ANOTHER VIEW: Rare time for transit decision

By George Wilson  |  A county stands and falls on the decisions and vision of her leaders. All too rarely, a county has an opportunity to decide an issue that will set its future course for generations to come. Such is bringing of rail to Gwinnett County. Now is the time to act and show some bold leadership and not be bureaucratic care takers of the status quo. There are many good reasons to start:

  • Already an aging population in Gwinnett will need other modes of transportation other than cars;
  • Continued economic development and growth; later on costs will only be higher;
  • Polls show a high favorability level; and
  • Traffic is bad now, and is only going to get worse.

This is not the ‘70s when people rejected MARTA because of race and the fear of crime. This in my view was a disappointing and negative argument. This argument is even less potent today because the minorities are already here. Moreover, the times, and demographics have changed in Gwinnett so that most people now want the benefits of rapid transit.

Finally, what we need is leadership to start this process. When will the voters demand that it happen?

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