Transit and the prospect of extending MARTA was front and center at the annual Georgia Transportation Summit earlier this month. MAC Transportation Committee Chairman David Allman presented on an infrastructure
Transit and the prospect of extending MARTA was front and center at the annual Georgia Transportation Summit earlier this month. MAC Transportation Committee Chairman David Allman presented on an infrastructure panel along with several other regional business leaders. And, when it comes down to marketing Atlanta for business expansion, the panelists appeared to agree that perception plays a major role in the regions competitiveness.
David Allman on competitiveness:
“The next big piece after HB 170 is the expansion of MARTA. The perception of us not expanding MARTA is a huge negative in our competitiveness.”
Craig Lesser, Pendleton Consulting Group, on international business recruitment:
The great cities of the world all have traffic. We should be talking about solutions. Our big mistake is telling the world that our biggest problem is traffic. Transportation is the thing we ought to be touting. We’ve got a lot to brag about. The airport. Our freight (business). The port.”
Michael Paris, Council for Quality Growth, on MARTA:
“Why did I ride MARTA more in the past two years? Because it’s safe, it’s efficient, the trains run on time, and it goes where I want to go. We relocated our office right between two MARTA stations, and I think that’s the real tale to be told about economic development and what MARTA is doing today.”
Click here to read the AJC article about the panel discussion.
