Norcross.Talk

By Gigi

July 1, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this

We’ve heard about the “Brain Train” ad infinitim, supposedly a train originating in Athens, stopping in Gwinnett and then going non-stop to Atlanta. Well, it’s time to stop talking about it and get some action going!!! We’re eating up our paychecks, going without necessities and putting the crunch on our finances with the price of gas and the threat of gas prices rising even more.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 1, 2008 3:09 PM | Link to this

The problem with the “Brain Train” is it will never get off the ground, it’s been talk, talk for years. Another, bigger problem, it will only serve a very small part of the county, just the South End, the effect it will have is minimal. Using someone elses rails is another problem, or does the government just take them over, we have to work around them, not them around us.

The only common sense answer is to extend MARTA, there is no sane reason not to. I don’t think using the fear factor will work this time around. The ones during the last vote that didn’t want MARTA ran around screaming, “The Sky is Falling”, guess what, it has.

Oil is not going to get cheaper, you cannot build anymore roads without losing federal aid due to air pollution.

Will common sense come to Gwinnett?

By Lady Alexis

July 1, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

MASS TRANSIT IS A BAD IDEA Not only is it a fatally flawed idea that allows the wrong types of people into our communities, but it is also nothing more than another way for the Demon-crats to raise our taxes. Anyone who thinks mass transit will ever come to Gwinnett in the form of MARTA is severely underserved by their cranium’s contents. MARTA is for hoodlums, thugs and the poor, ignorant and illegal. It is not for Gwinnett. Period. It will do nothing more than bring vile, filthly and disgusting trash into our communities. Look at the areas where MARTA already has service. Five Points —- full of liberal whack jobs and disgusting homosexuals. Midtown — more liberal whackos and homosexuals. Dunwoody — homosexuals and drugs…the list goes on and on. Homosexual filth, drug addicts, liberal propaganda and the perversion of good moral character all come along when MARTA comes to town. Say no to this disgusting idea.

By Eric Adams

July 1, 2008 4:24 PM | Link to this

The time for mass transit has come and we need it more than ever. We will however need some money to pay for it. I would love to ride the bus to work. I live 3.5 miles from work, I would have to ride 3 different buses which means two transfers…. why would someone sane do this???? FYI its hard to bike in a suit..

MARTA sucks, almost everything about it. The people in Gwinnett that wish to use mass tranist usually get their first view of it from MARTA going to a sporting event. MARTA CANNOT GET YOU TO AND FROM A SPORTING EVENT EFFECIENTLY….

It is GREAT to take to the AIRPORT.

The big bad issues is who is going to pay for it. SouthWest Gwinnett is the first extention…. How many years will someone wait until there is a station in Duluth? 10-15??? Some people coming from Buford might not see the need to pay extra tax to get on a station in Norcross when they could be at Doraville 10 minutes later.

We need a good systems that can move people around.

By James

July 1, 2008 6:28 PM | Link to this

Not just no, but hell no! I don’t care if gas goes up to $1000 per gallon. I moved to Gwinnett to get away from the thugs and sodomites in that Godless hellhole called Atlanta. I don’t want them coming out here! The government better not spend one cent of my hard earned money on this garbage. Anyone too poor to buy a car doesn’t belong in our county. Why would we want to give them free rides here to steal and murder?

By C

July 1, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this

Man. Some of you are nasty, terrible, human beings. Karma will come back around to get you. WAKE UP! Your nice little slice of Gwinnett-suburbia is already going downhill. FAST! Minus well add some form of mass transit to stimulate business and take some cars off the roads. All “real” major American cities have great mass transit systems, and are highly regarded for them.

By Quagmire

July 1, 2008 8:18 PM | Link to this

For those of you who think that MARTA is just for the thugs, hoodlums, homsexuals, poor and illegals. get a clue! Several well-respected business professionals, college students, families and environmentally-conscious citizens use MARTA every day to commute to their jobs or school or get to shopping malls and grocery stores.

Additionally, there are several hard-working MARTA employees who live outside of the MARTA service area and would love to have train/bus service come into their living areas so they could commute into work instead of having to drive in to their reporting location.

If you want to blame MARTA for these problems, blame the Board of Directors and top management at MARTA. They are the ones that set policy and control the budgets.

Every GM, with the exception of Richard McCrillis, MARTA has had over the last 10 years has been corrupt, insincere and a liar!

They pound their chests and talk tough about making changes and safety being a priority, yet they kowtow to external pressures when the going gets a little rough.

Let no one fool you….The dollar is the bottom line at MARTA, not SAFETY, as Beverly Scott, Nat Ford, Rick Simonetta and Jack Stevens would have you believe. And this edict has trickled down to the AGM’s and the Department Directors…..most of whom aren’t qualified to run a fast food restraunt, let alone a transportation dept. Yet they got their jobs the old-fashioned way….friendships!

Cronism, Nepotism and Favoritism runs rampart at MARTA!

MARTA does need to expand, but first it needs to get rid of the riff raff that sits on the Board and the top management lackies.

By Davido

July 2, 2008 1:16 AM | Link to this

For those that say MARTA is for hoodlums and such and brings crime to suburbs..um yea you’re wrong. If you havent realized yet, many MANY major cities have mass transit. To name a few.. New York Montreal Japan London Miami L.A San Francisco… the list goes on…. O and if you want to know, Toronto is considered as one of the safest cities IN THE WORLD! hmmm..and yet it has mass transit. O_O shocking isnt it?

Get a clue and educate yourself

By Michael H. Smith

July 2, 2008 3:06 AM | Link to this

I’m with you Gigi. The Brain Train as it is called has all the tracks in place that it needs right now. Not to mention MARTA has a very limited capacity where CSX has a larger service area already in place and operating. It will take years for MARTA to get going. Buying right-of-way, the inconvenience construction will cause and you know there will be plenty of lawsuits involved to cause further delay. All of that before the first MARTA cars will be on tracks. Meanwhile Gwinnett will be giving MARTA money and receiving no rail service. For years a small group has tried to cram MARTA down Gwinnettain’s throats and MARTA has been rejected time and again by Gwinnett voters. MARTA has always wanted Gwinnett money to carry its’ dead weight. No thanks!

We can do better than MARTA, quicker and with less government involvement by going with the Brain Train as a public-private entity. All we need is the support of the State legislature to make it a done deal.

No MARTA No TAD

By One Man's View

July 2, 2008 4:30 AM | Link to this

The ineffectiveness of MARTA is best seen in the size of the parking lots at MARTA stations. Public transportation is more than a couple of rail lines with a dozen or so stations. How is someone going to use MARTA to commute from Snellville to Duluth? And then we could address the sidewalk issue - basically non existent in Gwinnett. So a bus drops me .5 miles from my work or home. Now I get to dodge cars and walk in the weeds, possibly during darkness.

The answer in metro Atlanta is not all that complicated. Building permits issued should reflect infrastructure capacity. For the last 15 yrs, the building spigot has been wide open. Close it off and catch up with infrastructure. Ship out illegals and regulate banks. As far as gas prices, get Cheney, Bush, and the like out of government. We have ourselves to blame for that.

