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Transit move contested

• Economic issues are the primary topics at public hearings concerning public transportation.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 decreed that an environmental assessment, taking into account social, economic and environmental issues, be conducted as part of transportation projects that will impact a community.

Albany-Dougherty Transit Director Nedra Woodyatt and TTL consulting firm representative Bob White discussed environmental issues surrounding the proposed Albany Multimodal Transportation Center at public hearings conducted Thursday morning and afternoon. But members of the public on hand were more interested in the economic impact of the proposed construction of a new transportation center bordered by Washington Street and Flint and Roosevelt avenues.

“My company has a management contract at the current transit center/bus station,” former Dougherty County Commissioner Victor Edwards, who now owns Edwards Enterprises, said. “This new facility that is being proposed is going to eliminate as many as 30 jobs and have a negative economic impact of up to a half-million dollars on businesses in this area.

“You talk about an impact study, and I don’t know if this is part of your study. But the elimination of $500,000 is going to have a huge impact on small businesses in this area. (Officials) went and cleared an area for Wal-Mart on a guess, and they’re not even listening to businesses who don’t want this change.”

The Albany City Commission, based on the findings of a study conducted by Day Wilburn & Associates, voted in 2001 to create a multimodal transportation center at the proposed site after the city’s transit system was moved from its location on Front Street and Pine Avenue to clear the way for the development of the Flint RiverQuarium. Albany Transit began leasing space at the Greyhound Bus Terminal.

In 2004, a “new” city commission voted to reconsider the proposed site, but in 2006 the commission reversed itself again and decided to begin the process of preparing the Washington/Flint/Roosevelt site.

Dr. Charles Gillespie, who is part of the city’s Transportation Board, said at the public hearing Thursday morning that his understanding is that the proposed site was selected in hopes that a commuter rail system would be located in Albany.

“The chance of that ever happening is very remote,” Gillespie said. “They can’t even get commuter rail in (metro Atlanta’s) Lovejoy. So the most important question becomes what advantage is there to putting a new transportation center at this location vs. improving where it is now.

“I don’t want this to sound insensitive, but the people who use the transit system in Albany do not live on the north side of town. If this move is made, the people who use the transit system most are going to have to walk farther to get to their buses ... and basically they’ll have to do that on a whim.”

After Gillespie chided officials for “making this decision (on the site) before any study is completed,” Woodyatt said a site had to be selected for the study to be conducted.

“We’re going through this process and holding these public hearings based on a site that was recommended after an extensive study,” she said. “That had to be done for the process to move forward. But if this site is not approved for whatever reason, we’ll go back to the beginning and start the process over.”

When Downtown Manager Don Buie suggested at a city commission meeting that the Washington/Flint/Roosevelt property might be better utilized as the centerpiece for other economic development projects, Albany Mayor Willie Adams said there was state grant money that would most likely be lost if any changes were made to the current plan.

“Some of the money that has been earmarked for use in upgrading our transportation system is site-specific,” Woodyatt said. “So, yes, we would lose some funding that has been promised. But there are always other funding opportunities.”

Martin Carter, whose family’s nearby Carter’s Grill is a favorite of bus passengers, said his reason for opposing the move is basic and simple.

“If (the transportation hub) moves, we’re going to lose business; it’s as simple as that,” he said. “I would rather see improvements made at the current site.”

Woodyatt said the Albany Transit system averages 800,000 passengers annually.

“All of us small businesses in that area feed off those folks,” Edwards said.

Citizen Mattie Park said she came to the public hearing for a reason that had nothing to do with environmental or economic issues.

“That bus is my car,” she said. “I just want to find out where my bus is going to be.”

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