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BTB Exclusive - Six states tell us how they tackled transportation
by Bobby L. Hickman
July 29, 2008
Everyone agrees billions of dollars are needed to solve Atlanta's traffic problems. But where will
the money come from?
That was the topic at a Monday morning transportation funding forum sponsored by the Metro
Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. A number of leaders from across Georgia were on hand as transportation
experts from six states discussed how they have tackled their regional traffic challenges. The
consensus: Atlanta needs to explore a variety of options, as there is no "silver bullet" that would
provide enough funds to solve the problem.
Georgia's business community considers transportation "the number one threat to our continued
economic success," said Sam Williams, Chamber president. Atlanta will add one million new residents
over the next decade, Williams said, so the Chamber put together the forum to educate government
and business leaders on how other regions have tackled their traffic challenges.
Experts from California, Colorado, New Jersey, Texas, Utah and Virginia discussed their
experiences with a range of approaches to transportation funding. Those options - many of which are
being discussed in Georgia - include toll lanes, light rail, congestion pricing, regional votes on
higher taxes, and public-private partnerships to build and/or operate toll roads.
Bob Chase, executive director of the North Virginia Transportation Alliance, said his area
has the second worst traffic congestion in the country. He said Virginia has a history of tolled
expressways, with some roads successful and others facing financial challenges. However, he
cautioned, "You can't do it with tolls alone." He said perhaps one-third of the cost for road
construction can come from tolls, with the remainder coming from government and/or private sources.
Jeff Hall, vice president of Cofiroute USA, a private toll company with operations in
California and Minnesota, said congestion pricing gives commuters more choices but it also does not
make congestion disappear. "Congestion pricing - where drivers are charges to drive on a highway
during peak hours - offers an option to commuters who are willing to pay to reduce their trip
time," he said.
Lane Beattie, CEO of the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, and Scott Reed, assistant
general manager of public affairs for the Denver Regional Transportation District, discussed how
their groups were able to obtain sales tax increases to fund their transportation plans. Their
plans included a combination of highway improvements, commuter and light rail, and bus lines.
Partnerships between the public and private sectors were the focus of presentations by Rick
Herrington, deputy executive director of the North Texas Tollway Authority in the Dallas-Fort Worth
area, and James Weinstein, former chairman of the New Jersey Transit Authority. Herrington's
authority, a governmental unit, is paying the state of Texas $3.3 billion for the right to operate
a tollway between Dallas and Fort Worth. Herrington said concession agreements can be "a way to
bring in outside capital for transportation." Weinstein said New Jersey's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
system was a public-private partnership that built a transit project more quickly and at less cost
than conventional approaches.
The experts agreed there is no one single solution for transportation problems in Atlanta or
any other region, as each situation requires different answers customized to local needs. Utah's
Lane added the business community must take the lead in solving Georgia's transportation problems.
"You've got to put everything on the table," he said. "You can't just leave this to your
legislators."
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