By gwinnett lifer

July 2, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this

MARTA in Gwinnett is a HORRIBLE idea. Why should I have to pay for a service I’ll never use? If MARTA was a self-sufficient, user pays company, then fine, take it where you want, but it isn’t. It is a poorly run entity that is incapable of providing it’s customers with a safe, clean ride. If MARTA wasn’t propped up by tax dollars it would have gone under years ago. Where MARTA goes, so goes crime and then the neighborhood. Call it racist if you’d like, but it is accurate. The fact that Gwinnett buses have seen an increase in ridership means very little because I still see mostly empty buses every time I pass one. If MARTA comes to Gwinnett it will likely go straight up 85. How does this help the majority of the people in the county who don’t live anywhere close to 85? Why would I drive 40 minutes out of my way to catch MARTA so I can ride back into Atlanta when I can just drive 50 minutes and be in Atlanta? The bottom line is that Gwinnett doesn’t need MARTA. Cobb county is doing fine with its own bus service, so Gwinnett needs to take lessons from them and fix their own service before inviting a cesspool into their backyard.

By Woody Bass

July 2, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

gwinnett lifer: You pay for services everyday that you probably never have and never will use. And I could not agree more that Gwinnett’s bus system could learn lessons from Cobb County. However, buses can only move so many people at one time, whereas one train can probably transport 10-20 times more.

By What're you, an idiot

July 2, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

A comprehensive mass transit strategy is long overdue and that strategy will have to include MARTA. Perhaps Gwinnetians have voted it down in the past, but that was before gas was $4 and the highways were choked in stop-and-go traffic from before 6AM to after 10AM every morning. Also, its not reasonable to expect MARTA to be self-funding. Taxes will need to pay for it just like taxes pay for our roads.

The Brain Train will have to be another component of the overall strategy. Like MARTA it will only serve part of the overall community and it will be a piece of the overall puzzle, but it will also contribute to the solution.

And to the homophobes and flat-earthers who don’t want “those people” in Gwinnett, pack up and move to Nazi-ville and make room for “those people”

By To the Idiot

July 2, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Also, its not reasonable to expect MARTA to be self-funding….

Use it is or it’s, you genius.

By Mark

July 2, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

Uhh, Lady Alexis… what you’re saying is paradoxical.

It’s impossible that any nice community out there doesn’t have homosexual people in it. Just impossible.

Get over yourself.

By Sandy_G

July 2, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this

Okay, this is hilarious. Lady Alexis thinks that MARTA will bring homosexuals to Gwinnett? Um Lady, you need to understand that homosexuals drive cars and they are already in Gwinnett, in positions of authority in neighborhood associations, churches, schools and county government. You just don’t know it because many of them are not openly gay because of people like yourself.

Crime is already here folks. We have one of the largest concentrations of street gangs in the state. We recently had over 30 pot-growing operations discovered within some of the nicest subdivisions in Gwinnett County. Southwestern Gwinnett is and has been a center of prostitution, drug dealing and robberies for years now. Mass transit does not create crime. The crime is already here.

I ride MARTA on a fairly regular basis and there are all walks of life on the trains. Professionals, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, many, many college students and yes, some poor people (Egads!) There is also the occassional homeless person asleep in a back seat. The problem that some people have with riding MARTA is that they fear having actual close contact with someone who is poor or homeless. Although, they know that these people are part of society, it’s less uncomfortable if they don’t actually have to look into the eyes of a homeless person or a poor person. It’s easier not to think about it if you don’t have to face it every day, it’s less “real”.

The fear is not due to crime. The fear is due to the fact that they can no longer feel “insulated” from the rest of the real world and it’s the most irrational argument against MARTA that anyone can come up with.

If you want to argue against MARTA, try educating yourself just a tad and discuss some intelligent reasons such as funding, mis-management and how MARTA will pay for itself.

It’s not a question of IF MARTA will be built into Gwinnett, it’s a question of when.

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this

Davido, let me please address your comment. Yes, the major cities you listed off, New York Montreal Japan London Miami L.A San Francisco…, do infact have mass transit. let’s take a deeper look at these cities: * New York* — highest crime rate in the nation. Miami — high gang crime, Latino population getting out of control in the nicer areas. San Francisco — crawling with homosexual filth everywhere. This city should be eliminated from our country. Japan — this is a country, not a city. Montreal — Canadians. Disgusting homosexual-tolerating liberal swine. They speak French for God’s sake. London — mass transit is only used by the poor.

So, there you have it; a quick examination of your “evidence” leaves a lot to be desired. Mass transit, specifically MARTA, is nothing more than a way to push liberal idealism into our communities, brining homosexuals, thugs, gangs and crime to our neighborhoods. No thank you, please keep that filth where it belongs.

By Lady Alexis...you're making me hot

July 2, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this

BWF seeks hot, sweaty action with Lady Alexis who is in a terrible state of conservative, Republican homoerotic denial.

By Sandy_G

July 2, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this

Let’s examine Lady Alexis’ “facts”:

New York* — highest crime rate in the nation

New York has one of the lowest crime rates of large cities in the U.S. New York city’s mass transit system (subway) was constructed beginning in the 1800’s and has been in operation for over 100 years. New York’s crime rate has been declining for over 10 years now due to greater police presence and more funding for fighting crime. Currently, cities such as Memphis, TN and Atlanta, GA have much higher rates of violent crime per capita than New York City.

Miami — high gang crime, Latino population getting out of control in the nicer areas

Again, Miami’s violent crime rate is lower than that of cities such as Memphis, TN, Nashville, TN and Atlanta, GA. As far as gang violence being tied to mass transit, cities like Little Rock, Arkansas, with no rail system, have been battling much worse gang violence for years. What brought gangs to Little Rock? Major interstate highways from Los Angeles and elsewhere on the west coast. What brought gangs to Gwinnett? Same thing, Atlanta is a hub of interstate highways and one of those, I-85 is a major drug transport highway. Just ask state troopers how many millions of dollars of drugs are transported through and into Gwinnett county via I-85. Drug traffickers drive cars, trucks, vans, etc., they don’t haul bales of pot on the subway.

Likewise, the many times that I’ve ridden MARTA, I’ve never seen anyone carrying big-screen TVs or stereo equipment onto the train. Burglars use cars and they use them to first case your neighborhood by driving through and checking out the area. Then they come back when you’re not home and rip you off. Burglars do not ride the subway.

Bottom line is that Gwinnett needed mass transit 10 years ago. Our county leaders have dropped the ball and put their heads in the sand. They have lost touch with large parts of the population in Gwinnett which are increasingly minority, liberal and urban. Most of our county leaders were never equipped to deal with the explosive growth that Gwinnett has experienced nor it’s “urbanization” of recent years. We have real estate agents, developers, attorneys and engineers leading Gwinnett and ignoring the county’s land use plan and the recommendations of the county’s planning dept. for their own political gain. What we need are people trained in urban planning who are better equipped to lead Gwinnett into the future.

By Bob

July 2, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this

Yes to public transportation. No to the City of Atlanta running it and policing it. This goes for MARTA and the Atlanta airport.

@Woody: re drilling not worth it

I couldn’t disagree with you more. Drilling now will immediately effect speculation and the attitudes of OPEC. This will drive the price down. Even when it does, we still need to look into alternative energy and better ways to use fossil fuel.

The social engineers can all pound salt. If you want more people to use public transportation make it safe and socially acceptable for the majority. Well it depends on your point of view….

NO IT DOES NOT!

I’m and not interested or concerned that subcultures and thugs might not like it. In terms of the thugs, I want them to “not like it” and hopefully die, while failing to obey the orders of a a jack-booted transportation police officer. - or better yet, be shot to death by a potential victim.

Oh- and havea nice day.

By Charles

July 2, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this

Sandy_G

Although I value the research you’ve just shown, I think Lady Alexis might not understand rational explaination.

By Charles

July 2, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

Sandy_G

Although I value the research you’ve just shown, I think Lady Alexis might not understand rational explanation.

