Reducing congestion in Atlanta

Voluntary express toll lanes provide real relief

Originally published: December 2006, Page 5, Highway 78 CID Update

Metro Atlanta suffers today with serious traffic congestion, whose direct cost is estimated at $1.75 billion per year. The Governor’s Congestion Mitigation Task Force, on which I served, recommended a dramatic change in the focus of transportation planning by weighting a projects congestion mitigation benefit at 70 percent with a goal of substantially reducing Atlanta’s average travel time by 2030.

Recently the Georgia Public Policy Foundation (GPPF) released a study prepared by the Reason Foundation titled “Reducing Congestion in Atlanta: A Bold New Approach to Increasing Mobility”. Much of the reporting on the studies release focused on one of the proposed mega-projects – a double-decked, six lane tunnel parallel to the downtown connector through Atlanta.

Too much focus is being placed on this single project, I believe: The really BIG idea is the proposal for variable priced express toll lanes (ETL).

Why ETLs? Virtually everyone involved in transportation planning agrees additional and new revenue sources are desperately needed, and ETLs provide new revenues without new taxation. Most agree that a cost-effective, flexible public transportation system is a key component to reducing congestion and providing a competitive economic environment. ETLs provide a virtual equivalent of a region-wide express bus network without a major investment of limited transit dollars. ETLs also preserve consumer choice, improve response times for emergency vehicles, and greatly reduce compliance costs.

The Reason Foundation study recommends deploying the previously allocated $4.5 billion for expansion of the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) network as a network of ETLs instead. A complete network of variable priced express toll lanes on the existing freeway system would provide reliable, uncongested travel for buses, vanpools, and voluntary paying vehicles. Adding separate, voluntary truck only toll (TOT) lanes, as recently suggested by the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) study, would allow trucks the option of bypassing Atlanta’s congestion in exchange for paying a toll.

Voluntary ETLs, priced to offer significant timesavings by allowing those who are willing to pay for a faster and more reliable trip, also greatly increase throughput. Variable priced ETLs operating during rush hour produce about 50 percent more functional capacity than the highly congested general-purpose lanes alongside. During the height of rush hour congestion, the study says, ETLs would operate at 1,800 vehicles per lane per hour as compared to 1,200 or less vehicles per lane per hour on the adjacent general-purpose lanes.

Metro Atlanta will continue to face considerable congestion after 2030, but implementation of ETLs, much of which could be accomplished as early as 2009, would be an immediate improvement that will pay benefits for many years to come. ETLs are not the sole solution; we must continue to advance all reasonable transportation improvements including existing system enhancements such as freeway ramp metering, improved incident response, signal timing, and intelligent transportation systems (technology). Further, public transportation, transit, pedestrian facilities, and land use decisions will continue to play an important role in improving our future transportation system.

Referenced agencies:

Georgia Public Policy Foundation http://www.gppf.org

Reason Foundation http://www.reason.org

More support Harrell for House District 106

Tea Party Organizers endorse Harrell for House

Julianne Thompson, State Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots and Co-Organizer of the Atlanta Tea Party endorses Brett Harrell for State House of Representatives.

“It is my pleasure to endorse Brett Harrell for Georgia State House. Brett is the kind of conservative we need at the Gold Dome in Atlanta. He is a proven leader and will not compromise his values, as he has proven over the years. He will fight for fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets solutions in Georgia. Electing men like Brett Harrell is ethics reform in action. I am proud to endorse him.”

Debbie Dooley, Co-Organizer of the Atlanta Tea Party, also endorses Brett Harrell for Georgia House District 106.

“Brett Harrell is a great guy that understands that elected officials are actually public servants.”

Harrell "certified" Pro-Life by GRTL

I have been answering a number of questionnaires from various organizations interested in the positions of those running for office. I just received a letter in return from Georgia Right to Life stating I have been "certified Pro-Life" for this election. While I sincerely appreciate the "seal of approval" from GRTL, all should know I've held that conviction personally for all of my adult life and most certainly not related to any election.

