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Volume
7 Issue 40…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…October 8, 2004
Traffic Noise - Cacophony - Urban Sprawl
By James Crowden
Town roads,
city roads, suburban roads
Roundabouts
and traffic jams,
Strawberry,
plum, raspberry
Curb your
language, double yellow
Dual
carriageway fumes, Signs, lights
Stop Go
Green Red Pink Violet, Vegetate
What does it
matter, orange winkers,
Sifting
through the early morning mist
Indicating a
forgotten river nearby.
Horns brakes
accelerators, mind the clutch
n lane, out
of lane, houses merge into one long
Vista of
bungalows, queing up,
Jammed
packed sardines on the move
A migration
in stream like perch
Two miles
one way, stay still all day
Then two
miles the other way commuting
Who's
copying who, sitting pretty in offices
Parked up
outside all day, the parking bay near the coast,
Waves of
traffic deadening the impact of urban blossom.
Horns of
plenty, plain tired or just exhausted,
Commuters
flock back diligently to their Internet
Feeding
grounds, calculating profit and loss,
Futures in
bumpers, a feeding frenzy in front
Of yet
another screen. Real life, the background
For adverts
that has been missing all day.
About Me:
This poem was written for a large scale music piece performed with boys beating
hubcaps. For more about the artist, visit www.james-crowden.co.uk.
Sprawl Study
According to the Sierra Club of Georgia at www.georgia.sierraclub.org, "sprawl is low density, automobile
dependent development beyond the edge of service and employment
areas." For years, the Sierra Club
and other environmental groups have claimed the uncontrolled growth, which
rapidly depletes natural resources, also negatively impacts the quality of
life.
A study conducted by the Rand Corporation, a non-profit research
organization, links suburban sprawl to increased incidents of a broad range of
chronic ailments. Published in the
October edition of the journal Public Health, "Suburban Sprawl and
Physical and Mental Health" analyzed information from more than 8,600
people in 38 metropolitan areas.
Researchers found that people living in areas with high degrees of
suburban sprawl were more likely to report chronic health problems such as
obesity, high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches and respiratory ailments.
While the study found no link between sprawl and greater mental
health problems, it did suggest an adverse aging impact on adults living in
areas marked by suburban sprawl relative to their counterparts living in less
automobile-dependent regions. The
analysis also found that the poor and elderly are disproportionately affected
because they lack the resources to make up for the limitations created by their
environment.
Regions ranked the worst for sprawl include Atlanta, Georgia,
Riverside-San Bernardino, California, Winston-Salem, N.C., West Palm Beach
Florida and Detroit, Michigan. Areas
with the least sprawl include New York City, San Francisco, California, Boston,
Massachusetts and Chicago, Illinois.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded this study. For more, visit www.rand.org.
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA)
During the 1990s, the Atlanta region became sprawl capital
USA. From 1990 to 1996, the region's
population increased about 16 percent, while the amount of developed land increased
by 47 percent or three times as fast.
Sprawl, which meant prosperity for the 13-county suburban areas, caused
traffic congestion, overcrowded schools, chronic violation of the Clean Air Act
and the destruction of open spaces.
Chronic Clean Air Act violators are banned from using federal
funds for road construction. In June
1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threatened such a ban in the
13-county Atlanta region. The region
failed to meet a 1998 deadline to submit a plan to bring the region into
compliance; federal funds were cut off.
To circumvent the ban, local governments exploited a "grandfather"
clause and continued some 61 projects.
In the 1998 gubernatorial election, Democratic candidate Roy
Barnes successfully seized sprawl as a campaign issue and adopted an Atlanta
Chamber of Commerce recommendation to create a new authority with broad powers
to address transportation and land use policy.
Fueling the fire, on January 18, 1999, the Sierra Club, the Georgia
Conservancy, Georgians for Transportation Alternatives and the Southern
Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit in US District court alleging that federal
and state transportation departments and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)
were improperly grand-fathering projects.
Creating the new authority became the centerpiece of the 1999 General
Assembly legislative session.
The General Assembly passed and Gov. Barnes signed the Georgia
Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) law in March 1999. In June 1999, under terms of an out-of-court
settlement, 17 of the 61 banned projects were allowed to proceed. The remainder was placed on hold until the
region submitted a plan to bring it into compliance with the Clean Air Act. In March 2000, the ARC adopted and GRTA
approved such a plan. In July 2000, the
federal ban was lifted.
Charged with combating air pollution, traffic congestion and
poorly planned development in the 13-county Atlanta region and setting
measurable air quality targets, GRTA reviews, approves and/or vetoes ARC and
DOT plans. GRTA is funded with federal
transportation dollars that can be spent on various modes of
transportation. Twenty percent of these
funds must be matched with local or state dollars. GRTA can also issue $2 billion in revenue and general obligation
bonds.