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this

Sandy_G, the simple fact is that those cities are full of disgusting liberal filth, not just in the inner city but in the once beautiful suburbs, all because of mass transit. While I won’t dispute that Atlanta has a high crime rate and a lot of urban ghetto filth and liberal homosexual acceptance — I do not live in Atlanta, I live in Gwinnett. I live in a gorgeous community that is restricted and safe. I do not wish to see street ilk outside the front gates. As long as we keep mass transit out of Gwinnett, then we keep that trash in the inner city where it belongs. That is the difference between Atlanta and those cities.

By Ghetto Liberal Drug-Dealing Gang Member Homosexual

July 2, 2008 12:33 PM | Link to this

Lady Alexis, What time are we having tea today?

By C

July 2, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this

Lady Alexis likes it from girls. Prefribaly in the back of a MARTA bus on the way to an Indigo Girls show.

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

Excuse me, Ghetto..etc, but I honestly do not see myself ever sitting down to tea with a liberal. Your homosexual ways are a path straight to hell, and you should repent and pray that The Lord forgives you. Your sins are damning an entire generation of our youth, corrupting their minds with the sick perversions that you embody. You twist their thoughts to make them believe you homosexuals are normal. You and I both know that is not the case, you and I are both well aware of the fact that homosexuals are evil, nothing more than an Earthbound personification of the demons of Hell. It’s disgusting that you people are on our Earth. Please do not ever expect that I would tolerate your sinfulness. You are wicked.

By Cindy

July 2, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this

Alexis, You’re waaaayy out there…and you’re all by yourself…and not in a good way either. Nobody can take you seriously because you don’t present facts and opinions and discuss. You rant and degrade and put yourself in a class above. Some of what you say is true but your presentation method really lacks.

Until you can conduct yourself a little better I shall call you Alexis, as the term Lady indicates royalty, and royalty commands respect.

Other than that…, I don’t want MARTA in Gwinnett.

By Anonymous Homosexual Male

July 2, 2008 1:45 PM | Link to this

Lady Alexis, how can I stop myself from living this Hell-bound lifestyle? Should I stop riding on Marta?

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this

Anonymous… — you simply stop. You read the Bible, love the Lord and move forward with your life. Abandon the urges that Satan gives you and look to Jesus for strength and support.

I will pray for you.

By Mmmmmmm... sin

July 2, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

Jesus wasn’t all he was cracked up to be…

By Talk dirty to me bible-thumper

July 2, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

I love it when you talk about Satanic urges, Lady Alexis. I knew a stripper named Lady Alexis from New Orleans. Is it you?

By Charles

July 2, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this

Alexis stood by the gates of her once-perfect quiet community, sobbing. Since the “Great MARTA Plunder of 2009” began, she’s seen debauchery, evil, corruption, homosexuality and godlessness enter her haven.

Like zombies climbing over the walls, they came in, looking for all that is wholesome and pure. Sure, it started harmlessly enough with a simple Mass Transit program, but that was merely the beginning. Soon, wave after wave of demons used the system to penetrate and infiltrate the system with their primal wants and desires.

The liberals came. The homosexuals came. The street thugs came. The heroin addicts came.

Week after week, she watched her community become consumed in the wave of terror. Looking up at the sky, she asked: “God, God, what should I do?” Then, as if out of the sky, a voice rang out:

“Show to them the bible, and all will be well!”

So Alexis got out her very first bible, the one she had received when she was but a girl, and sprang into action. As the zombie-like Liberals entered the gates, she showed them the book of the lord. Like magic, the beams of light and awesome power shot out of the book, blinding the dark-souled savages. One by one, the book fought them back, until they were forced to retreat on their MARTA train back to the heathen central of Atlanta. Using the forces of Christ, she convinced other neighbors to shut down the rail system, and all peace returned to Gwinnett county.

By Cindy

July 2, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

Don’t stop Charles…more…

By not a bible thumper

July 2, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this

all i can say about lady alexis is only the lord can judge.. he who judges others will be judged at the gate for all of their bigotry. read your bible lady.. and i also use that term very loosely… i really cant tolerate these bible thumper wanta be’s.. out of all the people that write to this blog you are the biggest sinner of all..

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this

WOW I have never read a story where I was the feature character. Very lovely. It’s also a very true possibility; the power of the Holy Bible can eliminate the sin of homosexuality. If more people would read The Word and understand that Jesus is Lord, there would be less acceptance of these deviant homosexuals in society and we could finally eliminate their influence on our children. We need to protect our children from the immoral lifestyle of these disgusting creatures. Their liberalism and ideas of “unity” and “acceptance” of sin is contradictory to leading a good, honest Christian life.

By Sandy_G

July 2, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this

I’ve got it! We just simply refuse to issue MARTA passes to homosexuals! I figure what we can do is to put great big posters of male strippers in the MARTA stations. We can equip them with GAYDAR and anyone getting within 10 feet will be scanned. Any homosexuals can then be denied transport on the train!

Oh and liberals too. I don’t know what kind of bait we could use to snare them, maybe a life-size cut-out of Hillary and Obama at the Unity rally?

Of course that doesn’t handle the problem of the gay people that are already in Gwinnett. Like the ones that live in my neighborhood in Lilburn. Maybe put out copies of GQ magazine on the front lawn on top of great big old gay trap?

I’m sure Jesus would be proud!

By Lady Alexis

July 2, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

Sandy I do realize you are attempting to be clever, however I must tell you that your efforts fall far short of the goal. Homosexuals are vile and disgusting, that is a fact. Homosexuals are not of God, that is a fact. Homosexuals bring disease and corruption wherever they go, that is a fact. Liberals preach tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals, that is a fact. Liberals would love to spread the homosexual idealism as far as they can, just so that other liberals will be inspired by the liberalism. It’s a circular pattern. We must put a hard stop on it, before America is overcome. Now, I understand that Adolph Hitler is very misunderstood in America; but if we applied just a few of his techniques and doctrine to our country we could get the homosexual agenda out of our children’s lives. If we were to relocate the homosexuals to inner cities, give them the inner cities as their domain, along with the poor and destitute, and contain them there, we could control this problem.

Just food for thought.

By Charles

July 2, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

ATTENTION THREAD ATTENTION THREAD

The Godwin Threshold has just been reached.

I repeat: Although the spelling was incorrect, thread officially Godwin’d.

By Lord Alexis

July 2, 2008 3:42 PM | Link to this

Honey,

I think its high time you got in the kitchen and started making me some dinner. And bring that nice homosexual with you. I have some news you and he would like to hear.

Love, your hubby-pie

By Anonymous Homosexual Male

July 2, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this

HELLO! I’m still very gay and liberal unsaved over here. Can’t anyone help me? Alexis? Hitler?

By Anonymous Homosexual Male

July 2, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this

HELLO! I’m still very gay and liberal and unsaved over here. Can’t anyone help me? Alexis? Hitler?

By Anonymous Homosexual Male

July 2, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this

HELLO! I’m still very gay and liberal unsaved over here. Can’t anyone help me? Alexis? Hitler?

By Cindy

July 2, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this

Anonymous,

Take a deep breath. Remember what they say…admitting you have a problem, is half the problem. See I half cured you already. :)

wait…that is what they say, right?

Blogs need emoticons…

By Katie

July 3, 2008 5:58 AM | Link to this

I will support MARTA in Gwinnett just so a homosexual (oooh!!) will move right next door to Alexis, just might make her move away—far far away. Perhaps to La La Land where she can live with other ignorant people just like herself.

Seriously though. I don’t mind my tax dollars supporting MARTA. MARTA doesn’t help me out but if it can help others, great!!

