Key points:
• Voters will decide whether to renew the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or TSPLOST, in November.
• Sandy Springs proposes a $129 million infrastructure plan, funded by the Fulton County sales tax for transportation improvement projects.
• The city has acquired all necessary parcels for phase one of the Hammond Drive widening, which will be the city’s largest infrastructure project in its 20-year history.
In the city of Sandy Springs, a renewal of the countywide 0.75% sales tax for transportation this November tees up more than $129 million in infrastructure improvements within the city through the early 2030s.
The city held its first of three open houses on April 8 to unveil a list of proposed projects to prospective voters in the Nov. 3 general election. The next two public meetings are at High Point Elementary School on Tuesday, April 14, and at the North Fulton Government Service Center on Thursday, April 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
TSPLOST 2026 renewal
On ballots this November, Fulton County voters — outside the city of Atlanta — will be asked whether the 0.75% sales tax for transportation improvements should be collected for another five years.
Collections for the current 2021 TSPLOST run through March 31, 2027. A five-year renewal would keep the total sales tax rate in Sandy Springs at 7.75%.
Voters first approved the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or TSPLOST, in November 2016. During a presidential election year with high turnout, it narrowly passed with 52.7% of the vote.
Voters then approved a five-year extension in 2021, renewing the tax with more than 60% of the vote during an off-year municipal election. Because this November’s elections are expected to have a high turnout, the referendum could be close.
Former Sandy Springs Council Member Andy Bauman attended the April 8 open house. He said he thinks Sandy Springs’ votes are necessary for the tax referendum to pass.
Without a majority of Fulton County voters backing the tax renewal referendum this fall, local governments will go without a bulk of their capital project funding.
Bauman said he’s eager to see projects move forward in District 6, which he used to represent, like sidewalk extensions from the Northside Drive roundabout to Powers Ferry and along Lake Forrest Drive. He mentioned the importance of public input to ensure the tax revenue is directed toward purposeful projects.
Sandy Springs project list
If approved, the countywide sales tax in Sandy Springs will fund bridges, congestion relief, intersection and roadway realignment, safety enhancements, sidewalks, and bike improvements.
Of the city’s $129.1 million budget, $44.6 million, or about a third of its sales tax revenue, funds the second phase of the Hammond Drive widening project. Phase two, several years away from construction, will widen two segments along Hammond Drive from Boylston Drive to Roswell Road and from Glenridge Drive to Barfield Road.
Phase one stretches between Boylston Drive and Glenridge Road and involves shifting the roadway north, adding one lane in each direction with a median barrier, and putting in two roundabouts. The first phase could cost upward of $64 million, according to the city’s project webpage.
While phase one is not expected to begin construction until this winter, Public Works Director Marty Martin said the city has acquired all of the necessary parcels and is on track. By starting in the middle and then moving to the commercial nodes, Martin said the phasing was chosen to protect neighbors along the corridor.
Martin said the city’s communication team has been working with surrounding neighborhoods for more than five years to design the project. The design has paths on both sides of the roadway and cul-de-sacs at the end of neighborhood streets to prevent cut-through traffic.
Submit a comment card on the proposed TSPLOST 2026 projects to the city here. The public comment period will remain open until April 24.
Read more about specific projects and prior referendums here.