GRTA neither eliminated nor restructured the ARC, the existing
planning agency. Moreover, the state's
Department of Transportation (DOT) continued to control the $1.5 billion a year
in state motor fuel tax revenue. With
GRTA, the real change came in the creation of another layer of government with
a 15-member board appointed by the governor. (Sources: www.ajc.com, www.bizjournals.com and www.georgia.sierraclub.org)
Pork and Poison Pills
With one of the worst environmental records in recent history, the
George W. Bush administration transportation spending measure will allow states
to pour more asphalt and create more sprawl to the tune of at least $300
billion. Bush has vowed to veto any
transportation spending measure that exceeds this figure.
But, this is an election year, and the transportation bill has
traditionally been a vehicle used by members of Congress to bring pork to their
states and districts. With something
for everyone, the pork barrel spending bill Congress failed to pass last week
is nearly double Bush's $300 billion dollar limit.
Without the additional congressional spending, Bush's
transportation proposal, known as TEA-3, is a package of perks, pork and poison
pills. As is, the proposal guts
environmental review and removes protections to safeguard sensitive areas, such
as historic sites and wildlife refuges.
Even requirements to project the impact of new roads on air quality may
be weakened.
Bush's proposal ignores the link between road construction, smog
and sprawl by favoring the pouring of asphalt over funding for mass
transit. The administration wants to
change the funding formula for new mass transit and highway projects. Currently state and local governments pay 20
percent of the cost of these projects, while the federal government picks up 80
percent. Under Bush's proposals, the
funding formula for mass transit would change to 50-50, while road construction
would remain 80-20. This poison pill
will kill mass transit for most states and localities.
For more about TEA-3, its consequences and efforts by concerned
citizens to remove the poison bills from this bill, visit www.sierraclub.org.
By John Burl Smith
Stacy Shelton's article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC),
"End of the Rail"(9-27-04), presented a dire scenario for rail
transportation in South DeKalb County.
Paying the 1-cent sales tax since voting for the 1971 local MARTA
referendum, South DeKalb was promised a train in the 1980s. However, after MARTA agreed to develop a
route in 2000, former Gov. Roy Barnes created the Georgia Regional
Transportation Authority (GRTA) and stole South DeKalb's train to reward his
political base in Cobb County. Not only
did GRTA steal South DeKalb's rapid rail transit, which the MARTA tax paid for,
Barnes robbed citizens of promised "smart growth" to end sprawl and
regional equity in public transportation funding.
The AJC article reviewed the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and
GRTA's 25-year transportation plans and concluded rapid rail transit for areas
like South DeKalb has been derailed. The AJC analysis made it clear, the ARC
and GRTA are unconcerned about sprawl or smog and are against "regional
equity" in funding transportation.
This was the problem in 1971 when only Atlanta, DeKalb and Fulton
Counties voted for MARTA and the 1-cent sales tax to fund mass transit. GRTA and ARC have consistently refused to expand
the tax base to support MARTA operations and have saddled DeKalb and Fulton
with providing the sole dedicated source of mass transit funding in the
13-county region covered by GRTA.
According to Shelton, the MARTA tax does not generate enough money
to pay for a train to DeKalb and transit service for other counties. MARTA's 1-cent sales tax brings in approximately
$158.8 million (46% of expenses) and fares account for $ 93.7 million (28% of expenses)
totaling $252.5 million, leaving 26% of expenses in doubt in 2004. Adding insult to injury, after it eliminated
routes, laid off 20% of its work force (1,000 workers) and furloughed managers,
MARTA will still have a $20 million deficit.
It is projected that by 2007 MARTA will have depleted its reserve funds.
DeKalb residents are particularly
victimized, not only by the train robbery, but the systematic looting of MARTA
by its board and the state of Georgia's efforts to avoid imposing the 1-cent
transit tax in predominately white metro Atlanta counties. These counties refused to pay the MARTA
sales tax and have repeatedly rejected mass transit for a number of reasons, including
in particular the dreaded fear of contact with other races.
Black political leaders in Atlanta, DeKalb and Fulton Counties
have failed their citizens by refusing to address demands to reform MARTA's
board and to challenge, in court, GRTA's takeover of MARTA as a regional
transportation hub without compensation.
In addition, GRTA is using the MARTA sales tax as a dedicated source of
funds to issue revenue bonds and qualify for federal transportation
dollars. If GRTA is using the MARTA
sales tax as a dedicated revenue stream, MARTA cannot. When asked about MARTA's financial problems,
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who is indicative of this failure of black
elected officials, commented, "I don't know how we fund it."
At public hearings, citizens addressed MARTA's squandering
hundreds of millions of dollars buying real estate and constructing
non-transportation related facilities.
They protested when MARTA bypassed areas like South DeKalb to expand
into the suburbs. When GRTA took over
MARTA as its regional transportation hub in order to use its tax base to borrow
funds to pay for transit systems in counties such as Clayton, Cobb and
Gwinnett, which do not pay MARTA's tax, their voices were raised in
protest. Rather than stop the robbery,
black elected officials, like State Senator Connie Stokes, Barnes floor leader,
helped the robbers by voting for GRTA and the extension of the MARTA sales tax
on DeKalb and Fulton Counties until 2047.
