Opinion Talk

By MARTA Train SOULJA GIRL

May 16, 2008 7:58 AM | Link to this

I’M PRESSIN’ CHARGES !!

I’M PRESSIN’ CHARGES !!

I’M PRESSIN’ CHARGES !!

I’M PRESSIN’ CHARGES !!

By tom

May 16, 2008 8:14 AM | Link to this

How about linking the suburbs together? Not everyone works in town.

By Taisha

May 16, 2008 8:28 AM | Link to this

Is commuter rail an answer?

Uh, NO, not here in the Atlanta area.

This explains why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eXNClwV5AM

By dawgfan

May 16, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this

I’m only 36 but I know that I will never see decent mass transit in this region in my lifetime. When I say decent I mean a comprehensive system that actually serves areas that people commute to. There should be an outer ring system that orbits Perimeter, Cumberland, and other business districts with main lines that run up the interstates and major state highways like 400, 141, etc.

But this metro area is entirely too dysfunctional to achieve something this complicated. We’ll spend the next 10 years just fighting over who funds what.

By wannabemedontu

May 16, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this

It is highly embarrassing to live in a Metro area like ATL and still have this small town bickering about rail. GET IT DONE ALREADY!. Why is it that so many modern cities in this country and the world have true rail or at least a truly integrated bus system and we can’t even agree to even consider it in a meaningful way. Metro area government planning is joke to the world. I wonder how much business we lose over this every year.

By Boomer

May 16, 2008 8:42 AM | Link to this

Why not extend the system we already have. That would be MARTA. Creating and funding another rail system seems ridiculous. Let’s build on what we’ve already got.

By juanita driggs

May 16, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this

The writer quotes the Cato Institute study regarding the continued viability of autos over mass transit in the years ahead. While the institute is laudably libertarian in some respects many of its members still don’t live in the same world that many of us have to. The quoted study in the article is a good example of that disconnect. The solution to our gridlock problems? Stop voting for clueless politicians at the local, county and state levels. If North Carolina can enthusiastically support intercity rail within its state and light rail in Charlotte with positive results, what’s our problem?

By wannabemedontu

May 16, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this

I hear ya driggs

By onlycritter

May 16, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

I love all of these “get it done already” people. They are the ones who turn down tax increases to pay for improvements for stuff like commuter rail. Where do you think the money comes from? A Monopoly game? This ain’t Sim City folks. Rail is expensive. Someone has to pay for it. If you do not like the traffic here, leave.

By $ Bill

May 16, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

I totally agree with the comments made by Juanita Driggs. You have to change the political culture in order to usher in REAL change. That starts with forward thinking individuals that are truly interested in making progress for the people and not their own personal agendas.

By zeke

May 16, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this

Not no! HELL NO! What a waste of taxpayer money! To build a station and 10 miles of line you are talking a billion dollars or more! For $3 to $5 billion, you can build the outer beltway and enough connector freeways between the various cities and suburbs to relieve traffic for years! If, IF, the outer beltway was built when first proposed, it would have cost $1 billion or less! What a waste of time and money by our elected nuts! Commuter rail will never work in Atlanta for the mass of people. It will only work for those who are subsidized with money confiscated from taxpayers. It is and never will be convenient, safe, efficient or self supporting! If it is such a great deal, let private businesses and individuals take on the costs and burden and also reap the so called benefits from this absurd waste! If you want to make rail an option, ONLY DO IT ON DEDICATED RAILWAYS, NOT ON FREIGHT RAILS! This is the only way to make it safe, PERIOD!

By gee

May 16, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this

The reason why there is no viable transport system in atlanta is one reason and one reason only White people do not want to sit next to black people, bottom line. To Taisha you are ignorant. In new york you have crazier people but eveybody still rides the train. That girl was wrong but where were the Marta police, and it took your people five minutes before they said anything, had it been me as soon as she waved her hands in the womens face I would have personally kicked her off the train. done it before.

By WillM

May 16, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

Ah..folks…..folks….aren’t we forgetting something pretty basic here.