Alexis should show more compassion for her fellow man, afterall, that’s what Jesus taught. Jesus did not teach hate, which is exactly what she does—she teaches hate and intolorance. Who’s the hyporcrite here???? Oh wait, my bad, the bible is just a nifty little story to keep people blind as a bat and to live like sheep. Heaven forbid people use their brain to think for themselves. Anyone can read a book and spout out phrases from it.

By MJ

July 3, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this

I too live in a beautiful community in Gwinnett County. I decided to take advantage of mass transit, GRTA & MARTA, 4 years ago. I’ve lost 11 lbs. by walking to my bus stop, my blood pressure is down, and my overall health has improved by twice a day workout. The drivers are courteous as are most patrons. They take advantage of their time reading the bible or newspapers. So you can pay your $4/gal. I’ll pay my $3.50 per day.

By Lady Alexis

July 3, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this

Katie the Bible does teach love and tolerance, but not of sin. We are to hate sin. Homosexuals are sinners, and by refusing to turn away from their sin, they become the sin and are then to be hated as sin. Homosexuals are evil, vile and should be erradicated.

MJ congratulations to you for losing 11 pouds. Perhaps if you had joined a gym you could have lost more than you have by walking to catch a bus. As for paying 4 dollars for a gallon of gas —- it is what it is. Gas is going to be expensive, so no point changing my life just to work-around gas prices. Why not pay them, continue to drive my car and be happy? Makes sense to me.

By Go Away MARTA!

July 3, 2008 8:00 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett has gotten along great without MARTA. Wherever MARTA goes … crime goes up …areas go down. I rode MARTA for a brief time before I retired in 2003 and quite honestly if I were still working downtown I would not ride it now. At the time I rode it. . it was disgusting … it smelled . . the people were rude and I was taunted at least several times by black youths on the train and it was quite frightening. You have people selling CD’s and all kinds of things … going up and down the isles and train to train… . not to mention by car was stolen from a MARTA parking lot!!! Gwinnett has enough crime without out another excape route for criminals to hop on board. Maybe with the higher gas prices those criminals who drive from DeKalb and other counties who come into Gwinnett County will have to do their crime around home.

By Go Away MARTA!

July 3, 2008 8:01 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett has gotten along great without MARTA. Wherever MARTA goes … crime goes up …areas go down. I rode MARTA for a brief time before I retired in 2003 and quite honestly if I were still working downtown I would not ride it now. At the time I rode it. . it was disgusting … it smelled . . the people were rude and I was taunted at least several times by black youths on the train and it was quite frightening. You have people selling CD’s and all kinds of things … going up and down the isles and train to train… . not to mention by car was stolen from a MARTA parking lot!!! Gwinnett has enough crime without out another excape route for criminals to hop on board. Maybe with the higher gas prices those criminals who drive from DeKalb and other counties who come into Gwinnett County will have to do their crime around home.

By Go Away MARTA!

July 3, 2008 8:01 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett has gotten along great without MARTA. Wherever MARTA goes … crime goes up …areas go down. I rode MARTA for a brief time before I retired in 2003 and quite honestly if I were still working downtown I would not ride it now. At the time I rode it. . it was disgusting … it smelled . . the people were rude and I was taunted at least several times by black youths on the train and it was quite frightening. You have people selling CD’s and all kinds of things … going up and down the isles and train to train… . not to mention by car was stolen from a MARTA parking lot!!! Gwinnett has enough crime without out another excape route for criminals to hop on board. Maybe with the higher gas prices those criminals who drive from DeKalb and other counties who come into Gwinnett County will have to do their crime around home.

By Go Away MARTA

July 3, 2008 8:02 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett has gotten along great without MARTA. Wherever MARTA goes … crime goes up …areas go down. I rode MARTA for a brief time before I retired in 2003 and quite honestly if I were still working downtown I would not ride it now. At the time I rode it. . it was disgusting … it smelled . . the people were rude and I was taunted at least several times by black youths on the train and it was quite frightening. You have people selling CD’s and all kinds of things … going up and down the isles and train to train… . not to mention by car was stolen from a MARTA parking lot!!! Gwinnett has enough crime without out another excape route for criminals to hop on board. Maybe with the higher gas prices those criminals who drive from DeKalb and other counties who come into Gwinnett County will have to do their crime around home.

By Go Away MARTA!

July 3, 2008 8:05 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett has gotten along great without MARTA. Wherever MARTA goes … crime goes up …areas go down. I rode MARTA for a brief time before I retired in 2003 and quite honestly if I were still working downtown I would not ride it now. At the time I rode it. . it was disgusting … it smelled . . the people were rude and I was taunted at least several times by black youths on the train and it was quite frightening. You have people selling CD’s and all kinds of things … going up and down the isles and train to train… . not to mention my car was stolen from a MARTA parking lot!!! Gwinnett has enough crime without another escape route for criminals to hop on board. Maybe with the higher gas prices those criminals who drive from DeKalb and other counties who come into Gwinnett County will have to do their crime around home.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 4, 2008 7:05 AM | Link to this

Go Away MARTA! Five times!!! You on speed? People are rude on Marta? Does that mean the drivers on 85 are polite? Does that mean white boys are just so happy to see you? An esape route for criminals, funny, haven’t heard of a high speed chase on MARTA yet?

“quite frightening.”, what protected lives you Southerners lead.

By JCB Resident

July 4, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this

It still amazes me to read peoples reactions to the MARTA Issue. I didn’t own a car for many years, instead living near the MARTA Station. During this time I spent 15 years in the private surface transportation industry (Greyhound and Railroads) and a county planner and not once did I see any one appear to have robbed a house and hop a train or bus. I did make suggestions on how to improve the service, based upon my years in the private industry but no one in the heirarchy would listen.
Now I live on JCB and am still amazed at the attitudes of people out here.
When my house was built the surrounding area was still wooded except for the drive-in movies where the SYMS shopping center is now located. This was rural. Now the government wants to maintain a suburban livestyle in what is rapidly changing to an urban area. Why not just get people to realize this is rapidly urbanizing and get the infrastructure in place before it is too cost prohibitive?

Another issue is the Gwinnett Transit and proposed Gwinnett Rail: bad idea from an historical standpoint. It takes twenty-five years for all the current transit operations to combine, which wastes time and money. Why not offer to buy into MARTA for a larger voting interest? Atlanta history from the trolley era shows that only one company will survive and other companies will be bought by the survivor during a fire sale; why create a money losing operation that will be sold for pennies on the dollar when we could add extra representation to MARTA, which is not tax-payer funded but only receives money from user fees and a penny sales tax

By Long Time Resident

July 4, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this

which is not tax-payer funded but only receives money from user fees and a penny sales tax

SAY WHAT?

One: A penny sales tax is taxpayer funding.

Two: MARTA is not a money making operation and the users fares are too low.

Three: Many do not want the extra added representation of DeKalb and Fulton counties involved in Gwinnett County.

Four: Gwinnett Transit and proposed Gwinnett Rail is a very good idea, especially where areas served, rights-of-way and system expandability is concerned, which MARTA will never be able to match what the railroads have to offer in those regards.

No to MARTA

By Mark

July 5, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

Lady Alexis

Great post and so true. Gwinnett doesn’t need Atlanta’s flotsam. We have enough of our own. Blacks should not be allowed past Stone Mountain.

By Jack

July 6, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this

MARTA ISN’T “MASS” TRANSIT.

