Kennesaw May Become Beneficiary of Transit System

During Tuesday night's City Council meeting, City Manager Steve Kennedy discussed the ongoing effort of Atlanta area cities to fund and create a public light transit system.

This idea to build a light rail system that will run from Atlanta into the surrounding cities and (hopefully) reduce the number of commuters to and from the Atlanta area has been brought up in .

The project is expected to be a huge undertaking that will require the fiscal and labor cooperation of several cities around Atlanta.

Traffic on I-75 becomes extremely congested in the mornings around 8 and in the evenings around 5, often to the point that what should be a 45 minute drive takes up to three hours.

In the past, Zoning and Planning Commissioner Darryl Simmons mentioned that people were avoiding jobs in Atlanta because they "do not want to park on I-75 in the morning."

According to Kennedy, there is currently a federal grant of $1.4 million available, which includes assessment of feasibility for alternative transportation as an allowable use for the money. Kennedy says that light rail is included as a form of alternative transport. 

According to Kennedy, Cobb County will be appropriating $140,000 for the upcoming analysis. The city of Kennesaw will need to post $10,000 in order to be a beneficiary of the project, which Kennedy highly recommends.  

The council has added the issue of the $10,000 to the city agenda, and will discuss the appropriation of said finances at a future meeting.

As always, the council encourages the public to attend the city council meetings and add input to discussions of distribution of funds.