New transportation authority to

New

transportation authority to

hear agencies' reports on Friday

Members of the board

of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority will be

briefed on transportation and air quality in the metro

Atlanta region this Friday, GRTA chairman Joel Cowan

announced Monday.

Officials

from the state Department of Transportation, the

Environmental Protection Division, the Atlanta Regional

Commission, MART and the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority

will tell the GRTA members about various projects these

agencies have underway and discuss how they hope to work

with GRTA.

GRTA is

charged with combating traffic congestion, air pollution

and sprawl-like development. The authority can operate

anywhere in the state where air quality fails below

federal standards, but its initial focus will the

13-county Atlanta region that si already out of

compliance with the Clean air Act.

The meeting

is open to the public and starts at 10 a.m. in room 307

of the Legislative Office Building in downtown Atlanta.