Rich Republican Georgia County wants others to pay for stadium transportation costs

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/cobb-requests-101-million-in-state-funding-for-transportation-projects-including-cash-for-the-braves-bridge/

September 2, 2015
Max Blau

On its wish list for a share of the nearly $1 billion in state money that legislators recently authorized to fund much-needed highway maintenance, Cobb County is asking for $9 million to build a bridge over I-285 to take Braves fans to and from the team’s new stadium, $3.5 million in state funds to retrofit a parking deck at the nearby Galleria Office Park to accommodate Braves shuttle buses, and millions of dollars for other transportation projects.

•••••

The Cobb list includes several multi-million-dollar projects designed to relieve congestion along interstates 75 and 285—as well as local streets—near SunTrust Park, the Braves’ new $672 million stadium, which is expected to bring 25,000 cars to the area during sold-out games. Two “road diet” projects, estimated to cost the state north of $11 million, would respectively improve pedestrian connectivity along Windy Ridge and Interstate North parkways just to the east of the planned stadium. Cobb is also asking for $5 million to erect new highway message boards, which would play a key role in directing commuters to avoid traffic delays on game days. (Not every item is Braves-related: The list also includes projects like a $12 million pathway near Kennesaw Mountain and a $4.5 million multi-use trail near Kennesaw State University).

•••••

Update 9/3/15: Well, as it turns out, Cobb County didn’t get everything from the state they asked for to spruce up the area near the Braves’ new home. Of Cobb’s $101 million in funding requests, the Marietta Daily Journal reports, GDOT signed off on $42 million for projects to help address congestion. More than half of that cash—including $9.2 million for “road diet” projects making walking more manageable, $5 million for variable message boards to direct motorists away from gridlock on gamedays, and $4.7 million to overhaul the intersection of Cobb Parkway and I-285—will directly impact the area near the stadium.

What didn’t get funding? Cobb’s efforts to get $9 million for the bridge providing bus and pedestrian access over I-285 to SunTrust Park, or $3.5 million to retrofit a Cobb Galleria parking deck. “It’s not a high-profile state project,” Lee today told the paper. “We were never really depending on them.” But it didn’t hurt to ask either.