Kennesaw Residents Asked To Give Input on Transportation, Transit

KENNESAW, GA — An ongoing series of public meetings offers residents something they can’t always get while sitting in daily traffic — the chance to do something about it. Chairman Mike Boyce said feedback received during the Comprehensive Transportation Plan meetings will help form a project list that could show up in a future Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or a referendum on transit and transportation programs.

"The residents of Cobb County are the key to the solution," Boyce said in a release. "We want to give them a chance to be a part of the solution. Five people (members of the Board of Commissioners) can formulate a product, but I’d be happier if 5,000 people or more have a voice in it."

A CTP is a county-wide, long-range multimodal transportation plan that will assess Cobb County’s existing and future transportation needs including roadways, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, transit services, and freight considerations. Cobb last updated its CTP in 2015, this year’s meetings have been dubbed "CobbForward."

Previous CTPs resulted in such projects as the East-West Connector and easier access to Interstate 75 through diverging diamond interchanges.

"CobbForward will give residents many opportunities to provide their ideas about how we should spend their transportation tax dollars to improve their commutes," Eric Meyer, planning division manager for the Cobb Department Of Transportation, said in a release.

"They can interact with our staff directly on the topics of transit, pedestrian safety, technology—we want the people of Cobb to give us their insights to further focus our planning on the needs of our communities."

Some projects may be elevated for consideration in the Regional Transportation Plan and compete for federal and state funds. Cobb Forward will also include county transit recommendations that can be incorporated into the region’s transit vision, which will be developed and managed by the newly-formed Atlanta Transit Link Authority.

Remaining Cobb Transportation Plan meetings

• 6-8 p.m., Monday, May 6
  • Acworth Community Center, 4361 Cherokee St, Acworth
• 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, May 7
  • East Cobb Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta

• 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, May 8
  • Ben Robertson Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw
• 7-9 p.m., Thursday, May 9
  • South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton

For more information, go to CobbForward.org.