Hopeful epilogue for transit expansion

Per today's article in the Banner-Herald, elected officials are still committed to improving public transit, despite the recent setback on the T-SPLOST legislation.
Excerpt:

Athens-Clarke commissioners frequently discuss their desire for more mass transit, but don't collect enough money in property and sales taxes to consider such costly projects.

"It'd be great to see a trolley system going up and down Prince (Avenue), Milledge (Avenue) and Lumpkin (Street) serving downtown and the university, but something like that isn't possible under our current funding system," Commissioner David Lynn said.

Athens-area legislators said they'll try to pass the sales tax again next year, but it can't appear on the ballot before 2010.

Lawmakers are more open to non-road forms of transportation, such as the "Brain Train," a proposed passenger rail line running from downtown Atlanta to the Athens Multimodal Center, said state Sen. Bill Cowsert.

"You're seeing much more interest in mass transit and innovative solutions to the transportation problem than you have in the past," Cowsert said.