Atlanta

Some Atlanta leaders want to start charging you to drive into the city

ATLANTA — Some leaders in Atlanta want to start charging a fee for commuters who drive into the city.

Atlanta city councilman Andre Dickens is chairman of Atlanta's transportation committee.

He says it is time Atlanta has its own department of transportation.

"We need one head of transportation. It's such a critical issue, and we're on our way to going there now," Dickens said.

The city recently released a report about creating an Atlanta transportation department.

Dickens says right now, issues like potholes, road construction, even sidewalk repair, do not get the attention they deserve because transportation falls under planning and public works, right next to trash pick-up and recycling.

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He told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston he wants to think about a user fee for drivers who commute into the capitol city.

“That's a little bit down the road, but I’ve seen it done in other cities. I mean, you cross a bridge in New York or San Francisco, you cross a jurisdiction line, they are going to charge you for it," Dickens said.

Dickens said the funding of a new department would come from removing transportation from public works, but tax payers may also have to help with additional funding.

He said he would like to have the Atlanta-DOT up and running within a year.

"This would deal with everything from potholes to street repaving to optimizing the traffic signals, all the way to bike lanes and sidewalks,” Dickens said.

"That's a little bit down the road, but I’ve seen it done in other cities. I mean, you cross a bridge in New York or San Francisco, you cross a jurisdiction line, they are going to charge you for it," Andre Dickens said.

The mayor's office and public works, as well as several citizens, are working with Dickens on the Atlanta DOT.