Home > Jay Bookman > Archives > 2008 > June > 13 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWorkin’ on the railroad…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday’s column:
In science, they call it a “phase transition,” the process in which something is suddenly and dramatically altered. At 32 degrees, for example, ice remains ice. But at 33 degrees, ice is transformed from a stable solid to a free-flowing liquid. That’s a phase transition.
Apparently, $4 gasoline is a lot like that; it too is the critical point at which attitudes long frozen in place finally begin to melt and flow freely. Americans start driving less, Detroit starts making smaller cars and — wonder of wonders — Gov. Sonny Perdue calls a press conference to publicly embrace mass transit, saying that he “fully supports” a proposed commuter rail line linking Atlanta with Lovejoy on through to Griffin, with other lines coming on later.
The goal, Perdue said, is “providing Georgia commuters with real alternatives.” I know — it’s hard to believe. But I was there in the crowd when the governor uttered those words.
He went on to call for “innovative and progressive decision-makers,” and even admitted that Georgia will need “additional resources” to solve its transportation crisis (“t-a-x” being a four-letter word, at least in Perdue’s dictionary).
However, you could tell that the governor wasn’t entirely comfortable with his new persona. While he adopted position after position that he had long rejected, he did so by recasting them in GOP-friendly terminology. The state of Georgia won’t be “spending” more money to meet its critical transportation needs, it will be “investing” that money “to bring dividends for a long time.” And instead of drafting a new, more progressive transportation policy for Georgia, Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham and other state officials will “develop a business case” for transportation.
All that’s fine. If calling it a “business case” and “investment” allows the governor to back a plan that reduces congestion, cleans the air, gets commerce moving and offers commuters an alternative to the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine, he can call it Ralph for all I care.
Gas at four bucks a gallon has also done something else magical: In Perdue’s mind, at least, it has driven a phase transition at the state Department of Transportation, transforming it from a crippled agency to a bureaucracy ready to build “a world-class transportation system.”
Just a couple of months ago, you might recall, the state DOT was in such disarray that Perdue cited the agency as his chief reason for opposing a plan to boost transportation spending — oops, investment — in the metro region. The department just wasn’t ready to handle it, he explained.
Yet by last week Perdue had changed his tune. In his almost two decades in state government, he said, “I believe that this is the best state transportation board I have had the privilege to work with.”
Again, the board didn’t suddenly improve. The governor’s sudden switch of position has been forced by pressure from voters, business groups, legislators and local officials outraged by the stubborn refusal of state leadership to take the transportation problems of metro Atlanta seriously. What we saw last week was proof that the message had begun to get through.
Little of what the governor endorsed was new; federal money for the Lovejoy line has been available since early in the administration of Gov. Roy Barnes, for example, but the project has gone nowhere, in large part because of skepticism from Perdue.
Over the years, the governor repeatedly opposed kicking in state matching funds for the project on grounds that rail operations would be subsidized by taxpayers. Last week, he again mentioned that fare-box revenues would not be enough to cover operations for the Atlanta-Griffin line and public subsidies would be required. “But we also know that roads are subsidized too, that they don’t pay their full fare,” the governor said.
Like I said, I might not believe it if I hadn’t heard it myself. Now, we’ll see if hopeful words become action and then progress.
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Comments
By redneck southerner
June 14, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this
Totally off the subject, but I just got my “Curious George” Obama ‘08 T-shirt. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen. The resemblance is striking. Y’all let me know if you want one. They will soon be collectibles!!!
By Moccasin City
June 14, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this
I heard Snidely Whiplash is all for this new rail.
Aren’t petro prices in a gas bubble? Wont this all pass as abruptly as all market bubbles do?
I’m sick and tired of hearing about public transportation. People drive by themselves. They have to. Nobody can stand anyone else’s driving. We all agree that most people drive like idiots. None of us would risk our lives as a passenger in someone else’s POS, would we? No!
Nobody would ride share because nobody can stand anyone elses radio stations either. There are some broadcasts that make my trigger finger itchy. There are some songs that give me strong desires to turn my car into oncoming traffic. I cant rideshare. i can only drive myself. Sorry. I cant put up with other driver’s annoying habits.