Just this week there were columns published by Maria Saporta outlining what is the real problem here.

It’s the utter hostility of the state leadership towards this metro area.

It’s hard to “get it done” when you still have a cracker, anti-urban mentality down state (and what’s really discouraging is that this includes many of the suburbs as well.)

Maybe the only glimmer of hope I’ve seen on this is named Sam Olens, who is the only person I’ve seen emerge (since Roy Barnes anyway) with an apparent awareness of the seriousness of it and who seems to realize what it’s going to take, which is to start speaking up in a determined forceful way.

Atlantans interested in the future prosperity of the area should be supporting people like this (despite his party affiliation, by the way.)

By DCResident

May 16, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this

When will ATliens learn that ATL is a third tier city at best? It is not on par with the likes of DC, CHI, NY, or BOS. It isn’t even in the same league as SF or LA. It is a backwater city, bordered by backwater states, more inline with Charlotte than any of the power cities in America.

By WillM

May 16, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

DCResident: “When will ATliens learn that ATL is a third tier city at best? It is not on par with the likes of DC, CHI, NY, or BOS. It isn’t even in the same league as SF or LA.”

Hmm. Are you saying, DCResident, that SF and LA are in different tiers than DC, CHI, NY, or BOS?

I know lots of city buffs who’d beg to differ!

(Btw, DC’s transit system is hardly the most thorough, though of course it’s light years ahead of Atlanta’s.)

By $ Bill

May 16, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

Ah Gee…PLEASE keep your ignorance to yourself! Be part of the solution, not more of a problem!

By lk

May 16, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

Traffic congestion is already retarding this city’s economic growth (not to mention gravely impacting our quality of life and environment). Fortune 500 companies and other major businesses are passing over the city as a place for headquarters and major hubs. Commuter rail is imperative to the economic growth of the city. The benefits of improved quality of life and environmental benefits make it a no-brainer, but enough research, the lines are already in place, research has already been done - lets get funding and get them built.

As for riders, give people credit. People realize the cost in money, time, resources traffic types. If you build it, they will ride it.

By WillM

May 16, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this

Hi Zeke, you’ve laid out the basic reactionary position, with all the requisite paranoia and overstatement (“Commuter rail will never work in Atlanta for the mass of people. It will only work for those who are subsidized with money confiscated from taxpayers.”)

But haven’t you noticed the difference in ridership on those commuter buses like CTS over the recent years as gas prices have shot up, and yes, as Atlanta’s population has become more “diverse” (yes, that was a code word for non-WASP types who’ve started arriving with more frequency here, giving the Atlanta more justification in calling itself a world city.)

I was once skeptical too about Atlanta’s ability to support mass transit on a truly large scale. But all I know is that nowadays I see more of these buses packed to the brim than not (reminding me of LA), and I keep hearing of would-be riders being turned away due to packed buses. So that seems to suggest your anti-transit position might be more rhetoric and wishful thinking than fact.

By wannabemedontu

May 16, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this

TO onlycritter:

Actually it’s people that think like you that are in office or position of authority and continue the whining about “who’s going to pay for it” and will keep crying that same tired line instead of “getting it done” year after year after year after year. I guess you want everyone who wants a change to this nationally recognized problem to “leave” Atlanta. Are you proud of this problem or are you one of the elite that is uneffected by this issue and don’t have a clue what thousands put up with every day? Municipalities and people finds ways to pay for things that they truly want all the time. So do us all a favor onlycritter and YOU leave and take your assinine way of not dealing with the traffic issue with you, how about Alaska?

By Fix-It

May 16, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

Yes, Yes, Oh Hell Yes, give me a copy of the budget, I bet that I could cut enough useless pork programs to pay for a proper mass transit in Atlanta. How about we sell the Airport, that would pay for it.

By Kris

May 16, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

To the people who think that building more roads is the answer, unfortunately the evidence is against you. A two lane road can only carry so much traffic. A four lane road can carry less than twice the capacity of a two lane road, because people changing lanes, getting into accidents, etc. slow down the traffic. The effects of this “chaos” increases as the road has more lanes. So if you add two lanes to a 10 lane highway, you are adding much less than 20% capacity (probably closer to 5%). Add to this the fact that most cars only carry one person, and roads become a very inefficient way to move people around.

