25,000 Participate in TSPLOST Chats

 Over the past two weeks, about 25,000 Atlanta region residents participated in a series of 12 Regional Transportation Referendum “Wireside Chats” hosted by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The Gwinnett County chat attracted nearly 3,000 callers, the ARC announced.

The telephone town halls gave participants a chance to learn more about projects that are part of the upcoming transportation referendum by asking questions directly of local officials. While anyone could join any of the 12 chats, the calls were organized by jurisdiction. Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson hosted the Gwinnett chat.

The referendum will be held as part of the July 31 Primary in which metro Atlanta residents will be have the opportunity to vote on implementing a one-cent transportation sales tax. Questions covered a broad range of topics and included inquiries about the 157 projects that would be funded by the referendum. Callers frequently asked about projects planned in their local communities.

Officials answered an average of 23 questions in each hour-long call, and participants stayed on the line an average of 14 minutes. Polls taken during the calls revealed that more than 91 percent of participants found the Wireside Chats helpful in understanding the transportation referendum vote and what is at stake.

If a participant’s question was not answered on the call, they could leave contact information in a voicemail and their question will be answered via a phone call or an email in the coming days. Complete information about the July 31 regional transportation referendum, including fact sheets about the 157 projects on the list and an interactive mapping tool, is available at www.metroatlantatransportationvote.com.

“We are pleased that nearly 25,000 regional residents participated in these Wireside Chats,” said ARC Executive Director Doug Hooker in the announcement. “Participant’s questions were thoughtful and diverse. I believe our local officials did a very thorough job of providing more information about this important regional vote on July 31.”

The ARC also issued a list of the number of participants in the first chats June 4-7.

• City of Atlanta – 4,195
• Henry County – 2,205
• Douglas County – 2,422
• Fayette County – 1,145
• North Fulton – 1,628
• Cobb County – 2,696
• Gwinnett County – 2,926
• Rockdale County – 1,413

Chats were conducted in Cherokee, DeKalb, South Fulton and Clayton counties June 13 and 14.