Truck toll road just won't die

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Saturday, June 4. 2011

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The AJC is running an online piece today about the Western Commercial Connector - the truck toll road that threatens northeast Lamar County and just won't die.

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#1 Concerned Citizen on 06/04/11 at 07:58 PM

This toll road proposal is the single most horrific idea for “development” that has ever been considered for the area. Not only will the road completely destroy a large portion of the rural nature of Spalding/Lamar it will bring with it noise, air, and water pollution from the increased traffic and the exhaust and oil run off that comes with it. It absolutely will not bring any business worth having to the area. These types of highways bring with them only sprawl and more traffic. There will be no vibrant downtown culture; there will be an Outback, Longhorn, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, 4 different drug stores and 15 different fast food restaurants at every intersection. These are the projects that gut small towns and remove any hint of uniqueness and small business. These private toll roads also invariably harm the public interests as the goal is to make money for the private share holders, not provide service to the residents: http://www.uspirg.org/road-report.

The toll road is being designed with the intention of giving truck traffic from the proposed Savannah Port dredging a way to skirt Atlanta traffic. The dredging itself is an environmental disaster that will contaminate the fresh water of the Savannah and Augusta region. Augusta has already threatened to sue as soon as the proposals for the dredging are complete in order to protect their water supply that’s critical to the area’s agriculture and drinking water.

This project is based on the flawed premise that Atlanta has a traffic congestion problem that requires a superhighway 50 miles away to solve. Nothing could be further from the truth. Traffic in downtown isn’t the problem, hundreds of thousands of commuters in single occupancy vehicles driving 50 miles each way to go to work in Atlanta is the problem, and no road construction is going to solve that problem. More roads invariably equals MORE traffic, not less, through a process transportation engineers call “induced demand”. If you build more roads, you make traffic problems worse.

If Atlanta wants to solve its congestion problem then alternatives to car commuter traffic must be the focal point. Remove the cars and the truck traffic is not a problem. To solve Atlanta’s traffic problem, light rail needs to be extended south to McDonough down 1-75 and Peachtree City or Newnan down I-85, and north to Gainesville, Marietta, and Cumming. This would remove tens of thousands of cars from the 75/85 corridor and remove the need for a toll road in the first place.

A much better situation for the area would be the proposed passenger rail from Macon to Atlanta. This would revitalize downtowns by bringing people into the city center and giving businesses a reason to locate around the population.

Anyone supporting this project is thinking of the short-term monetary benefits to them and completely ignoring the long-term health, livability, and sustainability of the entire area that we know and love. Anything that can be done to stop this project before it gains any momentum from the “development at all costs” crowd must be done.

#1.1 Oh wow on 06/05/11 at 10:06 PM

This town needs some development. We dont need an essay from you

#1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/07/11 at 03:20 PM

if you want development....move to the city

#2 Anonymous on 06/05/11 at 07:59 AM

In order for the light passenger rail to work. The train would have to stop at almost every city to pick up enough passengers to be viable. Then it would take forever to go anywhere and no one would want to ride it.
A simpler solution would be to cut demand on these imports coming from the Savannah port. If we just bought American made products, we could reduce the imports, reduce truck traffic and boost OUR own economy.

#2.1 MR. RIGHT on 06/05/11 at 08:56 AM

If we want to boost our economy we need to drill for oil on American soil, get rid of OPEC and sell it only in America . The only reason our economy is so poor now is because of the price of fuel .

To reduce truck traffic; warehouses need to build on the rails and more things need to be shipped by rail to different cities as much as possible . Then truck drivers need to drive local and get paid hourly wages . Eliminate the majority of overdriven geeked up long hauls that aren't making any money any how due to the price of fuel and insurance rates and that will cut down on truck traffic .

As for commuters to Atlanta and Macon; move closer to the city where you work, or quit your job and find one closer to where you live now .

#2.1.1 wdm on 06/05/11 at 01:28 PM

You have lived up to your name with that post.

#2.1.2 Anonymous on 06/05/11 at 05:06 PM

Even if you found oil in your backyard, the price would be driven up by the Futures Market.
We need to do something about that market. Then we can for drill in the U.S and get rid of OPEC. Hopefully they will stop using ethanol....it is messing up my weed eater and raising the price of Captain Crunch!

#2.1.3 Anonymous on 06/05/11 at 05:42 PM

The dumbest thing we could do right now, and the dumbest thing we did in the past, is pump all the easy cheap oil out of the ground here. We should have been banking it like money in the bank and buying all our oil overseas years ago, because oil supply is limited.

You can find a few crackpots who claim we have enough oil here to last 100 years, but all the documented facts say otherwise. We are already past peak oil here, and soon the mid east might be past peak oil.