My sole comment here is that there is nothing “mass” about mass transit. Do any of you people really think that MARTA will make a noticeable difference in traffic? Let’s do some simple math:

Let’s say a MARTA train is 10 cars long and each car carries 50 people for a total of 500 people per train. Let’s say a MARTA runs a train out of Gwinnett every 10 minutes. At that rate, MARTA would move 500x6=3000 people per hour (assuming the trains are all full). During rush “hour” of 7am-9am, MARTA will move 6000 people out of Gwinnett.

Now let’s consider that about a quarter-million (250,000) people are on the roads in Gwinnett during rush hour.

MARTA’s effect (if every train was fully loaded, which it won’t be) would be to reduce traffic by 2.4%. That’s nothing. That’s a drop in the bucket. In fact, Gwinnett’s traffic probably increases at that rate or greater per year, meaning that in one year or so, Gwinnett’s growth would already have overtaken MARTA’s “mass” effect.

How many millions of dollars will go to reduce traffic by a percent or two? Wouldn’t that money be more effective if spent on surface roads instead of rails?

MARTA isn’t “mass” transit. MARTA is taxpayer-subsidized transportation for poor people.

Here’s one now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NZtGz_7WI0

Do you really want this happening in Gwinnett? Would you put your children on this train?

By jake O'brian

July 6, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

Marta is one of the worst run enterprises in the history of mankind! Want them in Gwinnett? Hell the only reason why they want Gwinnett is for the money they would get -to waste of course— By there most optimistic predictions it woul;d be 10 years of Gwinnett tax money before we would have the most limites service —does anyone really believe that MARTA would actually finsih in anywhere near ten years getting train stations here? Then to go where? Last time I checked -it doesnt go to the stadioum -doesnt go to Ga tech or State -doesnt go the the state of Federal offices downtown -in fact unless your going to the Ghetto it really doesnt take you anywhere you want to go. This on top of one of the highest fares in the USA. No THANKS! BTW there used to be a train leaving from St. Mtn Park going downtown to near Underground. The tracks are stille there, theres a MARTA barely used parking lot two blocks away. Why hasnt anyone mentioned getting this going again?

By Rowena

July 7, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

I rode MARTA for 11 years. I drove 45 minutes to get to the Doraville station and then another 1/2 hour on the train to get to Peachtree Center station. During those yests, I had the joy of sitting next to a thug who “pleasured himself” while sitting next to me, I was constantly hit up for money, I had to listen to uninvited sermons from religious nuts, I had to smell drunks who had obviously had used their pants for a toilet and then on one lovely morning as I got to the train waiting at the platform, the nice African American female train conductor shut the doors in my face and yelled out at me with a laugh, “sorry whitey.” So I did the smart thing, quit my job and got one in Gwinnett County. Now we park at the Parking Spot at the airport and we drive to the Braves’ games - no need to ever set foot on a MARTA train or give them one more dime of my money.

By Mads

July 7, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this

NO WAY!

The poster that made the point that MARTA is not mass transit is right on. Why would I drive 30 min to get to a marta station then take a train, then take a bus, when I can drive to work in 30-40 min?

The only reason for the Gwinnett venture is so they can get more tax money to run this crap. VOTE NO!!!

By Truth be told

July 7, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this

Mark and Alexis, please please please tell me that your problem is lack of education. Your bigotry really has no other excuse. You really can’t be that hateful but you certainly can be that under-educated. Educated people don’t speak the way both of you have.

By Ajamu

July 7, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this

Yes to MARTA and expansion of GCT. I live on Club Drive and I work in Clarkston. My drive is simple enough straight down Hwy 29. My wife works on Peachtree and drives 85 or rides the xpress bus some mornings. Why doesn’t GCT have any buses traveling 29 to the border with Dekalb County where a transfer could be made to the MARTA system at Jimmy Carter/Mountain Industrial? It is obvious that many Gwinnetians want to maintain an isolated ivory tower existence but in my 6 here years I have witnessed a great shift in the demographics of Gwinnett county and the “ivory tower” people are being replaced by Ebony pioneers who are not afraid of being around diverse people. Many of them come from cities all over the country and are primed for Gwinnett to enter the 21st century with an efficient mass transit system reaching into the high growth areas which will continue to have a growing tax base. METRO Atlanta is hot, and expansion of services will only promote sensible development into a progressive urban/suburban southern metropolis.

By Mark

July 7, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

Truth be told

Actually, I’m highly educated. If you are, then you’d know about freedom of speech. BTW, I rather be uneducated than blind. Try some new glasses. The rose colored ones you’re wearing is impairing your sight…….

By Biker Chick

July 7, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this

Actually, heavy rail transit moves on the average, anywhere from 13,000 - 41,000 people per hour. When compared to commuter rail which moves 2,000 - 20,000, and bus service (which is the LEAST effective way to move people) at 1,000 - 3,000 per hour, imagine the effect of taking let’s say 50,000 cars off of I-85 over the course of each morning or evening rush period and you won’t eliminate traffic, but you certainly would improve it.

You would also give an option to drivers who are just sick of the stress and cost of their daily commute who are willing to commit to a reliable 45 minute commute versus the toin coss of a 30 minute commute on a “good” day or a 1 1/2 hour commute on a “bad” day. We all know what it’s like to plan to attend an event in the evening and have to leave work 2 hours early in order to make sure we don’t get caught in unexpected traffic.

Gwinnett needs heavy rail transit, period. MARTA needs the financial support of suburban counties surrounding Atlanta. Gwinnett is in a position to greatly enfluence the management and efficiency of the MARTA system and could leverage the expansion of MARTA into Gwinnett into a total overhaul of the MARTA’s management and help to make it more efficient and cost-effective.

To the people who cry about how many years it will take to build the line, so what? What do we want 10 years from now in Gwinnett? A new MARTA line opening up for riders or to still be sitting in even worse traffic, fewer companies willing to locate here because of the crippling traffic, a poorer economy, lower property values and another crop of do-nothing policticans sitting in office? You choose. I plan to be here 10 years from now.

I’d rather have the option to get on the train at that point in time. It’s like my mother used to say when I told her I was too old to go back to college because I’d be 40 years old when I graduated. Her response was, “Well in four years you’re going to be 40 whether you go to college or not, so why not be 40 with a college degree rather than 40 without one? Gwinnett has waited long enough to “go back to school”. We need to enroll in the curriculum of urbanization, city planning and traffic control at a county-wide scope and we need to register for classes now.

By Mark

July 7, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

Jack That youtube vid just proved my point. Keep that black trash in Atlanfrica, not in Gwinnett county.

By Truth be told

July 7, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this

Mark, there is a difference between FOS and racism. You speak as if you are racist, are you openly admitting that you are??? How proud your parents must be of you for you to speak so ‘highly’ of your fellow black men and women. Or, did they enstill racist beliefs in you proudly so that you would teach that to your children as well? How proud America is of you—NOT!!! You’re a disgrace to the majority of the population.

By Mark

July 7, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

Truth be told

Yes, I’m a racist and proud of the fact that I can see thru all the BS you pillow biters refuse to see. Just wait until a nog hurts, or kills one of your family members. Then you’ll be talkin out the other end of your black loving butt. Ignorant fool….

By LINK

July 7, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this

Type in Sacramento Union News September 7, 2007. When the front page of the September 7, 2007, newspaper comes up, turn the pages until you come to page 6 (or 8) and read the article by Katy Grimes entitled: Sacramento’s Regional Transit Nighmare. It will give you a different perspective on MARTA. Especially about the General Manager who is currently running MARTA.

