A group of Cobb County leaders said improving transit is crucial to future economic growth during a panel discussion with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Commissioner Erick Allen, Cumberland Community Improvement Executive Director Kim Menefee and Town Center CID Executive Director Tracy Styf all pointed to transit as a key area of improvement if the county is to continue economic growth and development.

The needs for improvement Menefee, Allen and Styf mentioned ranged from fixing roads and highways to increasing public transportation. They said infrastructure improvements would make it easier for businesses to move people and products in, out and within the county.

Menefee, Allen and Styf pointed to the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax as an essential vehicle for financing infrastructure improvements.

SPLOST is an optional 1% sales tax that counties approve through referendums to raise money for capital projects. Voters will consider renewing the county’s SPLOST at the ballot box in November.

If approved, the six-year SPLOST would begin collections on Jan. 1, 2028, replacing the current 2022 SPLOST when it expires on Dec. 31, 2027. The renewed SPLOST is expected to collect $1.15 billion countywide if approved, according to previous reporting by the Marietta Daily Journal.

Allen SPLOST is critical because it helps ensure funding for long-term, large-scale projects like the ones needed to improve infrastructure.

“When you think about SPLOST, it really is a tool that brings long-term vision to life,” Allen said. “Without it, you would be stuck in short-term planning, and you have the starts and stops…which a lot of communities that struggle with growth have.”

Menefee said SPLOST money has already helped alleviate transit issues in Cobb County. She pointed to the county using money to build a new ramp onto I-75 at Akers Mill Road to connect the Cumberland area to the highway, improving traffic flow for commuters and customers who work and shop in the area. The new ramp opened in January 2025.

“Taking those projects forward takes all of us forward, and SPLOST is an incredibly important tool for us to be able to utilize in this county to make generational change and projects that impact all of our daily lives each and every day,” Menefee said.

In addition to discussing the importance of SPLOST to infrastructure improvements, the panelists said Cobb County needs to offer more transit options in order to accommodate a growing population and economy.

Styf said the Town Center CID is already looking toward expanding options by renovating George Busbee Parkway to include more space for bikes and pedestrians. The project is among those slated to receive money if SPLOST is renewed. According to county documents, the project is estimated to receive about $2.5 million, if SPLOST is renewed.

The improvements will help alleviate traffic congestion by affording people in the area more options to get around, Styf said.

“For us, projects like George Busbee truly are the opportunity for us to meet at that intersection of mobility solutions and economic development to prepare for the Cobb County and metro Atlanta region of today and tomorrow,” Styf said.

Allen said the county could also expand transit options by investing in public transportation. He said such expansions will afford more economic opportunities for residents, and allow companies to attract the best talent without being limited by transit issues.

“(Companies) need people, they need talent,” Allen said. “It’s not about a transportation infrastructure that just allows the best talent in the region to get there Monday through Friday, but when you need them.”

His comments come on the heels of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners advancing an expansion of the county’s on-demand microtransit service. Allen was among the three commissioners voting in favor of the expansion.

Allen said the biggest roadblocks to expanding transit of all kinds in the county is residents’ “mindset.”

“I think the challenge is the mindset,” Allen said. “One of the things that I’ve really come to appreciate and learn, but also want to help lead people through, is that it’s not so scary for growth.”

Cobb County residents haven’t always been receptive to proposals for expanded transit funding and options.

In 2024, voters rejected a proposal to institute a Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or M-SPLOST, which would have funded a countywide microtransit initiative. About 62% of voters rejected the proposed $11 billion 30-year transit sales tax.

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