Our economy is actually tanked because years ago we decided manufacturing and agriculture was not important. We decided we could all be doctors, nurses, bankers, lawyers, and brokers. What we have today is the result of that sickness for the past 30 or 40 years.

Get accustomed to oil going up in price, because the world is using more and more of it. There is a finite supply, and as the easy oil runs out the price will just go higher and higher. Our choice will be solar, nuclear, or continued slow death.

The last thing we need is some dumb as a rock politician letting us suck the last oil we have under our control out of the ground, especially with the communist Chinese building up their army with our WalMart money.

#2.1.4 Country Boy on 06/06/11 at 09:59 AM

You want people to move to Atlanta or Macon if they work there? Okay, then see how the economy and social structure of B'ville improves when all those people move out and take their money, including the property taxes they pay on the houses they live in that AREN'T slums.

#2.2 Concerned Citizen on 06/05/11 at 10:59 AM

I completely agree with reducing demand of imports. I already to my best to NOT live the American consumerist lifestyle.

I get very depressed thinking about what a great town Griffin or Barnesville could be if they hadn't embraced the sprawl mentality of driving to the wal-mart outside of the downtown to do all of their shopping. We could have had a vibrant, walkable/bikeable downtown full of shops and restaurants and industry close enough to easily bike rather than be so car dependent. It's sad what we have instead. The irony is that the wal-mart that gutted downtown is also responsible for the mills and industry shutting down in the area because wal-mart buys from overseas. They traded their local economy for cheap Chinese garbage. And now they want to build an interstate highway through town to carry that garbage faster. Just brilliant.

As for light rail, I would take the 7 or 8 stops to get to Atlanta while I read a book or work on my laptop to not have to sit on the interstate in stopped traffic while burning fossil fuel that costs $4+ a gallon. Light rail does work and is time efficient. Just think of New York, DC, Boston, Chicago.....

#2.2.1 Anonymous on 06/05/11 at 04:10 PM

why dont you move to New York, DC, Boston, Chicago if your son damn unhappy?first off the road will never be built!walter keeps bringing it up to cause issues so people will read this site.i'm in a position to know if the road was possible and its not!!so go back to your nascar race and baseball games it going to be just fine

#2.2.1.1 cats on 06/06/11 at 06:11 AM

And there you go, the smart-aleck telling the previous poster to move to New York, Boston, et al, if he's so unhappy.
Can you point out anywhere in his post where he said he's unhappy?
I don't understand the anonymous folks who try to shut down a discussion with those types of comments.
I have to take 2 trips per year to Atlanta for medical reasons, and believe me, I would be on some type of public transportation to do so if it were available. The medical visit is grueling enough; to compound it by dealing with the Atlanta commute means it takes me a couple of days to get my strength back.
My spouse drives up to the Atlanta area 6 days per week for his job.
We don't WANT to live up there closer to his job. We like it here. So he sucks it up and gives up 48 hours of his time and over $300 per month in fuel costs to make his living.

#2.2.1.1.1 JJ on 06/06/11 at 03:19 PM

I wouldn't be throwing the people who use the screen name Anonymous under the bus....especialy if my screen name was cats. Its not like u told the world your real name& the "Anonymous" people are scared to- U told the world that you're probably a weirdo cat person who lives with 10 of them in a single wide trailer& is on Albuterol 24/7& u have no idea why.

#2.2.1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/06/11 at 06:43 PM

Ok, "JJ"

#2.2.1.1.1.1.1 JJ on 06/07/11 at 10:12 AM

ok "anonymous"....u must be "cats" and u realize I was right about your Albuterol so now you're going with "anonymous"

#2.2.1.1.1.2 Sheila Tolley on 06/07/11 at 12:06 PM

If you have read any of cats' posts in previous articles you know that she would be more intelligent in a coma than most of these Anonymous bloggers.

#2.2.1.1.2 Anonymous on 06/07/11 at 01:32 PM

hay cats, whats the matter ya'll aint smart enough to get a job closer to where you live or are ya'll just a buch of union obama folks??

#2.2.1.1.2.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/07/11 at 03:08 PM

You are a no-name uneducated PUNK.

#2.2.1.1.2.2 cats on 06/07/11 at 04:12 PM

Since you're interested, the husband works for Delta Airlines. We like living here in Barnesville. We're registered Republicans who vote in every election and pay our bills and our taxes on time.
I have a full time job as well.
Thanks for your interest.
Have a nice week.

#2.2.1.1.2.2.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/08/11 at 11:24 AM

Some people are just plain pitiful, cats? I use ain't for emphasis knowing that it is improper English...but I know that it has an apostrophe.

What is a hay cat? I guess it is a vegetarian feline.