By Jim

July 7, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

MARTA lost $382,942,000. in 2007, $348,297,000. in 2006, and $344,689,000. in 2005. Yet, Woody would have us believe that we should jump on the proverbial bandwagon. It would behoove Woody and other MARTA proponents in the printed news media that before asking us to jump on a bandwagon to learn something about the bandwagon they are asking us to jump on. Selah

By Jim

July 7, 2008 3:40 PM | Link to this

Shall the Act be approved which authorizes Gwinnett County to exercise redevelopment powers under the “Redevelopment Powers Law,” as it may be amended from time to time, for the purpose of improving economic and social conditions in depressed areas within the county? VOTE NO! NOTE: This question on the ballot colud be misleading. However, do not be mislead as this is the TADS referendum on the ballot.

This will be a nonbinding question on the July 15th. ballot. Would you support the extension of MARTA Rail lines into Gwinnett County which would include an additional one cent sales tax. VOTE NO!

By Lady Alexis

July 7, 2008 3:55 PM | Link to this

Truth Be Told, I have quite the education, thank you. MBA from UNC - Chapel Hill. However, that is not really of consequence here. It is because of my education, not in spite of it, that I understand the ramifications of allowing the wrong types of people to enter into our communities. It is simple socioeconomics. If you allow the poor to infiltrate the wealthy then you breakdown the class system and cause chaos. We can not allow the disgusting people who frequest MARTA to come into Gwinnett and bring their diseases and filth. We certainly can’t allow the liberal idealisms of Communist Homosexuals to creep into our children’s minds anymore than it has already. These perverted freaks of nature are destroying the fabric of honest, decent society. We can’t lay out the welcome mat for it to happen even faster — we have to fight this invasion!

By Brother Future

July 7, 2008 7:50 PM | Link to this

How is it that Gwinnett has become so Mexican if YA’LL were so worried about crime coming to Gwinnett? Are you kidding me? You ‘good ole’ Gwinnettians sold your county out a long time ago. Now that all the Mexicans are going into foreclosure and skipping on mortgages before ICE catches them you are worried about African Americans coming from Stone Mountain; the former seat of the KKK? (How ironic!) YA’LL had better take another look at the hard working African American family who speaks perfect english vs. Juan, Pedro, Jose and Conchita who live in their cousin Miguel’s garage. Take YA’LLS heads out of the sand!!!

By D

July 8, 2008 12:34 AM | Link to this

For those of you who don’t want to pay the extra tax for MARTA — I hope you never ever buy anything in Fulton or DeKalb Counties….. Personally, I work in DeKalb and it would be nice not to have to take nearly an hour to make a 15-mile drive. Any time I go to a Thrashers or Braves game, I am on the train. It is sad that I must drive 15 miles to the Indian Creek Station, but it is well worth the drive.

As far as safety, I’ve never felt unsafe on the train, heck I’ve even dozed off a time or two from a long day when I attended Georgia State a few years ago for my Masters and took the train either to Doraville or Indian Creek. Never once was I harassed.

Finally, the crime has come to Gwinnett without MARTA’s help. We have a huge gang problem here, and it is not MARTA’s fault — and perhaps they’d take the train out of Gwinnett if they had a way to, I don’t know, but when it costs me as much as it does to fill up my tank, I have to look at viable alternatives to my 24 MPG automobile (which isn’t bad). Frankly, I think people need to open their eyes to what’s going on and if they’re afraid of certain types of people, I hear you can still claim land in the middle of Alaska… I suggest you look into that or realize this world is full of different types of people who are all the same on the inside and learn to get along.

And just to be redundant for Lady Alexis — were it not for liberals, we would be singing God Save The Queen before the cricket match.

By Truth be told

July 8, 2008 6:04 AM | Link to this

I see, you excelled in book knowledge but failed in common sense, dignity and compassion. I’ll bet that MBA gets you real far at the pearly gates. Perhaps you should move to Germany and become a Nazi? You would probably fit in. Unless of course you aren’t blond haired and blue eyed. Diversity is a wonderful thing and it’s a real shame that you are too hateful to have learned that in the academic environment. I think Chapel Hill would not be proud of one of their graduates spouting off racist remarks. You are a pitiful, hateful, poor example of a human being. You are the worst type of person and I truely and deeply feel sorry for you. You are pathetic in every meaning of the word.

By Mark

July 8, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Brother Future

“YA’LLS” a redneck. No better than a homosexual, black, or filthy wetback.

By Norman

July 8, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this

For some Bold:real solutions to transportation, check out the following:

Link:Does Rail Transit Save Energy or Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

By Norman

July 8, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this

Corrected Post For some real solutions to transportation, check out the following:

Does Rail Transit Save Energy or Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

By professional skeptic

July 8, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this

Alexis: First, I must agree with the author of a prior comment. Your language and behavior on this forum does not in any way merit the usage of the title “Lady.” Second, if you really are who you purport to be (a Christian and a graduate of Kenan-Flagler), please understand that you are portraying both your religion and your alma mater in a negative light, by way of your hateful words and holier-than-thou attitude.

Perhaps you are neither Christian nor a UNC graduate, and simply mention these two institutions in your venomous posts in an indirect attempt to denigrate them both. For that matter, perhaps you are really a MARTA supporter, trying to influence people to vote in support of MARTA by portraying opponents as hateful, demonic, elitist segregationists, whom no reasonable individual would ever want to side with— in a popular vote or otherwise.

In either case, I urge you to search for a video clip of the “Sarcastic Clapping Family of Southhampton” from Saturday Night Live, watch the family members clap for each other, and then imagine me clapping for you in the same manner.

I am a Christian and really do hold a master’s degree from Kenan Flagler. However, I couldn’t disagree with your views more. In your posts you make insulting and false generalizations about both Atlantans and MARTA patrons. You also set forth numerous inaccurate arguments attempting to draw a link between criminal element within cities and the modes of transportation that happen to exist there.

Specifically, you claim that extending MARTA into Gwinnett would pave the way for crime, citing other cities with heavy rail systems as proof: Those cities have rail. The rail MUST have caused the crime.”

That’s rich. Here’s my counterargument: All cities have crime, even those without rail! What do all cities have in common? ROADS! Roads must be the cause of crime!! By building roads, all cities have literally paved the way for criminals to travel everywhere, commit their atrocities, and make a clean getaway. Damn those taxpayer-subsidized roads and the guv’ment officials who built them!

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well, so do you, Alexis. You sound so ridiculous, in fact, that I suspect you never attended UNC Business School. With such a faulty grasp of logic, it is difficult to believe that you would have performed well enough on the GMAT to secure admission to Kenan-Flagler.

As for your claim to Christianity, please follow your own advice and pray for yourself. You truly need to ask the Lord for forgiveness for casting such harsh judgment on your fellow man and harboring such a vile, hateful, wretched, discompassionate, and venomous attitude toward people who aren’t exactly like yourself.

By Mark

July 9, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

Anyone who believes in an entity that doesn’t exist (ie g-d) is either a child or a retard.

By Lady Alexis

July 9, 2008 3:48 PM | Link to this

Professional Skeptic, while it is well within your right to attempt to degrade me, I must say you have done a poor job of it. To the person who made the comment re: God Save The Queen before a cricket match — lovely! I enjoyed that comment as I love the United Kingdom.

Now, let me just say simply and as plainly as I possibly can, that I would in no way shape nor form ever support MARTA coming into Gwinnett. MARTA is a safe haven for illegal activity; the trains run rampant with degenerates, homosexuals, drug users, gang members and other members of lower society. Those types of people have no place in our county. We are slowly eliminating the trash from our county with immigration crackdowns —- we need to speed that up and get the illegals out more rapidly. We need to crack down and enforce sodomy laws and start locking up these homosexual perverts that are trying to influence our children to become homosexuals. We need to ensure that our community stays wholesome, God fearing and pure.