National Day of Prayer

Below are the remarks I made in 2000 on the occasion of a National Day of Prayer event co-hosted by Catholics and Baptists:

Pray 2K: America’s Hope for the New Millennium

The following remarks were delivered by Snellville Mayor Brett Harrell at an ecumenical prayer breakfast co-hosted by St. Oliver’s Catholic Church and First Baptist Church of Grayson in celebration of the “National Day of Prayer” May 4, 2000.

Good morning.

I am deeply honored and appreciative to be with you this morning. Today we recognize nationally what ought to be a daily observance – prayer.

Pray 2K: America’s Hope for the New Millennium is a fitting theme in this year of renewal. To begin, I’m going to share with you a prayer of renewal. It is a strongly worded prayer, but a prayer appropriate for our time.

Minister Joe Wright opened the new session of the Kansas Senate with these words:
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good”, but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that.
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism;
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle;
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery;
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare;
We have killed our unborn and called it choice;
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;
We have abused power and called it politics;
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition;
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will, to open ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

His prayer is a prayer of renewal, a prayer of focus.

The United States is the only nation with a recognized National Day of Prayer. The First Continental Congress in 1775 called for a National Day of Prayer.


Our Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. The Declaration goes on to say in, “support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

Clearly, ours is a nation born and sustained by faith and the grace of God.

Our forefathers recognized the necessity of prayer. They recognized the vital importance of prayer for our nations leaders.

One of the suggested scriptures for today is Romans 12:12 which says, “rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.” That’s my job description for Mayor of Snellville.

I am rejoicing in hope for our community. Hope for a community that is safe and vibrant with churches, schools, parks and businesses – a community that is optimistic about its’ future.

I am persevering in tribulation. Remaining focused on the needs of our community through whatever trying experiences may come. I frequently rely on and find comfort in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I am devoted to prayer for personal guidance, discernment and for our community.
My prayers are most often prayers of thanksgiving. I find great strength and peace through prayer. I know you will too and I encourage you all to renew your commitment to a prayerful life.

Lastly, I ask you to pray for all our nations leaders and most especially pray for me. Pray that God will open our ears, our eyes, our minds and most importantly our hearts to His will. Pray as Joe Wright did when he said of our nations leaders, “Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will.”

Thank you and may God richly bless you and your families.

Brett Harrell
404-966-5804
Brett@VoteHarrell.com

Hospital “bed tax” is bad medicine

The state of Georgia is facing the worse budget crisis in recent memory, but new taxes and tax increases will not provide long-term solutions. I oppose HB 307 and any and all efforts to pass a health provider tax or “bed-tax.” This bill raises taxes on health care providers and increases the cost of health insurance policies providing limited short-term relief without addressing the larger issue of rapidly rising health care costs and a dysfunctional federal Medicaid matching fund system.

HB 307 adds a 1.6% tax on insurance plans and hospital revenues, and creates long-term problems by further suppressing our economy and increasing healthcare and insurance costs that ultimately provide support for President Obama’s case for an unpopular government takeover of healthcare. Further, HB 307 allows a portion of the new revenues generated to flow into the General Fund and though targeted for a specific use; we know previous bills have failed to successfully target General Fund expenditures as required – i.e. fuel tax, cell phone tax, tire disposal fees.

HB 307 is promoted as a tool to bring additional federal dollars to Georgia for a Medicaid program that fund only about 84% of the true cost of care. As an administrator with the Gwinnett County Hospital System said recently, “You can’t make that up on volume.” Seeking additional federal money to fund a broken program is not the solution and taxing profitable private providers to fund bankrupt government programs is the classic example of government gone wild.

Our goal should be to encourage all Georgian’s to have health insurance coverage and to increase the number of health care providers practicing in Georgia – this bill does neither. We should oppose tax increases as well as short-term band-aids to meet the budget shortfall and embrace innovative, creative, and common-sense long-term solutions.

Join me in opposition to HB 307. I am confident the voters of Georgia will appreciate and reward candidates who govern in a fiscally sound and conservative manner.

Brett Harrell is a candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives District 106 that includes the City of Snellville and unincorporated portions of Grayson, Centerville, and Lilburn.

http://www.VoteHarrell.com

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