An editorial by Emory University President James Wagner is featured in today's Atlanta Business Chronicle. In his piece, President Wagner highlights the benefits of MARTA expansion on economic development, new
An editorial by Emory University President James Wagner is featured in today’s Atlanta Business Chronicle. In his piece, President Wagner highlights the benefits of MARTA expansion on economic development, new jobs, enhanced public safety, and overall improvement in the quality of life. Specifically, Wagner focuses on the impact transit funding will have on the Clifton Corridor.
In his editorial, Wagner writes:
The Clifton Corridor is the largest employment center in the metro region that is not served by MARTA’s rail system or does not have easy access to an interstate highway. The corridor has more than 30,000 employees, and tens of thousands of cars pass through the area each day.
Access must be maintained to critical health-care facilities and services within the corridor, and the CDC must be able to respond quickly to public health emergencies in the immediate community as well as around the world.
In addition to Emory, several other premiere universities call Atlanta home. Economic development in this region has been increasingly fueled by synergies created by collaborations among these institutions. Fostering and enhancing these partnerships requires infrastructure that allows employees to easily travel between these universities.
As Wagner notes:
Traffic congestion is not a local or even a metro problem to solve. Georgia’s economic health depends to a great degree on the success of our state’s education, health care, public health, and research facilities. We need to invest in expanding access to public transportation to maintain our competitive edge and to better serve our citizens.
Subscribers to the Atlanta Business Chronicle can view President Wagner’s full editorial here