I mean, look at the way people make left hand turns. They cut across the perpendicular left hand turn lane. Haven’t you noticed that you cant put your car all the way in the slot waiting for the green arrow to turn left? Square off the turn, Dale Junior!
Or how about how people lean into turns. I hate that. Why are you leaning? Even if the road veers just a little, most people lean like it’s tryouts for the Jamaican Bobsled team. There’s no challenging turns on public roads. Professional drivers lean because they have to with the G’s created in their trick moves. Regular driving is regular driving. I mean, what do these weekend road warriors do in a subdivision? “Put on a crash helmet, Martha, it’s a cul de sac.”
People wont ride the train to lovejoy because people cant hang out with each other any more. We simply cant. Something has happened in the zeitgeist that makes public exposure too stressful. People hate crowds. People hate people. We’re an internet cafe society now, and all our contact with humanity occurs in bibagytes and pegamixels. (that’s pig latin for cyber chip speed and memory measuring thingies)
So waste Grady Hospita money on an obsolete rail line if you want, Guv, but dont expect any of us to ride it or not think you’re a jerk.
By Taxpayer
June 14, 2008 7:25 PM | Link to this
There has been a little reduction in vehicular traffic lately but I don’t think I would describe it as a phase transition. It looks to be more of a step function. I think we still need to see higher gas prices and then they need to stay elevated long enough to actually get some dollars spent on alternatives. No pain no gain.
By Me
June 14, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this
Doesn’t matter if they are Federal funds or State funds it’s still our money.
By Just Nasty and Mean
June 14, 2008 11:49 PM | Link to this
Now that state legislators and the governor have finally woken up on public transportation, where does that leave Dekalb and Fulton taxpayers who have been paying for MARTA for decades without any—zero— support from the state?
Now that the state has decided public transportation is important, why does Fulton/Dekalb have to keep paying a disproportionate share?
What’s more, Georgia is the ONLY state in the USA that does not support (pay) for public transportation systems like MARTA.
Who is going to make Fulton/Dekalb taxpayers whole who now foot the bill for all the outlying county commuters that suddenly find MARTA now makes sense?
And who decided a state funded train to Lovejoy (where? why? Get serious! ) makes sense?
If it were my decision, now would be the perfect time for Fulton/Dekalb to simply STOP PAYING for MARTA and force a discussion of who actually USES MARTA and how THEY should pay their fair share of the fare (like that?)!
By KnowItAll
June 15, 2008 12:02 AM | Link to this
Taxpayer @ 7:25
There you go again espousing that energy prices should go and stay up! Have you heard of inflation, record food prices, record transportation costs, failing and bankrupt airlines, tourist industry drying up, layoffs, etc. etc.?
Are you some kind of shallow mud puddle that can’t think clearly? Would it help if you lost your job? How can you get an education in Economics 101?
You must be at home still sucking off your mamma’s t*t for you to take such an asinine remark.
By the guy who's not fat anymore thanks to high gas prices
June 15, 2008 12:46 AM | Link to this
I agree with some of the other responses. Georgia is not the kind of state that is ready for a commuter railroad-I think we simply dislike each other too much to sit in a box for however long your commute takes.
What I did, was spend my stimulus check on a sweet 70’s motorcycle ($900) and started riding my bicycle to work. I still own my car but since I ride alone 90% of the time I don’t need it and I try to commute on the weekends by bicycle since there are less cars out there now. my commute is 14 miles and though it was hard at first, i found some safer back roads and have gotten much more fit. Times, are hard but It’s worked out pretty well. The my wife and daughters love riding on my motorcycle with me, which by the way takes about 8 bucks a week in gas. And cycling has gotten me much more fit, I can even eat all the greasy food i love without feeling guilty since I get a hell of a work out. Even, if prices went down, I can’t see myself sitting in 30min traffic jams while getting stressed out of my mind and getting fatter by the week any more.
By ron
June 15, 2008 5:59 AM | Link to this
Good morning Jay,There’s a small flaw in your ice to water phase transition,But the point is still valid.I absorb extra heat from the bride if I want to take an unnecessary sojurn in the vehicle so I transition back to a stay at home.
