PERIMETER BUSINESS
Special
From left, Chuck Altimari, vice president of UPS, Louis Miller,
general aviation manager for Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport and Griff Lynch, chief operating officer of the Georgia
Ports Authority, respond during a panel discussion at the
Perimeter Business Association’s Sept. 20 meeting.
Georgia port extremely
important to Perimeter
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By Melissa Weinman
Sandy Springs may seem a long
way from Savannah, but the coast
al city's port plays a big role in busi
ness in the Perimeter, transportation
experts told members of the Perime
ter Business Association recently.
"We are a gateway to the entire
Southeast, but Atlanta is a major com
ponent of our growth. It's very im
portant that we rely on each other,"
Griff Lynch, chief operating officer of
the Georgia Ports Authority, said dur
ing a panel discussion hosted by the
PBA at Villa Christina on Sept. 20.
Chuck Altimari, vice president
of UPS, which is headquartered in
Sandy Springs, and a board mem
ber of the Perimeter Community Im
provement Districts, told the business
group that it was important to look at
transportation from a statewide per
spective. Both the port and Atlanta's
Hartsfield-Jackson International Air
port have a major affect on Perimeter
businesses, he said.
He said the proximity of Atlanta's
airport was a big factor in UPS' deci
sion to locate its corporate headquar
ters in the Perimeter. That access to
direct flights is a big boost for the ar
ea's economic development efforts,
he said.
The discussion featured Lynch, Al
timari and Louis Miller, general avia
tion manager for the Atlanta airport.
Lynch said the Georgia Ports Au
thority directly employs about 1,000
people. But according to a study from
the University of Georgia, the move
ment of the cargo that comes through
the ports creates about 350,000 jobs
statewide, he said.
Altimari, who moderated the dis
cussion, said the next big transpor
tation priority for the PBA and the
PCIDs is improving the Ga. 400/1-285
interchange. He asked the other pan
elists how traffic around the Perime
ter affects them.
Miller said better traffic flow
throughout the metro region is im
portant for the airport to run smooth-
!y-
"We want them to be able to get
to the airport as quickly as possible,"
Miller said. "If they're slowed down
coming into or coming out, it impacts
traffic around the airport."
Lynch said businesses want to
know that their cargo can move
quickly to its destination once it is un
loaded in Savannah.
"If cargo can't move fluidly, they're
not going to come," Lynch said.
Efforts are underway to deepen
the port of Savannah.
According to the Georgia Ports
Authority, deepening the Savannah
River to 47 feet would enable the port
to more efficiently serve the larger
vessels expected in greater numbers
after a planned expansion of the Pan
ama Canal in 2015. Accommodating
larger vessels would also lower ship
ping costs, according to the Ports Au
thority.
"This project is critically important
to the state of Georgia, Southeast re
gion and nation, and it would sup
port hundreds of thousands of jobs
each year while generating billions
in revenue," U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson
(R-Georgia) said in a statement.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed also
has been a strong supporter of the
harbor expansion.
"I am pleased to join Gov. Na
than Deal, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Sen.
Saxby Chambliss and Congressman
Jack Kingston to continue advocating
strongly for the deepening of the Port
of Savannah right away, which along
with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta In
ternational Airport, helps fuel Geor
gia's economic health, and allows our
region and state to remain globally
competitive," Reed said in a press re
lease.
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www.ReporterNewspapers.netl OCT. 18 —OCT. 31, 2013 | 11
