Fayette

and other metro Atlanta residents will get an

idea how well the Atlanta Regional Commission's

new 25-year, $37 billion transportation plan may

work in a public forum next week.

ARC,

planning agency for the 10-county Atlanta region

that includes Fayette, will release the results

of extensive computer testing of the Regional

Transportation Plan in meetings of the group's

Transportation Coordinating Committee and its

Transportation and Air Quality Committee tomorrow

morning, followed by a public forum Oct. 26.

The

committees will meet at 9 and 10:30 a.m. tomorrow

at ARC headquarters, 3715 Northside Parkway, 200

Northcreek, Atlanta. The public forum will be at

MARTA headquarters next to Lindbergh Station from

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

"That

will be a general overview," said Julie

Ralston, ARC's director of communications.

"It will tell how all the different projects

and strategies work."

Projects

and strategies in the RTP will represent a

significant departure from what's been done in

the past. Ralston said 57 percent of the $37

billion in transportation projects will be for

public transit projects like heavy and light

rail, buses, commuter programs, sidewalks and

bike lanes, with only 29 percent used for road

improvements.

commuter rail line to Senoia would serve the

Fayette area, for example, and nearby Interstate

85 would receive some of the planned 300 percent

increase in HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes.

regional bus network and a $500 million expansion

of bicycle and pedestrian systems are planned,

along with stricter emission controls and a $50

million alternative fuel program.

Improved

air quality is at the center of much of the

planning, said Ralston. Metro Atlanta's federal

transportation funds have been on hold in recent

years because the area fails to meet

Environmental Protection Agency standards for air

quality. Those funds won't be released until a

new plan is adopted that will bring the area into

compliance.

The

computer tests that will be revealed this week

and next are designed to show how the projects

will affect air quality and a host of other

concerns, Ralston said. How the plan meets

mobility targets, vehicle miles per capita and

other criteria also will be revealed.

For

information on the RTP, phone 404-364-2500 or

check ARC's web site at www.atlantaregional.com .

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