Taxpayer has it figured right.Unless the price stays high, we will simply get used to it and any desire to find alternative sources of transportation goes away.High prices will assure that the desire stays on the front burner.A pure electric vehicle would be fine with me as most of my trips are short.Keep the gas burner for the occasional longer ones.The electric car won’t be developed unless prices stay high.
By Landon Smith
June 15, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Ron, dont chip away at Jay’s ice analogy, you’ll crush him.
By Taxpayer
June 15, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this
KnowItAll,
Do you really think that you impress anyone with that trash that you so freely spew from those finger tips. Grow up. Now, if you are truly interested in an exchange of information, try a different approach. I might even tell you a little about my education and work history — if you ask nicely, that is. Of course, such a radical change in tact on your part may limit your ability to derive a cheap thrill from making snide remarks. Have you considered learning sarcasm as an alternative form of communication.
By zeke
June 15, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
WHAT A CROCK OF S*IT! There is no federal money! It is conficated from one taxpayer to give to others! The rails as proposed will never succeed, never be safe, never be efficient and never solve the areas transportation problems! If additional roads and bridges are not built post haste, the area will perminently be in lock down! If the outer beltway, or, a reasonable spin off of such is not built to divert traffic away from the inner core, especially those who do not have the city as a destination , and, trucking that does not need to enter the city for deliveries, the area will continue to be downgraded economically and culturally! Get off the rails agenda, remove the hov debackles, and, add hundreds of troopers and STRICTLY enforce speed limits, stop agressive drivers and enforce lane useage in an intelligent manner with huge fines or license suspensions for those who do not obey!
The only way a rail system will work is to build new dedicated rail lines only for the commuter trains, the only way to promote safety of the trains from collisions and derailments, which would be astronomically expensive! Then you have to have hundres of stations to make it convenient, or, no one but the subsidized will use it, PERIOD! I do not because I do not go from home to one destination, then back home. I work all over the city and will not subject myself, nor would I subject others, to the buses! I use it once a year, for the Peachtree Road Race!
By Landon Smith
June 15, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
I heard Snidely Whiplash is all for this new rail.
Aren’t petro prices in a gas bubble? Wont this all pass, (with a lot of sound and fury), and then be gone with the wind?
I hold my nose at the prospect of a train to Lovejoy.
People wont ride the train to lovejoy because people sneeze on you. People touch you. People groom on you. They’ll brush their hair standing over you. They will. Someone will bring food that looks and smells like rancid sourkraut on that train. Someone will want to shave. Someone will floss. The guy next to you is sure to invade the no man’s land guaranteed by our constitution when two people share any seating by holding his newspaper open wide and in your face. He’ll practically coldc*ck you with his fist as he peruses Wooten’s column. Others wont stfu. Some people fear intimacy so much that their ironic defense mechanism is constant prattle. There’s nothing worse than chatter. Eventually the loquacious jackass will attempt a joke and you’re supposed to react. Dont. She’ll stifle. Maybe. No she wont. I have a question. If a woman is alone in the woods, no one around for miles not even a squirrel, is she still talking? Eve was the talkative one in the Garden you know. Didn’t matter who was there to listen. A snake? Good enough!
What is it with you broads anyway? Cant you just sit there? What’s wrong with total silence for hours and hours. and days. and months and years and decades. Shut up! Shut Up! SHUT UP!!
ISAIDSHUTUP!!!
Planes, trains and blabbermouths. I just dont understand the concept of a gabfest to Lovejoy.
