Tourism and Commuter Rail

Tourism and Commuter Rail
November 18, 2005

This letter is in response to OUR VOICE in the Sept. 13 Daily Herald. The Herald is Henry County’s News Source. I appreciate that they have a voice, but an informed voice would better suit their slogan. Representative Steve Davis has provided volumes on the topic of the proposed commuter rail, especially the untold millions of dollars taxpayers would pay in operating costs. Yet the Voice about tourism included another plug for the rail. It appears that Clayton’s misguided commissioners are the ghost writers for Henry’s Voice.

Our Chamber of Commerce also supports the commuter rail as a way to enhance tourism. They must be listening to Clayton’s politicians or developers anxious to see high density growth in Hampton. You see, the Hampton rail station is the only access point in our entire county.

Commissioner BJ Mathis, who serves Hampton, is opposed to the Hampton rail station because the costs outweigh the benefits. The Hampton City Council passed a resolution against it. They understand the services will be limited to only morning and evening trips. There is no option for mid-day or weekend service. There will be no off-and-on, stop and shop convenience that tourism would require. The rail will move worker bees from Hampton to Atlanta, and back home again. They understand that Clayton’s chairman Bell is selling a pipe dream when he talks about tourism, dining cars and exposition centers. There is no possibility the commuter rail will support itself.

A commuter rail station in Hampton will be a major cost to Henry’s taxpayers. Clayton County has already agreed to a 50-year plan to pay for the rail’s operational costs. The only winners are private businesses, like Norfolk Southern Railway and developers, at taxpayer expense. This is not a good thing!

If our Chamber of Commerce and our News Source insist on cheerleading for this boondoggle, they should accurately tell the whole story. No spin, no deception. They should not use their bully pulpit to foist a tax burden on the citizens, especially to benefit private businesses. To impose something upon another by coercion or trickery is not honest.

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