Just another ignorant Anonymous blogger who does not realize that the "Anonymous default" can be changed. Bless their little hearts......

#2.2.1.1.2.2.1.1 JJ on 06/08/11 at 12:16 PM

why dont u shut your mouth sheila tolley bc not one time did anyone mention YOUR name on here

#2.2.1.1.2.2.1.1.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/09/11 at 02:42 PM

You are a venomous little punk. If I had written as Anonymous it would not have been a problem, would it?

#2.2.2 anon on 06/06/11 at 08:40 AM

Ligth rail to ATL won't work because ATL does not have an efficient public transportation infrastructure to get to spread out jobs when you get to the city.

#3 ME on 06/05/11 at 10:04 PM

Maybe this will give this town some dang development. I hate this boring town theres nothing to do.

#4 Anonymous on 06/06/11 at 12:46 PM

Toll rode "development" will do nothing for this town except destroy the quality of life. My wife and I moved here from an overcrowded smoggy city because it is a quiet town with clean air. If you're bored move to Atlanta and see much fun the big city is.

#5 Anonymous on 06/06/11 at 04:49 PM

Instead of pointing fingers and passing judgement why not put all this engery into trying to figure out how to help figure out how to get things done

#6 Anonymous on 06/06/11 at 06:59 PM

$2 billion in private funds from unnamed developers; This probably will be built the same tome as the outer perimeter will be. That idea has been hanging around for decades .

If you really want to keep it out of Lamar, just refuse to sell your land to the private developer. Since it isn't being built with taxpayer finds, you shouldn't have to worry about eminent domain.

#6.1 Kent K..... on 06/07/11 at 09:33 AM

Unfortunately you are incorrect about the government's power under eminent domain. The Supreme Court found in a case several years ago (in Hartford) that the city government could use eminent domain in support of private interests that were deemed in the public good.

Don't remember all the details but a private company wanted to redevelop part of Hartford's waterfront at the expense of the homeowners who refused to sell. The city government wanted this to occur because the commercial development would increase the tax base and bring in additional sales tax. In a 5-4 decision, I believe, the Supreme Court found in favor of the city government and against the homeowners. Not a good day for the protection of private property rights.

#6.1.1 GM on 06/07/11 at 11:08 AM

I didn't know this and when I read this it made me sick. Where is our liberty going?

“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty”. Thomas Jefferson

“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty”. Thomas Jefferson

I say, if government will not succumb to the will of the people, overthrow it.

#7 John on 06/06/11 at 07:01 PM

Put simply, this proposal is a disaster. In effect the state of Georgia is hoping to borrow money from the federal government and encumber Georgia taxpayers so we can help the funding of a private road that will benefit private operators. Even if people think that this is fair, then we must consider the fact that the benefit of such a development is very one sided in that the northern counties close to Atlanta will gain all of the traffic alleviation benefits while counties like Lamar and even Spalding get a new busy road cutting through our countryside and residential areas.

I call what I have described above; corruption on a state level. How can it ever be justified that public money should be invested in projects that are privately operated? The potential conflicts of interest and opportunities for corruption are magnified when government has the power to behave in this way. How does the taxpayer know whether or not there are sweetheart deals here and under the table, handshakes there, where private lobbyists can sucker the taxpayer into paying for infrastructure that they will get to profit from. There is a good reason why there should be clear boundaries between public and private money.

Such a project seems to have little to commend it to begin with but the fact that it will be a private, toll road just adds insult to injury. It would be better if the projects was wholly public financed because at least then the people of Georgia would actually own the road and not have to pay to use it.

#8 Sheila Tolley on 06/07/11 at 12:39 PM

Our problem, AS USUAL, is that our governments (city, state and national) do not ACT they REACT. We all bitch and moan about the environment after our cities have become concrete jungles with no trees and no land to absorb rain. Trees are the natural way to cleanse the air. Greedy organizations could not give a damn less that the health of people is shot to hell as they continue to build more and more apartment complexes. Atlanta just needs one giant roof on it. It is one giant septic tank anyway. Remember last year when the people did not have sufficient water? They do not have insufficient water, they have people crawling around and over each other like maggots. It happens all because of one word GREED and sorry, paid off, elected officials with no gonads. How stupid are we? Did we not know that when illegals were crossing the border at a rate of three per minute that in one hour we had 180 ticks to feed? 4320 in a day? 1,576,800 in a year? Did we not know that they breed like rabbits to make anchor babies so that we now have this ridiculous problem of illegals who think they can fly the Mexican flag and that is fine? These leeches do NOT have the right to assemble because they are NOT Americans. Every one of them should be carded that are marching against extradition. Screw the ACLU and that mexican jerk defending the illegals. Throw Obama in there too if he cannot defend our borders. AND don't tell me that it is not all his fault because of past presidents. He knew that when he was elected. He is ILLEGAL himself or he would not be turning on states that are trying to solve their own problems. We are becoming one giant landfill in America because of plastics. If you are too sorry to wash baby diapers...Keep your knees together. If you cannot feed them, don't breed them. I, for one am SICK of being a Sugar Mama for every lazy piece of feces that migrates to America to PICK crops. The sorry people who hire them should be deported with them. AND why are the incarcerated illegals on my budget? Send their illegal asses back to Mexico and let them feed their own criminals.

