Damn Interstates! & Politicians.
From the Smoky Mountain News:
The interstate was proposed by Georgia’s congressmen as a way to improve commerce of their state and relieve congestion in Atlanta by allowing cross-country interstate traffic to bypass the metro area.
This interstate is currently being propsed to "bisect Clay, Cherokee, Graham and possibly Macon counties en route from Savannah to Knoxville" according to the article. If you're not familiar with the area it is a gorgeous mountainous region with some of the best driving and scenery in the country. This map should give you a general idea of the area they are talking about. The theory is, that putting an interstate through there would help reduce congestion through Atlanta, since the only interstate route from Savannah or Augusta to Knoxville now is via Atlanta and Chattanooga. If Atlanta is anything like Dallas, most of the congestion occurs during rush hour. Admitedly, rush hour seems to get longer every year, but it is still caused mostly by locals, not by people going from one city to another.
Many local (and not so local) residents from northern Geogia and western North Carolina are in an uproar and have begun voicing their disapproval of the proposed plan. So far it is just at the feasibility study level, which seems to me to be an excellent time to start pushing back. The project was given $400,000 for the feasibility study in the gargantuan transportation bill this past year.
Of course proponents are also gathering forces. The Georgia legislature has approved $100,000 to promote the new interstate by starting the Interstate Highway Development Association. I love statistics like those provided by the proponents:
But proponents of the interstate say that 80 percent of jobs in the nation are located within 10 miles of an interstate.
That's like saying that 90% of all beaches are within 1 mile of the ocean. When the interstate highway system was designed, it was designed to go through major population centers, so of course most of the jobs in the nation are near them. Especially since many rural activities such as farming are now quite automated.
Here is an excellent quote from a local farmer:
John Clarke, a raspberry farmer and builder in Hayesville, said the interstate would ruin the region’s best asset and actually hurt economic development.
“Economic development here is based on natural beauty, not interstates,” Clarke said
Clarke said everyone should have a vested interest in defeating the interstate — hunters and hikers, fishermen and kayakers, newcomers who came here to escape traffic noise and old-timers who could lose their family farms to right-of-way acquisition, motorcyclists who could lose the infamous Tail of the Dragon ride and boaters who could lose tranquility on both Chattooga and Santeetlah lakes.
Having driven the Dragon I agree. That road, and some of the surround area are amazing and should be preserved. Here are a few links that hopefully will help do that...
said on : 08/26/07 @ 10:45
Comment feed for this post
Recent comments