A state board of transportation committee held a public hearing Wednesday to discuss whether commuter rail would ever come to Georgia. They did not find an answer.
State officials have studied the feasibility of commuter rail lines between Atlanta, middle Georgia and Athens for years. They have looked at the costs, the ridership, and the routes. Georgia has $107 million in federal and state funds to spend on a line that runs from Atlanta to Lovejoy. Norfolk Southern has agreed to rent its rail lines to the state for a commuter service.
State board members reviewed all of those facts at the meeting, and then asked the public to comment.
"We're planning. We're re-planning. We're designing. We're consulting, and we're going in circles," said state Rep. Steve Davis (R-McDonough). He said the state should forget about commuter rail and instead focus on improving roads.
But most speakers argued in favor of the rail line as one alternative to clogged highways.
"We need all the capacity we can get our hands on because we feel like we're choking to death on congestion, and we're starting to lose business," said Terry Chastain of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
In the end, committee members were too far apart to recommend anything to the full board. Committee chairman Larry Walker concluded the meeting without a vote. He says even if the committee recommended the state go forward with the Atlanta-to-Lovejoy line, the full board would vote that option down.
"I think we don't need to do that right now," Walker said. He, like the majority of committee members, wanted updated estimates of the costs and revenue from a commuter rail line. The committee will meet again in a few weeks.
State officials have studied the feasibility of commuter rail lines between Atlanta, middle Georgia and Athens for years. They have looked at the costs, the ridership, and the routes. Georgia has $107 million in federal and state funds to spend on a line that runs from Atlanta to Lovejoy. Norfolk Southern has agreed to rent its rail lines to the state for a commuter service.
State board members reviewed all of those facts at the meeting, and then asked the public to comment.
"We're planning. We're re-planning. We're designing. We're consulting, and we're going in circles," said state Rep. Steve Davis (R-McDonough). He said the state should forget about commuter rail and instead focus on improving roads.
But most speakers argued in favor of the rail line as one alternative to clogged highways.
"We need all the capacity we can get our hands on because we feel like we're choking to death on congestion, and we're starting to lose business," said Terry Chastain of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
In the end, committee members were too far apart to recommend anything to the full board. Committee chairman Larry Walker concluded the meeting without a vote. He says even if the committee recommended the state go forward with the Atlanta-to-Lovejoy line, the full board would vote that option down.
"I think we don't need to do that right now," Walker said. He, like the majority of committee members, wanted updated estimates of the costs and revenue from a commuter rail line. The committee will meet again in a few weeks.
