Fresh Loaf

Business blogger Maria Saporta reports state Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, seems to be the most likely candidate to be named the next Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner.

Smith, chairman of the House transportation committee, has been interested in the DOT job for nearly two years, and it appears he will get his wish.

The deadline for applications from people interested in the DOT job was today at 5 p.m.

Word has it that Smith’s top two potential competitors did not apply for the job, meaning that he is the last man standing.

Saporta reports one of those competitors, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Dick Anderson, decided to stick with GRTA to try to implement the governor’s recently completed statewide transportation plan. Interim GDOT Commissioner Gerald Ross is rumored to return to his position as chief engineer.

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A coalition of officials from the state and metro region’s transportation planning agencies have vouched to now take the next step in addressing the issue — moving past pretty blueprints and visions and focusing on the more complex process of actually finding ways to build the mobility solutions.

The Transit Planning Board yesterday, in its final meeting under that banner, unanimously approved a “new year’s resolution” to create the Transit Implementation Board, or TIB. That agency, which will supplant the board, will examine how the region can implement Concept 3 (PDF) — a gridlock-relieving vision of light-rail, heavy-rail and bus routes that would spider throughout metro Atlanta.

The Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and MARTA — members of the board — have all passed resolutions in support of Concept 3.

From a press release from the group:

“Two years ago, our region needed to focus on developing a vision for transit that we could all support,” stated TPB and Clayton County Chairman Eldrin Bell. “Today, we’re saying our focus needs to be on implementation. This year has filled me with optimism regarding what our region can accomplish when we work together Now, however, the hard part begins.”

The TIB’s first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29.

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Lawmakers learn from their failures, right?

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle yesterday told a crowd of 400 mobility-minded businesspeople, politicians and lobbyists at a luncheon sponsored by the Get Georgia Moving coalition and the Council For Quality Growth that a regional sales tax for transportation fixes — or T-SPLOST — would be given priority consideration when the General Assembly convenes in January.

The tax would be similar to a local option sales tax and allow Georgians — if the measure passes and is approved as a constitutional referendum on the 2010 ballot — to vote on a list of predetermined projects such as road, rails and bridges. Cagle said stakeholders in the coming weeks needed to reach a consensus for the proposal to be considered at the start of the legislative session.

Georgia Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle
(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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After years of bloodletting and ALL-OUT WAR, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and MARTA are laying down their weapons and working together for a brighter transit future.

Starting Aug. 5, GRTA’s Xpress coach buses will accept MARTA Regional Breeze Cards. (The agency says that if you want the free transfer from the city’s bus or rail system to the GRTA coaches, you’ll need to have that card or the paper Breeze ticket.)

For the full lowdown, click here to read GRTA’s announcement and the answers to a bunch of frequently asked questions.

(Thanks for the link goes to the fine folks at Citizens for Progressive Transit’s message board.)

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Gov. Sonny Perdue said today that he plans to find the $13 million needed to purchase more buses to accommodate the increasing number of people who are flocking to public transit because of high gas prices.

“I was disappointed this year when our Legislature overlooked the $13 million I placed in there for more GRTA buses,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll rectify that. We’re going to try to find that money to get those buses.”

He reiterated the fact in a conversation with reporters after his comments.

State lawmakers sliced the governor’s $13 million request from the budget during the most recent legislative session. The same lawmakers also failed to pass a sorely-needed funding mechanism that would’ve allowed voters to decide if they wanted regions in the state to be able to levy a sales tax for transportation projects.

When asked by a reporter if the rising prices of gasoline had caused him to consider possible state assistance to expand transit systems, Perdue said to wait and see. He added that he expects all transportation agencies to work together to create a solution — and that transit has to be a component.

But Perdue also put on his transit planner cap and hinted that the metro region’s sprawling landscape is more suited to rolling-tire buses rather than rail-hugging trains.

“When you look at statistics, there’s a certain density that’s required to make [transit] sufficient,” he said.

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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