By ray
June 15, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this
As someone who lives in South Georgia and as a truck driver goes thru Atl 3-4 times a week, I agree that the traffic problems need to be addressed. As for rail the most sensible route to start with would be to either Athens or Gainesville. the only way that the Lovejoy route makes sense is to extend it to the Macon airport to relieve Hartsfield. As far as more building more roads in the Atl area, that is what got Atl in the mess it’s in. As for as the outer beltway the only part of it that makes sense is the northern arc. If the beltway is built close to 285 it will just become built-up with congestion of it’s own. If it is built out for enough for that not to occur it will be so far out of the way no one will use it. Some of you say that trucks not going into the Atl area would be forced to use it, that would be impoosible to enforce due to the number of trucks that would have to go inside it. So the best way to get thru traffic away from Atl is to put freeways connecting the existing Interstates far enough out that the total distance will not be much longer or in some cases shorter than going thru Atl. Some examples are from 75 near Chattanooga to 185 then from Columbus to 75 at Tifton on to 95 at Bruswick, from 85 near the state line to 75 near Macon, and build the northern arc and continue it to 20 near Thomson.
By Dusty
June 15, 2008 11:58 AM | Link to this
Does it ever occur to anyone that the governor’s positions change when the ‘need’ changes? All you folks hollering for “change” are getting it and THEN you don’t like it.
The governor did not raise gas prices but he is doing the only things he can do.
He has reorangized the DOT and put a capable, well educated engineer in charge. She has to work with what was ALREADY STARTED. Give her a chance to get going. It won’t be overnight.
The Lovejoy Line has plans laid out. I would judge that it is too late to back out now. Maybe 6 flags and a casino will pop up in Lovejoy!! South Georgia won’t know what hit ‘em!
The governor is also trying to plan transportation within budget allowances.
If you citizens will forget your politics (foolish thought on Bookman’s blog), let the governor know any better ideas you have (with facts). In the meantime, conserve and help the governor run this state like it should be run. He is tryng. Why don’t you?
Ray@10:38
You sound like a sensible man with experience on roads. How about giving your ideas to those in state government? I think the governor likes practical people.
By Taxpayer
June 15, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
Where did this rail to nowhere idea come from anyway. If you are going to run a rail in the direction of Lovejoy, then the correct choice is to pass right on through and make the first stop in Hampton. After all, what self-respecting southern redneck in need of cheap transportation to the Atlanta Motor Speedway would pass on such an opportunity — especially if there’s sufficient storage on board for the cooler and grill. After the race, how could any true southern rocker pass up on an opportunity to cruise on down to Macon and Eat a Peach with the brothers of southern rockin’ blues. The possibilities for a rail tour of Georgia are just endless. Who knows. We may even get some cooperation from Florida if that rail were to head on down past the Little Grand Canyon on its way to Panama City. Of course, tourism is but one potential use of a well-designed rail system. The rail system could even rent such things as scooters and electric cars at popular destinations or even have bus routes designed to expand coverage. What a vision — for a leader to consider, that is. Now, where to find such a visionary, such a leader.
By CD
June 15, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
This problem was already solved with streetcars. My mom grew up in Decatur in the 1940s and went to work everyday downtown in a streetcar. A MARTA train needs an elaborate MARTA station to make a stop. A streetcar needs a small sign to make a stop. Streetcars are cheap and go everywhere. They’re electric and can be run cheaper than a gas vehicle.
By Me
June 15, 2008 7:34 PM | Link to this
Back about 1970 or when ever it was when the MARTA tax was voted in it was to last 10 years and end. No tax ever goes away, for anything.
By Peter
June 16, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
Why don’t “they” just keep praying that more highways will improve congestion as “they” have for decades?
(Seriously, I wonder how proposals to improve our independence by drilling for more oil makes any sense either. See SUZANNAH HEIMEL’s AJC letter today. The end of oil has to be addressed … perhaps when it’s all gone like the water in Atlanta.)
By juanita driggs
June 16, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
Dear Sonny,
Welcome to the party-finally!
I guess several years late is better than not at all. That said there’s something instructive here for all Georgia voters to consider looking ahead nationally as well as locally. In life as in politics, there are leaders and there are followers. There’s nothing wrong with being a follower-unless you were paid to be a leader.
I can’t help but wonder how far along we would be now if the usual Georgia parochialism hadn’t kicked in and we had had Roy Barnes’ brilliant legal and administrative skills at the helm for a second term.
So when the time comes for another crack at selecting the state’s top constitutional officer let’s try to put republican, democrat, male, female, ethnic and racial considerations aside and select someone who can lead instead of follow. We simply can’t afford another two term train wreck.