ATLANTA — Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens told Channel 2 Action News that Atlanta traffic is some of the most congested in the country.
A company that studies traffic across the country recently ranked Atlanta’s traffic No. 9 on a new top 10 list of U.S. cities with the worst traffic.
Dickens said with commuters spending 59 hours a year in gridlock, it's time to consider creating a separate agency.
"This is an attempt for us to have an Atlanta Department of Transportation, where this department looks at transportation, just that. Not solid waste, not fleet services, not recycling," Dickens told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston.
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That's the current structure now. The traffic department is a part of the Public Works department. Traffic is on par with street recycling and garbage pickup. He said it can also be confusing for taxpayers.
“The public sometimes doesn't know who they’re talking to about a certain street issue, or a certain issue related to parking or anything like that," Dickens told Huddleston.
Dickens said they will study the issue and he wants to see a report by June 30.