On Day Of Vote, Atlantans Weigh In On $250M Infrastructure Bond

Most residents WABE spoke to voted yes. Many of the reasons were practical.

James Hastings of East Atlanta is tired of potholes and the metal plates that cover those potholes. He voted yes for the sake of his car.

“I just got brand new tires. I hit a pothole and it threw it out of line and it messed it up. I had to pay $350 to get it fixed.”

There were a lot of complaints about the city’s roads and bridges.

“I don’t think the condition of the roads and the infrastructure has kept up with construction of all these townhouse developments and condos and apartment buildings,” said Phil Tardif of Virginia Highland. “To accommodate all these new people you have to have a way for them to get around and it’s got to be these roads.”

James Murphy of Summerhill voted yes and said it was about priorities.

“Hell, if they can afford to give money to the Falcons to build a stadium like that then they ought to be able to keep the streets in the condition that they should be,” Murphy said. 

Some had concerns about the project list not yet being finalized. But more often than not, the need for road and bridge repairs outweighed any concern about wasteful spending. 

“The vagueness, of course, is an issue,” said Jess Windham of Virginia Highland. “The city certainly could be more transparent…It’s like 10 percent worry, 90 percent we’ve got to fix the streets.”

That wasn’t the case for every voter. Frank Aldridge of Grant Park didn’t think the city should be given a “blank check.” He voted no.

“These crooks already have stolen enough of our money. I would vote yes to fire all those bastards.”