 cars on the road All new taxes from Village goes to Maintenance and Operation of Rail. How do you pay for the new infrastructure needs? Such as Police, Fire, Water treatment plants, Schools, libraries, roads, parks and more!

  7. Infrastructure impact • Schools! • Water • Police • Fire • Parks • Libraries • Electricity

  8. Economic Development? • “Urban rail transit investments rarely ‘create’ new growth,” says a federally funded study, “but more typically redistribute growth that would have taken place without the investment” Federal Transit Administration

  9. Public Commitment? • Brain Train Survey sends wrong message • Only 400 people surveyed with only 18% being actual commuters to Atlanta! • We placed a non binding referendum on the ballot in July this year in Henry County. The results were as I predicted, 84 % supported voter approval of any new transit project being funded with local tax dollars. • Why do transit supporters try to block voter referendums on new projects? Hummmm….

  10. Land use impact • Tax Allocation Districts (TAD) • Community Improvement Districts (CID) • Livable Community Initiatives

  11. Taxes

  12. Alphabet Soup GDOT USDOT FHWA FTA SRTA ARC GRTA GRPA RTP FTA TPB NHTS NTS TSI TSAR CTP GTMC BTS IMTI NTIMC STIP JOP HOV HOT TOT GPTQ SASHTO GRIP SUE PDF CSD TIME TEA HERO GHP EPD EPA AFV MPO AQI CCT C-TRAN GCT TMA TLI GOHS HEAT RFP AASHTO DDS LCI SOV TDM TAQC PAG UPWP PPI LUCC

  13. What should we do? • Focus on true congestion relief measures • Encourage Teleworking • Encourage businesses to stagger work times • Ramp metering • Encourage corporations to site large employment sites outside downtown! • Reduce Regulations on Rail providers to promote profitable free market solutions!

  14. Improve Traffic Flow! • Intersection improvements • Turning lanes • Road widening • Road improvements • New Roads!!!! • HOV – HOT – TOT Lanes • New toll roads • New bridges over rail crossings

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