Gwinnett County Transit buses take on passengers at a bus stop on Satellite Road in Duluth in this 2012 photograph. County commissioners voted this week to spend $12.6 million to replace the system’s 28 local service buses because of old age and high mileage. (File Photo)
Gwinnett County transportation director Alan Chapman asked a 2016 budget review panel on Wednesday morning to consider allocating $200, 000 next year to expand Gwinnett County Transit with three new express routes and one new local route.
Chapman said the transportation department is looking at adding an extra express route into downtown Atlanta, as well as express service to places such as the Emory University and hospital area and an express route designed to quickly get residents across the county. He added the additional local route, which has not been picked, would allow the county to tweak the other routes to expand local service to more residents.
“By adding one (local) route and tweaking the four other routes, we could really expand that coverage and hit some areas where we’ve had some requests for years, possibly including additional service in the Lawrenceville area, ” Chapman said. “We’ve always received requests for service in the Crews Road area and we really think we can make adjustments that would expand the coverage a good bit with just that one additional route.”
Chapman made the transit request as part of his department’s business plan presentation to the county’s citizen’s budget review panel. The county’s government departments are in the middle of business plan presentations this week as the county begins the early stages of putting together a budget for 2016.
In addition to Chapman, officials from the water, community services and fire departments, as well as Tax Commissioner Richard Steele and library system Executive Director Charles Pace, made their presentations on Wednesday. Court officials, such as the clerk of courts, courts administration and District Attorney Danny Porter made their presentations on Monday.
The Water Resources Department asked for $11 million to build a water education center at the F. Wayne Hill Water Treatment Plant. Water Resources Director Ron Seibenhener told the Daily Post after the presentation that the education facility could be used for partnerships with local educational institutions, as well as give the department a place to take visiting government officials to explain what the facility does.
Some of the requests made so far this week include:
• More than $6.5 million to conduct presidential and state and local elections in the county in 2016.
• $1 million to develop a sewer system master plan.
• $686, 555 to establish a special victims unit in the District Attorney’s Office to handle sex crimes and crimes against children.
• $522, 415 to add nine new employees in the fire department.
• $110, 462 so the transportation department can buy three road milling machines.
• $91, 223 for an investigative analyst in the District Attorney’s Office.