In contrast, a pair of train tracks takes up very little valuable property and can move a large amount of people with much greater efficiency of time and fuel.

I think the problem here is that Marta is run very poorly, and many people have a negative view of it. I’d like to see Marta do things like hire more security staff to patrol the trains, run more trains when big downtown events are letting out, keep the trains cleaner, etc. Yes, this will cost more money, but do it for a while and you will more than make it back by increased ridership.

By Look at Chicago People!

May 16, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

I’m sure there is some private corporation with the money to buy old, unused railroads that run through and around Atlanta. Buy these rails, fix them up, and put them to use. Wasn’t Atlanta originally called Terminus because all the rails ended here? Look at the Metra in Chicago. It runs in tandem with the Chicago Transit Authority and gives people who live in the suburbs an option, if riding with city dwellers is really an issue. It’s inexpensive and not funded by tax dollars. If the METRA can go from South Bend, Indiana-Chicago and from Milwaukee-Chicago on an hourly basis EVERYDAY, surely this backwards state can institute some transit plan that can take you from Marietta-Atlanta without having to get on 75 or 285.

These state legislators can take action, or continue to do nothing but it won’t change the fact that traffic here is getting worse. Hold them accountable because this has become a major issue.

By Look at Chicago People!

May 16, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

I’m sure there is some private corporation with the money to buy old, unused railroads that run through and around Atlanta. Buy these rails, fix them up, and put them to use. Wasn’t Atlanta originally called Terminus because all the rails ended here? Look at the Metra in Chicago. It runs in tandem with the Chicago Transit Authority and gives people who live in the suburbs an option, if riding with city dwellers is really an issue. It’s inexpensive and not funded by tax dollars. If the METRA can go from South Bend, Indiana-Chicago and from Milwaukee-Chicago on an hourly basis EVERYDAY, surely this backwards state can institute some transit plan that can take you from Marietta-Atlanta without having to get on 75 or 285.

These state legislators can take action, or continue to do nothing but it won’t change the fact that traffic here is getting worse. Hold them accountable because this has become a major issue.

By wannabemedontu

May 16, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

“sell the airport”? Hillarious. All of these ideas about mass transit does seem like a joke when you look at the people responsible for planning and implementing such a thing.

By BPJ

May 16, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this

I was glad to see the column advocating commuter rail, but it is not necessary for the state to “organize a research team to investigate commuter rail”. Detailed plans & feasibility studies have existed for over 15 years. The only element lacking has been funding. Tell your state legislator you want this, and that it is a voting issue for you (i.e., you will not support them if they don’t support transit).

Commuter rail & transit are proven successes all over the world. They provide more choices, unlike the current setup, which allows only one choice (driving) for most metro Atlantans. It does not matter whether you, individually, would ever ride transit or not. Other people will, and that means less cars in your way.

The research & planning are done. Implementation is overdue.

By Pine Knot

May 16, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

The “down state cracker mentality” of which I am a member does not want its tax money funneled into a city which has such a high murder and drug abuse rate, and cannot balance its own budget. Atlants’s infrastructure is falling apart due to poor management, MARTA is unsuccessfull, and you continue to pump sewage into one of the most beautiful rivers in the country. Take care of yourself we do not want to fix your problems with our money. The management you have makes us believe it would be like poring our hard earned money down a polluted well with not bottom.

By Matt

May 16, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

Current GDOT budget = 2 Billion Dollars (all new construction projects, operations & maintainence for the state).

Comprehsive Regional Transit plan developed by the Tranit Planning Board (a metro Atlanta organization developed staffed by the 13 metro county commisioners, ARC, City of Atlanta, GDOT) = 54 Billion dollars worth of project to develop a system by 2030. Their annuitized cost (includes inflation & maintainence cost) = 2.5 billion dollars a year.

