Cities Forge Ahead With Transit, But Atlanta Lags Behind

"America's major metro regions may be on the verge of transit independence.

They tap federal aid whenever they can. But increasingly they're being obliged to find money for system expansion right at home. They're learning to get cities and suburbs on the same page as they prepare for a post-petroleum age.

And where they're not succeeding, anger is mounting. Take the Atlanta region, legendary for its traffic tie-ups. It added 2 million people in 20 years but built little new capacity, and now needs to invest $50 billion in rails and roads. As recently as April, Georgia's legislature refused to let citizens of the region even vote on a sales tax boost to finance transit lines and roadway expansion.

'The business community is screaming for relief at the top of our voice,' says Sam Williams, president of the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He's not only urging early transportation investments but warning that 'failure to invest would spell economic disaster for Georgia.'"