Atlanta Traffic Woes (2004)

Let’s face it: Atlanta Traffic Sucks.  What is being done about this?  Not a whole lot.  For instance, they are widening State Bridge Road between Jones Bridge and 141.  The traffic light at 141 stays green for east-west traffic for 30-35 seconds.  Consequently, the intersection is already at maximum capacity, unless they leave the light green for a longer period of time.  Widening the road only means that the cars can cue up two deep for a greater distance.Why are we in such a mess? Because some states, such as Georgia, have their fed gas tax dollars rerouted to the State of New York. Georgia is a donor state while NY is a donee state. I love the last line of Nadler’s quote.

For the full story, click here:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=11&u=/ap/20040702/ap_on_go_co/highway_divide

 

Representatives from donee states dispute the claims of unfairness and say they will fight any bill that would reduce their slice of the pie. New York, which according to the government, had a $1.23 rate of return, has invested billions in its mass transit system, and its drivers thus use less gas, said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

More than 2 cents of the federal tax on each gallon is devoted to mass transit. Still, shrinking his state’s share of highway funds “would be the same as being punished for being energy efficient,” Nadler said. “It’s completely perverse.”

He said lawmakers should look at the big picture: New York sends far more in taxes to Washington than it gets back.

“If everybody gets back what they put in,” Nadler said, “what’s the point of the federal government?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.