Politics & Government

Gwinnett County to Study Transit Options

$1.1 million study should take 18 months to complete.

Gwinnett County is about to spend $1.1 million and 18 months studying transportation alternatives and opportunities in the I-85 corridor from I-285 to the Gwinnett Center.

Atkins North America Inc. has been commissioned to spearhead the study in collaboration with the Gwinnett Village and Gwinnett Place Community Improvement Districts as well as the Federal Transit Administration. Fifty percent of the funding will come from the 2009 Special Local Option Sales Tax Program and 50 percent from a Federal Transit Administration grant.

“This project has been a major priority for businesses in the CID for the past several years. We can improve the southern core of Gwinnett by increasing transportation options and providing a significant economic development boost,” Chuck Warbington, executive director of the Gwinnett Village CID, said in a press release.

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Officials said the study will compare no-build, baseline/transportation system management, express bus, bus rapid transit, light rail and commuter rail options and look at their respective effects on traffic, travel patterns, the environment and land use. It will include estimates of capital and maintenance costs for each option as well as proposed operation plans, ridership forecasts, cost-effectiveness analysis and an overall evaluation of options.

Leo Wiener, Gwinnett Place CID chairman, said the CID was pleased to be able to collaborate with this “much-needed transit alternative analysis.”

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Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash said the study would include public hearings with advisory committees on policies, technical issues and community concerns.

“Gwinnett’s population has increased so much over the last few decades,” Nash said in the release. “Today’s commuters need more transportation options.”


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