Transit Review Committee

Gwinnett commissioners on July 21 approved placing a 1 percent sales tax to fund a wide range of transit projects on the November 3 ballot. This is a new sales tax created by action of the state legislature in 2018 to fund transit; the Gwinnett County referendum will be the first proposed under this new tax.

If approved by voters, the Transit Special Purpose Local Option Sales and Use Tax would run for 30 years and fund 82 transit projects. The Board of Commissioners developed the list of projects with input from the Gwinnett County Transit Review Committee. The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority then approved the list.

Under the referendum, the County would design and construct the transit projects; it would also operate and maintain the transit system except for the heavy rail extension, which MARTA must operate as stipulated by state law.

Read more about the transit plan here.

What is the Transit Review Committee?

With Gwinnett County expected to continue rapid growth through 2040 and beyond, the need for a robust transit system will only become more critical. The Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on September 3, 2019 creating the Gwinnett County Transit Review Committee, a group of 13 citizens who helped advise the Board on how to proceed in expanding transit in Gwinnett County to meet future demand. The committee was tasked with conducting a thoughtful and thorough review of Gwinnett’s transit needs and the options for addressing those needs. The committee presented a written report with recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on January 31, 2020.

The committee was formed following a transit contract referendum in March 2019 in which voters did not approve a contract with MARTA to operate Gwinnett’s transit system and a 38-year, one-percent sales tax to implement the Connect Gwinnett: Transit Plan. The Connect Gwinnett: Transit Plan detailed significant, short- and long-term expansion of transit in Gwinnett, including using various types of transit, adding more routes, and identifying funding sources.

As part of their review, the Transit Review Committee members took a fresh look at the Connect Gwinnett: Transit Plan. The committee analyzed current and projected transit needs based on projected population and employment and the feasibility of various types of transit. The committee also considered options suggested by the public during the referendum process.

The final report included information that presents the scope of the committee’s work and the basis of its recommendations, such as infrastructure needs, feasibility of proposed approaches, quality of life, and potential economic benefits and impacts.

The Transit Review Committee will held 11 meetings, which were open to the public.

Selection Process
Appointments to the committee were made by each member of the Board of Commissioners and by organizations representing a range of interests and perspectives.

Represented groups:

• 5 members representing the Board of Commissioners, with each Commissioner having one appointment
• 1 member representing seniors, to be appointed by the Gwinnett Council for Seniors
• 1 member representing young adults, to be appointed by the Georgia Gwinnett College Student Council
• 1 member representing the paratransit consumer community, to be appointed by the Gwinnett Transit Advisory Board
• 1 member representing the non-profit sector, to be appointed by the Coalition for Health and Human Services
• 1 member representing employers, to be appointed by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
• 1 member representing Gwinnett’s young professionals, to be appointed by the Gwinnett Young Professionals organization
• 1 member representing Gwinnett’s civic organizations, to be appointed by Leadership Gwinnett Alumni
• 1 member representing Gwinnett’s cities, to be appointed by the Gwinnett Municipal Association

To see the list of members, click here.

Gwinnett County Transit Review Committee Meeting Schedule
Materials from the meetings are available to the public by clicking here. For meeting schedules and locations as well as agendas and minutes, click here. To view the TRC’s final recommendations and the appendix, click here.