By art

July 9, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this

MARTA is NOT smarta. It’s DUMBA for Gwinnett.

By Mark

July 10, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Lady Alexis Our opinions are one in the same. Will you marry me?

By Crown

July 10, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this

I moved to Gwinnett from Alpharetta and surprise surprise! There is already crime in this county! For those of you who are concerned with bringing the “filth of Atlanta” to this county, you are too late. They are already here. And if you didn’t realize that I guess they can’t be as bad as you claim.

It is amazing how selfish many of us are being. What about the greater good for the community and the environment? I own a car but still take MARTA to work every day and would do so if gas was $1 a gallon. I don’t like traffic and have been in more danger on I-85 than any train, even in NY! Gwinnett is not pedestrian-friendly and not everyone likes to drive everywhere. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. My tax dollars pay for plenty of things that you may use that I don’t but you don’t see me moaning and groaning about it.

By professional skeptic

July 10, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this

Alexis: Actually, I was pointing out the flaws in your logic, not trying to degrade you. All metropolitan areas have crime and are inhabited by diverse populations, regardless of the methods of transportation that may exist there.

I suspect you must know that.

Therefore, it is completely unreasonable for you to suggest that a multi-modal transportation network will promote more criminal activity in Gwinnett than there already exists under the county’s current transportation network, which consists only of roads.

In short: MARTA does not cause crime. Crime will exist with or without rail systems. If you are concerned about crime in your neighborhood, then I suggest you implement a Community Watch network. If you are concerned that people who take trains (or people who drive cars or people who act on television) will have more influence on your children’s moral development than you, then I suggest you implement stronger parenting skills.

Neighbors working in conjunction with the police are the best deterrent against crime. Strong parenting is the best way to instill proper values in your children. MARTA - or any other form of transportation - is absolutely irrelevant in both cases.

Again, I suspect you know this.

By Lady Alexis

July 10, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this

Mark, I am already married, but thanks for the offer. Interesting.

skeptic — while yes, crime exists regardless of transportation alternatives, it can not be denied that poor people use public transportation. If public transportation becomes more available in Gwinnett then it will lead to poor people having more access to Gwinnett, bringing with them their diseases, filth and perversions of value. It is not just my opinion, it’s fact. Now, as for homosexuals influencing my children — our children, all children — it’s a fact that strong parenting leads to strong children, I do not dispute this — however, regardless of the strength of the parent, the homosexuals have the devil on their side, contantly tempting and luring young minds and bodies into evil sin. We must fight the devil by fighting the human embodiment of him, the homosexuals.

By professional skeptic

July 10, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

Alexis,

Poor people use the roads, too. How else do you think the lower-income families in Gwinnett arrived there?

Also, in cities all over the world, like New York, London, Tokyo, and Milan, there are both rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods. Rail systems have existed in those cities for decades, and the rich neighborhoods continue to thrive.

In fact, the socioeconomic divide between rich and poor originated LONG before rail systems were invented. It exists today in Gwinnett, and it will continue to exist in Gwinnett whether or not MARTA comes.

I think what MARTA supporters really want is the freedom to ride a train to work (and concerts, sporting events, etc.) rather than sit in increasingly congested traffic day after day. Despite billions and billions of taxpayer dollars spent on widening the roads and constructing new ones each year, automobile traffic continues to worsen. With transportation alternatives, people will have options.

Regardless of whether or not MARTA comes, you will still have the freedom to drive your car, live in a gated community and raise your children as you see fit. No one will take that away from you.

By Lord Ha Ha

July 11, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this

The only extension marta deserves is over a cliff — with Bruce Nilcox and Bubba Bass in the lead car.

By David

July 12, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this

Hate to break it to you Marta doesn’t bring crime . Here is a report from 2005 latest report from Atlanta Police. http://www.wesellptc.com/crime.html

Take a look at it

Atlanta 1675 violent crimes college Park 1654 Morrow 1431 (no marta) McDonough 1207 (no marta) Norcross 1196 (no marta)

you will out of the Top 5 cities 3 of them don’t have the marta system. Please explain that to me.

By Kayne

July 13, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

For those of you who use statistcs to say MARTA doesn’t bring crime into your neighborhood, YOU are only fooling yourselves. Statistics mean nothing when your Wife, Daughter or Mother is raped by a perp or several perps who used MARTA to hunt for victims away from their HOOD. ABSOLUTELY NO! to MARTA. I will gladly spend a little extra time and money in my car to keep MARTA and its Criminal riders out of my neighborhood.

By David

July 13, 2008 6:58 PM | Link to this

So your saying someone couldn’t use say Their own car and drive out of there element and rape your wife, mother or daughter. They only can take marta and do that, well thats news to me.

Then please explain the crime in Gwinnett now?

By Kayne

July 13, 2008 9:41 PM | Link to this

Nice try David. Sounds like you have your own selfish reasons to promote MARTA. I bet you have never ridden MARTA when you were the minority on that bus or train car, of if it was outside of the rush hours. But at least you admit the criminal element will take whatever transportation necessary to commit their crimes. And I do mean TAKE. Either before, during or after the crime. Anything we can do to prevent or at least slow down the criminal element is a GOOD thing, No? When you or one of your family members fall as a victim to these perps, come back and tell us how much you still want MARTA in your Hood, OK. Oh, and one more thing, when all is said and done, you will find it would have been cheaper to pay the cab fare for all the people who would have ridden MARTA. Just like it would have been cheaper to send a cab to all the people who currently ride Gwinnetts bus system. Don’t believe me? Do the math.

By david

July 14, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this

Yes I took Marta for 6yrs till unfortunately I got a outside of the marta zone. Wish I could still take it. I took Marta 5 days a week after 11:30 pm

Hmm Not sure about your math

30Day card 52.50 (It was free for me) cab ride to Marta for me now from my house $20.00 lets see 1st day cab ride $40.00 monthly card for marta $52.50 yep your right its cheaper (even if the cab ride was 5.00 each way your math sucks)

So explain to me why does Gwinnett have so much crime now without marta.

You keep stating Marta brings crime well Gwinnett doesn’t have Marta and we are high on crime.

Your reasoning is about as good as your math.

By Norcross

July 14, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this

As interesting as it may seem, Marta may be the only way to truly lower Crime in the Gwinnett Village.

The people that are young professionals want walking trails, access to mass transit and affordable living. The Gwinnett Village currenly offers afordable living. Once our elected officals get on the ball about more greenspace in the Village, and effective mass transit, we may very well see this area turn around.

These slum lords that own the 50-75K rental homes will sell their property to someone. With mass tranist it could be a single young professional looking for a deal, or a new family looking to save some money. Getting people to buy into the neighborhoods will help with the crime…more than anyone who thinks Marta could ever hurt it.

By Jake

July 14, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this

Wow, much of what has been written is ugly.
Some of you are quite right though: MARTA will never go everywhere everyone wants it to. Same with Delta Airlines. There are 100s of roads in Gwinnett that I have never driven on (I live in city of Norcross), but many people do use them daily, too. If you don’t think MARTA rail is used enough, visit the Doraville station one morning or evening: there will be 35-45 people per car. The parking lot is full of Gwinnett license plates, too. I’ve regularly ridden MARTA for 15 years: I have never felt threatened / scared / uncomfortable / etc… except once after a concert when I dared to get onto a train that was near 100% full of white teens and 20s just having attended Music Midtown. As for the crime argument, I vehemently disagree. Ask any police officer, and they will confirm it, but one of the most dangerous places that you can be is in a parking deck, especially one at a mall. MARTA is not perfect, far from it. But it is good, and extending it up 85 will be more good than bad, too.

