Gwinnett commissioners moving forward with new transit development plan

Steve Gehlbach
·2 min read

A local county is moving ahead with a plan to improve overall transportation and spend $17 billion to do it. It would dramatically change the way people use public transit.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach explains the overhaul in Gwinnett County would still need funding.

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A unanimous vote this week by the county commission moves this on for review by the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority.

The plan relies on a vote next year to up the sales tax in a “TSPLOST” to pay for it.

Gwinnett County’s new transit plan would use a mix of federal, state, and local funding for a total of $17 billion dollars to create more bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes and signals, more tie-ins to MARTA and direct routes to and from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

But the main piece is drastically expanded “micro-transit” that’s currently just in a small part of Lawrenceville and Snellville.

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It would be more in the concept of rides on-demand, similar to Uber or Lyft in larger vans across the entire county.

“Every resident here in Gwinnett County would have the opportunity to experience micro-transit. The plan is also paired with a bus network,” said China Thomas, Director of Transit Capital Improvement Projects.

Kenneth Watson lives in Atlanta but works in Gwinnett and uses the train, and then buses to get to his job.

“I don’t know about that if be reliable. Depend on where you’re coming from,” Watson said.

He’s not sure voters here would approve an extra penny of sales tax, and spend billions for public transportation if they currently don’t use it.

“It depends if they use it, yes, but most people don’t ride the bus,” Watson said.

Voters will be asked to vote on a referendum next year and the county will make the case it’s needed as Gwinnett’s population nears a million with another half million people expected over the next 25 years.

They need to start planning and preparing for transit now.

“There are certain destinations people want to get to in the county, it’s growing, so we need to be able to provide services so people can get around,” Thomas said.

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Voters rejected the extra tax for transit just a couple of years ago. At that time, plans included expanding rail service into Gwinnett and MARTA taking over the county’s transportation system.

This is completely different, but will still need voter approval and likely be on the ballot in next year’s presidential election in November 2024.

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