We can do it, but their current ideas for funds include at least a 1% sales tax increase. I hear most people complain about the state not funding these issues, but where are the fund going to come from?

By CJ

May 16, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this

To extend MARTA 1 mile costs $100 million dollars.

To build commuter rail costs only $19 million dollars.

Extending MARTA is not viable. Commuter rail is! Enough talk already - - - we’ve needed alternatives for more years than any of us can remember, so just TRY IT! It’s no more expensive to try commuter rail than it is to dump money into any of the other political money pits. Just do it!

“… somebody get my hair so I can GO!” - MARTA Train SOULJA GIRL

By CJ

May 16, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this

To extend MARTA 1 mile costs $100 million dollars.

To build commuter rail costs only $19 million dollars per mile.

Extending MARTA is not viable. Commuter rail is! Enough talk already - - - we’ve needed alternatives for more years than any of us can remember, so just TRY IT! It’s no more expensive to try commuter rail than it is to dump money into any of the other political money pits. Just do it!

“… somebody get my hair so I can GO!” - MARTA Train SOULJA GIRL

By steve-o

May 16, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

Pine Knot,

You are a completely obtuse and unaware moron. This little den of “crime and drugs” up here is also the main economic engine in this state. We pave your roads, build your public buildings and infrastructure and give aid to your local school district. Without us, you would be even more backwater than Mississippi. Don’t think that a trucker having to make a stop in your little podunk town wouldn’t be affected by Atlanta’s traffic. It would be in your best interest for you, your idiot governor, and any other reactionary flake to collectively unscrew your heads from your sanctimonious and self-righteous arses and do something to fix the problem that affects more than half of Georgia’s population. But no, you and your ilk would rather be little Nero’s and play your harps while Atlanta is destroyed.

By Matt

May 16, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this

CJ, where did you get your figures for commuter rail vs. MARTA? Next question, how do you propose to move people off your commuter rail lines and into jobs outside the central Peachtree Street corridor of Atlanta? I think it will take a MARTA-esque system to do so. In addition, please look up the Transit Planning Board, they’ve been holding Public Information meetings all over Atlanta. The only people who are showing up to these meetings are people who complain that there is not enough being done to help them. As well as those who complain about GDOT not giving any money to transit (its against current GA law).

Commuter Rail line make sense for a few people; We need a comprehensive approach to fix the problem. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines cost significantly less than fixed rail lines, so according to your logic, they would make the most sense. It would be significantly less expensive to purchase ten $300,000 buses to do the same job as a $1.4 Billion line to Athens or $440 Million line to Lovejoy.

We as citizens should vote outt any incumbent who voted against additional funding for GRTA Buses. These BRT lines are begining to become over crowded and are the best short term solution to our problem. Its best to start with these lines to evaluate the potential for commuter rail and additional fixed rail capacity. They are also improving the negative perspective of mass transit here in Atlanta.

By Matt

May 16, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

Another interesting fact:

Did you know that transportation funds have to be distributed evenly between congressional districts every 5 years. This means that the average spending in each congressional district has to be equal when taken over a 5 year span. Check this out - Congressional District Map of Georgia Did you know that Metro Atlanta has 7 congressional districts that have area within its borders, 5 of which are soley within its borders? (districts 4, 5, 6, 7, 13)

By Thrash

May 16, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

Commuter rail is fine BUT it doesn’t connect to the places where most of the jobs are. Commuter rail won’t work without building new rail lines into areas of Atlanta where quite frankly, the roadblocks will be INSTANTANEOUS.

By Fred C. Dobbs

May 16, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this

Absolutely it is time for commuter rail.

Why is this even a question?

In the Southeast, commuter rail is an established fact on the West Palm Beach to Miami corridor (Tri-Rail), from DC south to Manassas, Virginia (Virginia Railway Express) and, to a lesser extent, Raleigh to Charlotte in North Carolina (NCDOT/Amtrak).

Systems are under consideration or are underway in the Orlando-Daytona Beach corridor in Florida and perhaps Tampa-Orlando, too.

