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Georgia governor throws $100M behind metro Atlanta transit initiatives

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Is this really happening in Georgia?

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has announced that $100 million will be allocated for transit expansion in metro Atlanta as part of his 2019 budget allocations.

The news, reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, comes as the legislature also hammers out funding for mass transportation in the metro.

A hypothetical, probably unrealistic MARTA dream map once compiled by a Curbed Atlanta reader.
Jason Lathbury

Counties across the region would have the opportunity to benefit from funding, with additional money possibly supplied through self-taxing.

Funding from the governor’s desk, meanwhile, would be in the form of transit bonds.

The funds would go toward “keeping with the demands of a 21st-century economy and workforce,” according to a statement released by the governor. (Which sounds a bit like “satiating the transit appetite of a massive online retailer.”)

While the allocation has been made public, specifics about how the money will be spent remain a mystery.

Funding could go toward a range of projects, all of which would be subject to voter approval.

And while $100 million is hardly a traffic panacea (Ponce City Market’s renovation, for instance, cost three or four times that amount), it’s a start.