To be sure, our transportation needs far exceed the transportation dollars that could be funded through the proposed sales tax, so the Roundtable executive committee members’ task was a complex and difficult one and they deserve our thanks.

So how do we get from draft final list to final-final list? That’s where you come in. During the month of September, each county will host a public meeting  to give citizens a chance to weigh-in on the project list before it is finalized by the Regional Roundtable on October 15. (Note that there will be three meetings in Fulton County: North Fulton, South Fulton and City of Atlanta). We encourage you to go, look, learn and give your input.

Get a Move On representatives are working with organizers to make sure that these are a cut above the usual public meeting. Imagine something more like an open house where you can see the projects and ask questions of local and regional planning staff.  There will also be a Q & A session and opportunities to submit comments into the public record. More details to come, but for now, please make plans to attend the meeting in your county:

• Sept. 7, 5-7 p.m. — Citizens Hall, Douglas County Courthouse, Douglasville
• Sept. 13, 6-8 p.m. — Henry County Administration Offices, McDonough
• Sept. 15, 6-8 p.m. — Council Chambers, Atlanta City Hall
• Sept. 19, 6-8 p.m. — Cherokee Hall Administration Center, Canton
• Sept. 20, 5-7 p.m. — Cobb County Board of Commissioners Meeting Room, Marietta
• Sept. 20, 6-8 p.m. — Fayette County Administration Offices, Fayetteville
• Sept. 21, 6-8 p.m. — North Fulton Service Center, Sandy Springs
• Sept. 26, 5-7 p.m. — Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, Lawrenceville
• Sept. 27, 6-8 p.m. — J.P. Carr Community Center, Conyers
• Sept. 28, 6-8 p.m. — South Fulton Service Center, College Park
• Sept. 28, 6-8 p.m. — Manuel Maloof Auditorium, Decatur
• Sept. 29, 6-8 p.m. — Board Room, Board of Commissioners, Clayton County Administration, Jonesboro

Please visit the Atlanta Regional Roundtable website for an expanded list of public meetings, including street addresses and contact information.

Today we are pleased to share the results of their work in this report from the Get a Move On 10-County Town Hall.  The big take-aways:

• The biggest reasons to invest in transportation are to improve quality of life and to support the economy.
• Overall priorities for the region are transportation, education and economic growth.
• If we are to invest in transportation, the priorities should be new transit; technology, safety and system maintenance; and bike and pedestrian projects.

Graphic facilitator Martha McGinnis captures key themes and quotes during the Get a Move On Town Hall.

But that’s hardly the whole story. Participants also told us they wanted to see more collaboration and coordination in metro Atlanta; that they were concerned about accessibility for the elderly, disabled and economically-disadvantaged in our region; that they wanted to see the region grow “smarter” with multiple centers of concentrated live-work development that would put less strain on our transportation infrastructure.

Furthermore, 91 percent of town hall participants told us they learned something new that day, and 94 percent told us they were very committed or committed to staying involved in this civic conversation on regional transportation.

Don’t let the length of the report scare you (it’s 63 pages). It’s a quick read because many of those pages are devoted to graphs showing the results of our polling questions and also the slides from the three presentations. Something we found particularly interesting is Appendix D: Table Reports. This three-page document captures the 984 separate comments that came out of the small group discussions. One of our staffers (who deserves a medal for his efforts) painstakingly went through all of those comments, categorized them and tallied the results. The end-product is a fascinating peek into participants’ priorities and concerns for our region. You’ll also see that they had some words of wisdom for the Regional Roundtable members, who are now working toward a final project list for the 2012 transportation sales tax referendum – are you all listening?

July 23, Get a Move On 10-County Town Hall

Sometimes it can be pretty scary to try something new, but when it works, wow.

This past Saturday the Civic League for Regional Atlanta hosted the first-ever (as far as we know) 10-county town hall to launch Get a Move On ATL  a yearlong citizen conversation on transportation, growth and the future of metro Atlanta. In the days leading up to the event, we worried no one would show up. Then as word began to get around, we worried way to many people would show up. As it turned out, we had what seemed to be the perfect-sized crowd of 200+. True, participants didn’t represent all 10 counties in the Atlanta region, so we’ve got some work to do before our next town hall, but they were satisfyingly diverse in every other respect: they were conservative, liberal and everything in between; they were black, white, Asian, Latino and ‘other’; and they represented a range of ages. And 91 percent of them told us they learned something new during the Get a Move On Town Hall.

