Governor Perdue is soliciting public comment on the transportation challenges facing Georgia. Strong public support for expanding transit options, bike paths and sidewalks will show Governor Perdue that Georgians want more transportation choices.

Attend the Listening Session Near You:

Macon:
Monday, September 22
4-7 pm
Central GA Technical College
3300 Macon Tech Drive
Macon, GA 31206

Savannah:
Tuesday, September 23
4-7 pm
Coastal Georgia Center
305 Fahm Street
Savannah, GA 31401

Dalton:
Wednesday, September 24
12 noon-2 p.m.
Dalton City Hall
Council Chamber
300 West Waugh Street
Dalton, GA 30720

Atlanta:
Wednesday, September 24
4-7 pm
Georgia World Congress Center
285 Andrew Young Intl. Blvd., NW
Auditorium C101
Atlanta, GA 30313-1591

Valdosta:
Thursday, September 25
12 noon-2 pm
Valdosta Technical College
4089 Val Tech Road, Building 500
Conference Center
Valdosta, GA 31602

Columbus:
Thursday, September 25
4-7 pm
Cunningham Conference Center
3100 Gentian Boulevard
Columbus, GA 30809

Augusta:
Meeting Canceled - Will be rescheduled for a later date

Talking Points for IT3 Listening Session Comments:

1. Georgia lags behind other states in funding transit systems:

-Georgia is the only state that fails to provide guaranteed operating funding for its major metropolitan (Atlanta area) transit system. As a result, Georgia is at a disadvantage to other states when applying for federal funding for transit projects.

-Georgia's communities need designated public transportation funding and transportation plans that give equal opportunity to bus and rail transit, bicycling and pedestrian options.

2. Georgia citizens want mobility and choice:

-For many Georgians, owning and using a car is the only good option for getting around. Wide-reaching, efficient public transportation systems provide citizens with alternatives to car travel, which is increasingly important with rising fuel prices.

-Recent Georgia surveys conducted by the Transit Planning Board and by the Peach State Poll show broad public support for expanding public transit. The primary reason people reported that they do not use mass transit is that it does not go where they need to go.

-Georgia is already losing out on businesses that see our traffic congestion and limited transit systems and decide to go elsewhere. Efficient public transportation systems are an important part of quality of life for many people.

3. Georgia faces serious air pollution problems:

-The metro Atlanta, Macon, Rome and northwest Georgia regions flunk federal standards for fine particle pollution which is linked to heart and lung diseases, cancer and premature death. Metro Atlanta has also failed to meet the federal ozone standard since 1978 and with the recent strengthening of this air pollution standard, it is expected that the Augusta, Athens, Columbus and Macon regions will all be designated nonattainment in 2010.

-Road traffic is responsible for half of the air pollution in the metro Atlanta area and is a significant source of Macon's problem as well. People living between Atlanta and Macon have no alternatives to highway car travel to get where they need to go, as is the case for Georgia's other mid-sized cities.

-Nonattainment status limits a region's ability to attract new business and industry and burdens the public with higher health costs.