Why? It’s simple. Highways often parallel railroads. Rail lines run very often along the very roads which are clogged with traffic (Athens-Atlanta/GA 316 and Macon-Atlanta/I-75 are good examples).

Indeed, even smaller countries like Argentina are investing in high-quality passenger rail systems in a major way.

Why haven’t we invested in commuter rail as we should have in Metro Atlanta?

Xenophobia? Rural Georgia’s undue influence in the General Assembly? Racism? It doesn’t matter.

Let’s move forward with commuter rail for all of the right reasons ($3.85 per gallon gasoline being one of them)… NOW!

By Goober

May 16, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this

Silly, silly people. Get out and see the world. You’d learn a lot and would realize how idiotic you sound with your backwoods mentality.

By map3s

May 16, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this

First, there is a difference between urban mass transit and commuter rail. NYC has commuter rail coming into Grand Central and Penn Stations. From there, riders take the subway and bus system to specific destinations. One system is much less effective without the other, but the urban part can exist without the commuter rail. And without the capability to get off of a commuter train and continue to your destination on public transport, commuter rail is pretty pointless.

As to funding, public transport depends on both personal and regional redistributive taxation. It may come in the form of bond issues which are funded by future taxation, but some locality is going to get the benefits first before the system is available to all. This takes political cooperation between a lot of different groups to make it happen.

The biggest issue is management competence. At some point, the voters must have confidence that incompetence, favoritism and corruption will not drain significant resources from what will be a huge public works project. Consider the Big Dig in Boston. The cost projections were laughable, and the public coffers were absolutely looted by political and business leaders. Does anyone honestly believe that giving ARC, the City of Atlanta or Marta billions of dollars in spending authority would end in the anything other than the same malfeasance we have already seen with Marta, Grady, and the like?

As for the racism charges, I would suggest that you ride the Harlem Valley line or the Path trains out of NYC. 99% of the riders are white or upper middle class. People live in Chappaqua, including the Clintons, in order to be around people like themselves. This is not racism; it is choice, something everyone of us practices every minute of every day.

By Do the Math

May 16, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this

Of Course it is a good idea!

Converting some unused rail headway to passenger trains costs a tiny fraction as much as building new capacity on roadways. This is an opportunity that will not exist in the future as more frieght is coming to Atlanta and the adaption to allow passengers will sky rocket in cost.

I seriously doubt it will happen in Georgia unless required by the federal government.

Why? Because of lack of vision. Georgia’s politicians can’t see as far as their belt.

By jane doe

May 16, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

All I know is, there has GOT to be a better way than what we have now. The south side people (Henry, Fayette, Butts counties) would love to be able to hop a train and get to their jobs downtown or in the Perimeter area without all the traffic hassle, and without it taking hours and hours to get there.

By Fix-It

May 16, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

I wonder why selling, or privatizing the airport is hilarious? Is that because then the Atlanta city government would not have any no show jobs to bribe people with? Oh I am sorry wannabemedontu, do you “work” there?

By Pierce Randall

May 16, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

Why the need for the committee? Transit Planning Board already has a network drawn up, and GDOT had a plan way back in ‘96 for a full-on network that would be implemented by now. You can thank Sonny Perdue for seriously gutting GRTA and stacking it with transit-skeptic, pro-road ideologues.

In any event, there’s serious momentum behind a light rail line to Marietta from Arts Center station(not commuter rail, I know, but probably better urban transit), a city-to-city line to Athens (the “Brain Train”; serious private financing will probably be available and it runs through a lot of Gwinnett), and of course the Lovejoy commuter rail line that the “Reason” Foundation, Georgia Public Policy Institute, and a myriad of other road lobbies spent tons of money to quash but couldn’t. The one thing conservative OTP politicians here like better than right-wing think tank kool-aid is free federal money that’s already approved. Cheers for that! (Sorry about all the jargon.)

