Robert Drake over at bloglanta brings up that the project to build a Southside commuter rail line is about to be doomed over monetary concerns.

Atlanta was ranked the #4 city for worst traffic on the Texas Transporation Institute’s 2005 Urban Mobility Study (warning: pdf!). Traffic is only going to get worse here. Building more roads is not going to solve the problem. Building more options will. Sure, some people won’t ride a commuter rail line. Lots of people will, though.

It costs money to invest in the future of the city and the state. The folks on GDOT’s board that are opposing the Lovejoy line aren’t offering any other solutions, they are just saying it costs too much money. However, and I quote a quote from the AJC:

State Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl said if the DOT board were to kill the line, it’s not clear what would happen to the federal money earmarked for the project.
“It could go back to Congress to use somewhere else,” he said.

It would go back to Congress to use somewhere else.

Well, that’s a real responsible use of federal funds. Apparently there are some GDOT board members who don’t want to spend money, but they don’t mind just throwing it away.