Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan will have an even higher interest in air quality and commuters in the coming months.

Worthan, who was recently appointed Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation and Air Quality Committee, will lead the 32 county group in seeking more effective transportation policies for the 18 county metropolitan area.

The committee involves local governments, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to create a consensus on how to solve the metro region’s current traffic problems and also plan for the future.

Traffic and transportation, Worthan said, are the driving forces behind the region’s economy.

“These issues require serious consideration and planning or they could overwhelm everything else we try to do to move forward and be successful in creating and attracting jobs and employment,” he said.

Federal and state roadway and transportation monies, including planning and construction funds, are required by law to be reviewed and allocated through a regional planning process, and the ARC has been designated by the U.S. Congress to be the agency in charge of that process for this area. Although the funding process has multiple steps, actions taken by the Transportation and Air Quality Committee guide the money to where it can best be used.

Being named chairman of the committee was an honor, Worthan said. Even more so because of the high number of Douglas residents that rely on a smooth commute for employment.

“About 75 percent of our citizens leave the county to go to work every day, so a good transportation system is vital to our residents,” he said. “We cannot just rely on I-20 anymore.

“We have to be able to get to I-20 in a timely manner, and develop other arterial and secondary roads to keep our County and region moving.”

The Atlanta Regional Commission is the regional planning and inter-governmental coordination agency for the 10-County metro Atlanta area including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties, as well as the city of Atlanta.

The ARC works through an Executive Board and multiple committees that address specialized issues throughout the Atlanta metro area

Worthan is a member of the ARC Executive Board.