In any event, the usefulness of commuter rail isn’t really that controversial. If you stack up all the costs — and I’m mean ALL the costs: gas, owning a personal vehicle, the gas tax, maintainence, GDOT’s existing debt-on-hand (isn’t it in the $100 million range now?), the 80% federal subsidy, and general budgetary allocations that nobody ever talks about — we’re approaching if not well past the point at which it’s just cheaper to transport somebody by train than by building up our already baroque, needless urban highway system. That’s if you discount projections about the future of gas prices, and the good arguments that driving miles in a car by yourself is socially and environmentally disadvantageous.

A lot of people argue against the Lovejoy line as a sort of straw man argument against commuter rail. The line has fairly poor numbers as far as rail projects go. But if you really tallied all of the costs of those passengers driving, it’s still cost-competitive.

To people who say things like “Well, I just couldn’t get to where I need to go by train,” or “Well, people don’t work downtown anymore,” the latter isn’t true, and the former is exactly why we need fixed transit infrastructure. Downtown is still the biggest employment center in Atlanta. Midtown is second. Buckhead, Perimeter-area, and the Airport are all on the top 10 list. All of these places are on the existing MARTA rail system — part of our fixed transit infrastructure. Extending rail out to the suburbs would just capture more people within walk or short drive distance from a station, and ease commute times, congestion, air quality non-attainment, and costs at the pump. A well-designed system would and should hit more than just downtown. However, and this is exactly why it’s not really compelling to argue “I couldn’t go from Douglasville to Dacula on rail,” building more transit infrastructure also consolidates employment and housing around transit centers, creating nodes of activity. You would have to drive less far if more transit were available, because more things would be centrally located. Atlanta’s already experiencing (pardon the terminology) an in-town resurgence. Transit infrastructure is a way to push it over the threshold and ensure that a lot more jobs and homes are centrally located. Atlanta has a lot less congestion than a lot of other cities — the Forbes comment isn’t about congestion, it’s about a combination of congestion on major corridors and long commute times caused by poor land use patterns. People live miles and miles and miles away from the central city. That translates into a more expensive and time-consuming commute. Transit would mollify that problem. Not planning on moving or changing jobs anytime soon? You would benefit in decreased congestion and lower home costs if the markets for transportation and housing were more balanced. And in the end, in a city with so many highways and cul-de-sacs, more rail brings just that: balance.

By Doug

May 16, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this

Economics will make it all work out eventually. The cost of gas (or any other fuel for personal transportation) will go up, making land closer to jobs more valuable. With the increased land cost near jobs, more high density housing developments, like Atlantic Station or anything near a MARTA station, will be viable. With high density housing, then rail or trams becomes achievable. But the current MARTA system doesnt work, the stations are too far apart, requiring a car or a bus to get to them or to anything else from them, and the bus schedules are not frequent enough. Look at a city such as London or NYC to see how the high density and the rail/Bus should work, but not until we quit moving to Loganville for our jobs in Perimeter Center. That will never be possible or afordable with mass transit, and we cannot build enough roads. Also, the current main line rail lines here in Atlanta are running at capacity for freight, the railroads are making a great deal of money with a more cost effective goods movement solution than trucking with diesel at over $4 a gallon.

By Jim's a Cherry Picker

May 16, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this

Doug,

Marta works fine for me…I’ve used it every day for the last three years. Never been robbed, assualted, hurt, maimed or inconvenienced. I save approx $4,500 a year in gas and parking vs. where I lived in High School.

You’re right about the economics, but the opportunity cost of doing it this way is extremely high. Marta is a limited system because it was crippled by a lack of state support from the beginning. Billions of dollars in time and real money could have been saved.

It’s like building one highway then complaining that it doesn’t go anywhere and isn’t convenient to most people. You can’t just build one or two…it’s a network…you have to grow it over time.

A state with real leadership and vision that didn’t pander to narrow business interests could have developed a sustaniable transportation plan in the early 80’s. Had that happened, we wouldn’t be in the sorry situation we’re in now. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

And regarding the youtube video of the fruit loop on the marta train…it’s highly entertaining, but not representative. I’ve seen much, much worse things that that on a routine basis in traffic in Atlanta. In fact, I’d love for some of the naysayers to do an annual injury comparison of Marta vs. Metro Atlanta Traffic.