Stand up Americans! The government sure as hell will not!!! They have gonads the size of microscopic cells and giant billfolds they are trying to fill ...............

#9 Anonymous on 06/07/11 at 04:05 PM

I bet most of those commenting would be all in favor of this road, if it did not go through Lamar.

Of course, a few years later, they would all be complaining how some neighboring county has all the retail & commercial development, while Lamar has nothing.

It is no different than why neither party can agree on a budget; they all want cuts, just not in their district!

#9.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/08/11 at 11:40 AM

Why don't we just pave the entire state of Georgia? Illegals will do the work. We can run across the border and get more if we need them. Cut down all trees and pave every inch. The run off water can flood surrounding states. It does not matter. We can drive everywhere without roads. JUST A BIG OLD BUMPER CAR TRACK. We would no longer need State Troopers. We will change our car tags to read "The Granite State." All industry will come to Georgia. We will toss in an occasional railroad track. Just think of the time we will save. Everyone can drive "as the crow flies."

We just need to save enough room for a Big, Nice Landfill for all the damn plastics that LAZY people MUST have readily available to them. God forbid they may have a need to wash a dish or be forced to drink tap water.

#9.1.1 JJ on 06/08/11 at 12:21 PM

every comment i've read on here that has your name attached to it is nothing but bitching about something or someone- will u please tell me the secret to being so perfect like u? i'll give u my email so u wont have to post it on here for everyone to see, if that happens, u wont have anything to bitch about.

#9.1.1.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/09/11 at 02:48 PM

smtolley@comcast.net..................it takes at least 60 years to get as perfect as I. But I will give you the speed reading version.

You can read, right?

I look forward to my new pen pal. It gets lonely here at the home.

xoxo

#9.1.1.1.1 JJ on 06/09/11 at 08:45 PM

Oh I dont doubt for one minute that you're lonely and want me to email you...thats a given. And I'm not even halfway to 60 years, thank goodness, so I dont have the wrinkles, gray hair or knowledge of ALL THINGS like you do...I'll take a pass on this one. Maybe next time. Dont hold your breath waiting for an email.

#10 MR. RIGHT on 06/08/11 at 10:05 PM

Those of you that think this is a good idea for the growth of the towns it would go thru are just as greedy and selfish as the state officials pushing this ignorance . For those of you with the BIG funds that are backing this stupid idea, have you even stopped to think of the people with little funds that this will effect ????? Do you not care that there are those who may have a home or land that may have been in the family for years that the state will not offer a fair value ?????? If persons do not accept these unfair offers then there land will be ceased under the eminent domain . But, what do you people care as long as it does not affect your land or home .

A truck driver would be dumb as the day is long to pay a toll on a road that will only shave sixteen minutes of the ride that is already killing him/her on the price of diesel fuel . If diesel fuel was priced at what it should be instead of freaking twice as much as regular gas then they might consider it . The whole idea sucks and you people should see that with the price of fuel and this ignorant idea that the state and govern-ment will rob you blind any chance they get !!!!!!!!

If you people think traffic sucks on interstate 75 now, just you wait ! These morons haven't figured out why the interstate is still backed up with the new on ramp one car at a time signals and extended on ramp merging lanes . For example, look at the Eagles Landing/Hudson Bridge area of 75 North/South . Imagine multiple trucks exiting 75 for a short while just to merge back in at a later point . What college educated idiot thought that up ? Why don't you just wipe out everything along 75 and build a duplicate for trucks and then one for motorcycles and one for SUV'S and then one bicycles and then one for pedestrians and then one for the hell of it so you take what someone worked hard for and and you can still have yours .

I vote no-no-no-no ! And ya'll can ki$$ my a.. !!!!!!

#10.1 Sheila Tolley on 06/09/11 at 02:45 PM

You are smart Mr. Right. But JJ is gonna get you.

#11 JJ on 06/09/11 at 08:48 PM

I realize that your right on most everything you comment on...in YOUR mind, but I really dont give 2 shits about what Mr. Right says, he isnt going off on every single person about how stupid they are and the stupid things they do and the stupid things they think. THATS JUST YOU.

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