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Traffic Problems Have Relocating Businesses Wary Of Atlanta

Posted by: Nate Berg

18 December 2007 - 1:00pm

Atlanta's traffic problems are beginning to affect businesses' decisions to relocate there.

"Atlanta's traffic problem has put it 'at the point of no return,' said Dennis J. Donovan."

"'Up until seven or eight years ago when we had Atlanta on a recommended short list' for places to relocate or expand a business, 'we rarely heard grumbling,' he said."

"That has changed. Now, he said, when Atlanta shows up on a short list, 'Every one of our companies, every one of them, says, 'Boy, isn't there a lot of traffic down there?''"

"While he had not yet seen his own clients refuse to consider Atlanta, he said he believes that some companies are quietly rejecting Atlanta because of traffic. He cited MeadWestvaco, which relocated its headquarters —and hundreds of new jobs— to Richmond, Va., instead of Atlanta because of traffic."

Full Story: Consultant: Atlanta's traffic is endangering its growth
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 17, 2007
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read between the lines

Submitted by Alex Pearlstein on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 08:36.

The Chamber trotted out Dennis Donovan and paid him to make a doomesday speech because they have a big piece of legislation authorizing regional tranportation taxes that they want to build support for. As Dononvan mentions, he has not heard from any of his clients that traffic is turning companies away from Atlanta, and I know from a very reliable source that the MeadWestvaco decision to select Richmond was NOT due to Atlanta's traffic situation.

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