By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 3, 2023 | After reading the Gwinnett Transit Development Plan which the county has released, we’re convinced the team producing the study did a good job, and that the plan will eventually lead to major transit improvements for Gwinnett citizens.
We therefore adopt a new plank in our Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett County, that of “Adoption of the 2023 Transit Plan for Gwinnett.” At the same time, we remove the current transit topic, which previously read: “MARTA rail for Gwinnett from Doraville station to Gwinnett Arena,” which would have proven too expensive to build. We now think that the new transit plan presents an overall better plan for transporting our citizens throughout Gwinnett to downtown Atlanta and to the airport.
One thing for sure: it will take a lot of money to implement this new plan. But property owners ought to be smiling, since the plan won’t add any more property taxes, but is anticipated to be funded entirely by an additional one cent sales tax. That means the county is planning a “pay as you go” effort. In effect, that also means that changes will come rather slowly.
With the current sales tax bringing in$ 236,257,460 in 2022, and anticipating collecting the sales tax for 30 years, plus inflation and growth, this would mean that Gwinnett will have invested a minimum of $70 BILLION to draw from to complete this transit plan. That’s an ambition goal, but one that is necessary to achieve, realizing that by 2050, Gwinnett will have at least 1.5 million residents. That’s only 27 years from now.
Here are the elements of the proposed plan:
- SHARED RIDE: This is now called Microtransit, currently operating in two zones, with additional zones added over the years. The next three zones will serve the Suwanee, Sugar Hill and Buford areas. When completed in 2033, there will be 27 zones of this type of transit. It will operate 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
- COUNTY RIDE: This will also operate 18/7 and will eventually consist of 11 routes, built between 2027 and 2043. These routes are between key destinations within the county.
- QUICK RIDE: There will be eight of these high frequency routes with priority improvements operated within the county by 2036. The first routes will begin in 2033. There will be 15-20 minute intervals between buses, operating 12/18/7 a week. In the first 10 years, it will have 115 miles of routes.
- RAPID RIDE: this will operate from the Doraville transit station to the proposed Lawrenceville Transit Center, serving five stops. It will move a large number of people and be a rubber tire service of 26 miles, to begin in 2036. Think Bus Rapid Transit.
- AIRPORT RIDE: To begin in 2027, these two routes will serve from the I-985 Park Ride lot and also from Snellville, direct to the airport. They will have limited stops along the way. It will operate 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
This overall plan will need the approval of Gwinnett voters to get this plan moving. It is expected a vote on this plan will be on the ballot in November, 2024.
You will note that this is not an immediate fix of all transportation problems. It will take years of implementation after the plan is okayed by the citizens. But it is Gwinnett’s best bet to move people around in a better manner.
GwinnettForum supports this plan and looks forward to its approval by Gwinnetians.
- If you want to read the Transit Plan online, go here.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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