Reneging on his promise to fight sprawl and smog, Gov. Sonny
Purdue's regional transportation plan provides $680 million for 2 new in-town
non-MARTA rail transit systems to replace bankrupted MARTA. ARC's $52 billion road and train-like buses
to run in dedicated highway lanes will produce more sprawl and smog. The great train robbery will not end with MARTA's
demise. Citizens in DeKalb and Fulton
Counties will continue to pay the 1-cent tax until 2047.
Disgruntled says: With the example of Mississippi's medicaid
debacle in which Republican Governor Haley Barbour persuaded legislators to
approve eliminating the health coverage for more than 50,000 recipients,
Georgians flocked to the State Community Health Board hearing on similar
cuts. While the board was supposed to
vote on the measure, when the issue can up, not enough board members were
present for a quorum. Sadly, this is indicative of the value of public hearings.
Disgruntled wants to know: Because DeKalb and Fulton
Counties are the only political jurisdictions in Georgia that pay the MARTA
sales tax, which is used to fund regional transportation projects, we have
rightly labeled this situation taxation without representation. We believe it violates the equal protection
clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Moreover, since MARTA and its sales tax came into being through a
local referendum, can the state legislature, the majority of whose members
represent portions of Georgia outside DeKalb and Fulton Counties, vote to
extend the MARTA sales tax without a local referendum?
Disgruntled feels: Confused!
Dick Cheney is grumpy grandpa with the gravelly voice lending team Bush
gravitas. Speaking sotto voce, he is a
prevaricator extraordinaire! Like other
members of team Bush, Cheney has been all over the place justifying the war of
choice in Iraq. During Tuesday night's
debate, the reprobate said he never claimed a connection between Saddam Hussein
and 9-11, yet Iraq is the front in the war on terror. No wonder so many folks interchange Saddam and Osama. They are confused because grumpy grandpa is
a war-and-fear-monger that has told so many lies he cannot tell when he is
telling the truth.
By John Burl Smith
Following development of Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) 25-year
transportation plan "Mobility 2030," Maria Saporta investigated the
question "Do public hearings make a difference?" (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 9-27-04). She
spoke with a number of advocacy groups, interested citizens and public
officials. The plan was supposed to
provide "smart growth" solutions to sprawl, long commutes and smog by
expanding MARTA, light rail, bicycle paths and walkways. Saporta interviewed citizens trying to keep
those items in the plan. She described
how citizens addressed the ARC board over the entire hearing process, fighting for
regional equity in transportation and against penalizing communities inside
I-285.
Saporta ask Tom Weyandt, ARC director of planning about the
public's impact. Weyandt said,
"The plan is too far along to be changed.
It was designed to reflect existing funding sources that favor roads
over transit" (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and
Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT).
Weyandt's attitude seems indicative of most officials on public
boards. Most treat the public hearing
process as if it is an annoyance that interferes with decision-making. Public officials think they know best and
listen to the public only after they have decided what will be done. Hearings are empty formalities.
Saporta found advocacy groups frustrated by the lack of public
input as the ARC developed "Mobility 2030". Paul Grether of Citizens for Progressive Transit expressed their sentiment,
"During the entire public planning process, the people in the region made
it clear they want more transit, not more roads. Sally Flocks, executive director of PEDs followed up, "Everybody
has been criticizing "Mobility 2030." So much of what ARC does is driven by who controls the vote (GRTA
and DOT)." Bryan Hager of the
Georgia Sierra Club agreed, "The process is what is broken. There has been almost no change in Mobility
2030."
Most advocates and interested citizens view the ARC, GRTA and DOT
as arrogant. Rather than more MARTA
commuter rail, sidewalks and bike paths, the ARC is ignoring smog and sprawl by
going back to road construction, HOV lanes and express buses for the suburbs. GRTA's domination of MARTA's board is a
classic example of their arrogance.
Even though GRTA does not give MARTA a penny, the state has more members
on the board than counties that pay the MARTA tax. That is how the state
controls MARTA.
DOT Road building provides lots of political patronage, as well as
control over economic development. A
road here or an expressway exit there can determine where office complexes, hotels,
motels, shopping centers, companies and factories are located. GRTA's decision to deny South DeKalb a MARTA
train keeps development outside I-285 in Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton and Henry
Counties.
This article shows that the old excuse "blacks do not attend
meetings or protest in large enough numbers" is a sham to justify
diverting tax dollars, development and other improvements away from black
communities. According to Saporta's
article, going to public meetings does not affect who gets what or determines
what is done where. It seems public
officials and politicians serve their own interests and the people that buy
them. Consequently, the public's only
function is paying taxes for politicians to reward supporters. Elections only decide who sell themselves to
the highest bidder.
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