If you couldn’t make it to the town hall, not to worry. We’ll release a full report and video of the presentations early next week. In the meantime, we’ve posted the PowerPoint slides from each of the three presentations that were the basis for much of the day’s conversation:

• What It Means to Be a Region
• What the Future Holds
• Transportation Finance

Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

Transportation a chance for folks to think regionally

By Clair Muller and Ellen Dozier Mayer

Metro Atlantans head to the polls next summer to vote on a 1 percent sales tax to fund regional transportation improvements during the next decade. This referendum raises some big questions.

If it passes, how can we know the money will be spent fairly and for maximum impact? How much should we spend on roads? How much on transit? Who is responsible for ensuring the work gets done on time and on budget? If the referendum fails, what impact would chronic congestion have on our economy and quality of life? Are there other options for meeting the transportation needs of our fast-growing population?

One point largely absent from the many discussions already swirling around this referendum is that this will be the first time residents of all 10 counties in the Atlanta region are asked to vote together on a regional issue.

Regional decision-making goes on all the time among elected and appointed officials at the Atlanta Regional Commission, but everyday Atlantans are far removed from it.

We’ve never voted for candidates running on regional platforms. Few of us realize we have regional representatives; fewer still know who they are. Yet, we are at a crossroads. If we don’t find ways to move forward cooperatively, to resolve the big issues intertwined around transportation, water and education, we don’t move forward at all.

Each of our communities has something wonderful that makes it special to us and unique in the region. Peachtree City has its golf carts; Marietta, its Big Chicken. Suwanee created an amazing town square from scratch; Decatur transformed an historic square that had seen better days. Some places have small-town charm, others emanate bustle and energy — but we all share our identity as metro Atlantans.

Together, we were proud hosts to the world during the 1996 Olympics. Together, we’ve cheered on the Braves, watching them rise, fall — and rise again. Together, we enjoy the advantages of being able to hop on a plane to anywhere from the country’s busiest airport. We need to translate those same thoughts, pride and feelings into intentional involvement about crucial regional issues that affect all of us, regardless of where exactly in the region we live.

Transportation, air quality, water supply, growth and sustainability are issues too big and too complex to be solved piecemeal in our respective counties and municipalities. To their credit, many elected officials already are moving in this direction, through organizations like the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association, which brings together the mayors of 65 cities in our region to collaborate on shared issues.

The next step, though, is for those mayors, along with council members and county commissioners, to begin talking to their constituents about regional issues and potential measures for addressing them.

This past spring, the Civic League for Regional Atlanta visited communities to collect feedback on the ARC’s Plan 2040, a federally mandated plan for accommodating population and economic growth, sustainably. We also took the opportunity to field questions about the 2012 transportation sales tax referendum. At each stop on our five-county tour, we heard the same things: How do I know I’ll get my fair share? What guarantee is there my county would get a dollar-for-dollar return on the additional sales tax it would collect if this referendum passes?

If transportation were a local issue, we could see how one might reasonably ask that question. But it isn’t.

Transportation has an impact on the entire region’s economic well-being; air quality; public health; safety for drivers, riders and pedestrians; and quality of life for workers trying to spend less time on the road and more time with their families. All of these concerns reach far beyond county lines.

This is not an effort to persuade voters to vote for or against the referendum. This is an effort to urge the people who live in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties to start looking at the big issues with a broader, metrowide frame of reference.

This weekend, the Civic League for Regional Atlanta launches a yearlong initiative called Get a Move On: A Civic Conversation on Transportation, Growth and the Future of Metro Atlanta. The people of Conyers, Smyrna, Lawrenceville and, yes, Atlanta, must come together with their regional neighbors to talk about shared issues, their priorities for their region and what trade-offs they could accept to move us forward.

Clair Muller is the Civic League’s board chairwoman and served as a member of the Atlanta City Council for 20 years.

Ellen Dozier Mayer is managing director for the Civic League and a former public policy consultant.

WHEN: Saturday, July 23, from 8:30 a.m. to noon

WHERE: The Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community, located in downtown Atlanta just off I-85 and convenient to MARTA

WHY: Because a year from now, Metro Atlanta voters will head to the polls to decide on a one-percent sales tax to fund regional transportation improvements. Not only is transportation one of the most critical issues facing our region today, but this is also the first time residents of all 10 counties have had the opportunity to vote regionally. This calls for inclusive and in-depth grassroots engagement.

WHO: Get a Move On is sponsored by The Civic League for Regional Atlanta, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to engage the people of the region in the plans and policies shaping the region. The Civic League is neither ‘for’ nor ‘against’ the upcoming referendum. Instead, its focus is on ensuring that voters have the necessary information and a neutral forum for making thoughtful decisions about the region’s future.

REGISTER NOW: The 10-County Town Hall is free and open to the public, but space is limited so participants are asked to register online or by calling (404) 221-1553.