My guess is that more people die every day in Atlanta traffic than have ever died on Marta.

Further…more people are late every day in Atlanta traffic than (well, every month) on Marta.

More people are assualted every day in Atlanta traffic than every year on Marta.

More people are injured every day in Atlanta traffic than every year on Marta…etc…

The folks running Marta down are doing so in a vaccum.

By WillM

May 16, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this

Thanks for the interesting post, Pierce and especially for pointing out the despicable role of Sonny Perdue in this current situation.

I remember moving back here from LA in the late 90s and being struck at the sense of optimism surrounding Roy Barnes’ efforts to get something going at that time. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit, but for a moment there really did seem to be an opportunity and a real awareness at the state level of what needed to be done.

Then came the 2000 elections and well, we know what happened then. But in my opinion, until we get that back we’re all wasting our breath about what particular system we build. This is the direction I think Olens in Cobb might be moving in, though it’s too early to tell.

By jock Ellis

May 19, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this

People keep saying most jobs are not where the train gores. One, they can set up shut tles; second, you don’t need to go to ALL jobs. If you can just get some of the traffic off the roads and parking lots the area’s transit probem would be eliminated. I might also point out that those of us who are lucky enough to be able to stop and go into the ATL on GA 400 can do so thanks to Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s anti poverty program and not to federal gas tax funds. But after spending all that GDOT money to widen the road, it still is stop and go. Gee, we sure got our money’s worth! Jock Ellis

By Jim Dexter

May 19, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this

Commuter rail and heavy rail (MARTA Rail) are complimentary, and each extends the reach of the other. Heavy rail primarilly links high-density areas, while commuter rail primarilly links the central city with the suburbs. Most major cities have both. If we had a true world-class transit system in Atlanta, it would be possible to get on a MARTA train at Inman Park, change to a commuter train downtown, and travel to Lawrenceville, Marietta or Athens without using a car.

By netdragon

May 26, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this

Ummm, this has been studied and studied and studied and commuter rail been shown in every study to have significant benefit — have you not been paying attention? What we need is action and officials who are able to make things happen.

By netdragon

June 1, 2008 3:19 AM | Link to this

Pine Knot: YOUR money? Do you realize that most of the economy of the state and about half the population is metro Atlanta?

In fact, it’s quite the other way around. Your cronies like Purdue have been funneling OUR money too long to road projects and rural freight rail in rural parts of the state.

MARTA isn’t a failure (it’s almost self-sufficient), and development along the MARTA line has blossomed. Other transit systems in the metro, such as CCT, are almost at capacity.

It would be nice if we could take control of our own state income tax dollars and sales tax dollars but you are standing in the way of us doing that with every referendum you have blocked in the state congress, and your criminals he planted in various departments.

Time is soon approaching where we will vote all your cronies out, and build the commuter rail line, and the state will benefit, since it will be connected to Atlanta, the only lifeblood of the state, other than Savannah (the major port), which will be connected to the commuter rail line as well.

Backwater towns like yours will benefit from commuter rail because they will be able to have corporate satellite offices, and other things that commuter rail can bring. Look at New York City and Chicago if you don’t believe me.

For those who argue the density of metro Atlanta doesn’t support commuter rail, you have your facts mixed up. The density doesn’t support an extension of rapid rail like MARTA because of costs, but it does support large commuter rail stations with ample parking so suburbanites can drive a couple miles, park and ride. Additionally, the stations will spawn denser development along them, bringing the trains closer to capacity.

For those who say that it will only benefit commuters going into the city, you forget that there will be BRT on the northern perimeter to connect one commuter rail station to another along it. For instance, someone from Canton could take commuter rail to the Cumberland transfer station, then hop on BRT to Dunwoody.

For those who say the fares will be too high to be practical. Sure, it may not make sense to use it in place of weekend driving to the mall, but for those who commute regularly, I imagine there will be discount monthly fares. Most other commuter systems have that.