Call For 'Rails, Not Roads' In Atlanta

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has challenged elected officials to focus on metro Atlanta's most "intractable" problems: transportation.

According to the paper, "For too long, myopic transportation officials have sought to fix gridlock exclusively by building more roads, a failed policy that has mostly exacerbated the problems. But with the commuter misery index nearing the boiling point, the moment has come to make robust and prudent investments in mass transit as well."

"BRT and conventional bus service are important, but even when buses are running in dedicated lanes, they must still contend with the same traffic tie-ups, accidents and volume delays that bedevil carbound commuters. Unfortunately, viable rail options that don't depend on roads have been stalled or gone begging because of bureaucratic intransigence and the influence of the highway lobby over state lawmakers and transportation officials."

"Expanding and improving the region's limited transit offerings is already an uphill battle. If elected officials aren't even willing to show up consistently to demand better transportation choices, that hill will never be climbed."