By BklynGuy

July 14, 2008 9:16 PM | Link to this

I don’t think the first order of business is bringing MARTA to Gwinnett. It should be to get rid of the uneducated and ignorant swine that oppose any rational idea. It’s just amazing to read these ridiculous posts about homosexuals and crimes coming into Gwinnett via MARTA. Hey fools, they’re here already in greater numbers than you can count. I can’t believe the stupidity of these folks? Are they are product of the Gwinnett educational system? If so, then this county and country is doomed. I would strongly support a tax that would get rid of these racist, narrow minded idiots from this country. Then after all of the scum is gone, we can have a rational and pragmatic discussion on how we get more cars off the road and allow people to keep more of their money in there own pockets rather than send it to the Middle East, Russia and Venezuela. Look at the latest ranks of billionaires in Russia: they’re all involved in the oil industry and are getting wealthy off of us. The Arabs in the Middle East are minting money off of us and have been doing so for the last few decades. And the best you clowns can say is that mass transit equals crime and immorality. You people are idiots!!!

By Marie

July 15, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

Marta in Gwinnett is a bad idea…rode it a few weeks ago to the Braves game…was shocked by the crazy people on board and saw a gang with a purse they took from someone….Brain train might be okay, it should cost more than Marta though, be more upscale to keep gangs and homeless people off it….It’s a fact that when people build a nice area, trash comes to live in it…..they expect handouts and don’t work hard to get where they are….it has nothing to do with race, it’s about working hard and being responsible….

By Sonic

July 15, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

Hey BklynGuy, if mass transit is so great, why are you here?

By Mark

July 15, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this

Looks like the no’s to Marta win. Yawn….Let’s move on to a different subject, Woody.

By charliejoe

July 15, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this

“Lady Alexis”,

As anyone who has a grasp on extremely dry, satirical humor can see, you are most likely a 50-year old, college-educated, liberal gay man, and I must admit your posts crack me up. I do not understand how so many people can not see your brilliant satire, and actually believe that you are what you so preposterously pretend to be. I realize you have kept up the act too long to let up now and acknowledge the truth, so I won’t ask you to do so. Just know you have some fans who understand what you are trying to do, and I for one think you are doing it well. If you are by some slim chance actually a married, homophobic, wealthy, racist, and elitist, snooty woman, you are unintentionally funny as hell. I love the constant reference to disease and the homosexuals perverting our youth. Good stuff!

By professional skeptic

July 15, 2008 11:51 PM | Link to this

Here’s even more satire from Alexis.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 16, 2008 1:16 AM | Link to this

Lady Alexis is a total wack that can destroy any discussion on any subject with her phobia’s, hate to tell her about the gardener and pool boy.

MARTA was a party line vote, just a hair off, not the over-whelming defeat of old the backwards used to enjoy. Thankfully the Feds will decide it for us, MARTA will be coming.

By Tim

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

Notice the vote was split by party lines. Democrats, who don’t own cars, want MARTA overwhelmingly. Republicans, who can afford $4.00 a gallon gas could care less about MARTA. Don’t forget this little point: When MARTA comes, so come the Democrats. You can complain all you want about illegals, but MARTA is going to bring non-working, welfare recipient, Democrats to Gwinnett. In 10 years it will look like that booming Metropolis below us called Clayton County. Do you know what DeKalb, Fulton, and Clayton have in common? They all have MARTA, and they are all crapholes.

By Tim

July 16, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this

Bruce,

Thank you for explaining how the Democrat philosophy works. We put up MARTA for a straw poll, and when the Democrats see that it will fail, they get the Feds to build it anyway. It is sort of like the Democrat philosophy on the economy. Take money away from some hard working, SAVING, Republican, give it to a lazy, worthless Democrat who then spends his windfall on a bigscreen TV to put in the government subsidized apartment, and the economy is “stimulated”. Can’t get advertisers to pay for Air America? Get the Feds to step in and subsidize it. When you rob Peter to Pay Paul, you can always count on Paul’s support. Right Bruce? You are a communist, plain and simple. Voting only works for you when it goes your way. If not, then the Feds need to do it at the point of a gun. You make me want to puke.

By professional skeptic

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

Amazing. 37% of Republicans voted Yes on the MARTA question, far more than I would have anticipated based on commentary posted here. Would it be possible to hear from one of the “Yes” Republicans on this issue?

By Michael H. Smith

July 16, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

The majority has clearly spoken.

Total: No votes 27,523

Total: Yes votes 24,352

MARTA fails thrice!

By Tim

July 16, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this

I think we need a high speed rail system from Athens to Atlanta to Macon. But NOT the typical MARTA pick up the welfare recipient and give them a ride to the Social Security office downtown. We need a high speed light rail system that carries WORKERS as well as light cargo to help large trucking from completely bogging down. Along with that, we need to BAN apartments, and low rent housing. You may be able to get a cheap ride, but you have to be able to afford a house to do it. A high speed rail system running north south and east west from border to border could be used to haul light cargo and get more 18 wheelers off the road. They would still carry to a point, so no jobs would be cut, but would not have to sit in Atlanta burning fuel and waiting at red light after red light. These high speed rails would feed into subways and other rails that got the goods closer to their destination, or could even drop them right on their destination if re-development was thought about in the right manner. Your traffic woes are not so much people. They are trucks. And don’t complain too much because these trucks keep us with every consumer good we use to stay alive. We CAN however come up with a new system for the future. It is expensive, but so was the Eisenhower Interstate system.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 16, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this

Tim it is simple, maybe too simple for a republican lemming to understand, the air in Atlanta will lock up all federal money for roads. Without the federal money for roads, well, Atlanta stops moving. We cannot meet the standard set down by the feds on keeping pollution under control.

The federal funding will only be for mass transit, not the foolish idea that this state has ran on for years of building more roads is the answer.

Hey Tim, who pays for your plan described above? Kind of feeling foolish right now?

btw…it is a code red day, hold your breath.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 16, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this

Isn’t a majority in Georgia over 50% when it comes to voting? Looks like MARTA should be a run-off or does the rules change when it fits the need?

By I Voted "NO"

July 16, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

I want to start by saying that I voted ‘NO” in the election. The reason for my vote was neither racist nor was it for fear of the element moving into my county.

I voted “NO” for the following reasons: 1) The referendum was very vague on where the tax increase would go. Each party simply stated “Would I support paying more taxes to have MARTA in Gwinnett County?” Where in Gwinnett County? Based on what I read, it is being considered to extend to the Gwinnett Place Mall. This means the system would serve a very small population based, most of Gwinnett would thus pay for a system we would never use.

2) I oppose MARTA not mass transit. I use Gwinnet Transit every day to get downtown. I hate riding on MARTA because there is no comfort level. The seats are hard and the ride is not enjoyable. I enjoy my large coach seats on my big red bus and I don’t want to trade for something that feels like riding a bench.

3) I want something better than MARTA; I want a commuter system on a real train. These operate in larger cities; we have existing tracks that could be used. Start negotiating with CSX and Amtrak. Lines could run along existing track up Buford Highway and out towards Athens.

What needs to stop is the finger pointing by the commenters. Not everyone that votes “NO” is a racist or scared about what might move into their neighborhood. We simply won’t settle for a flawed system moving into our system wanting our tax dollars to provide our communities with little to no service. Our slogan is “Gwinnett Is Great” and “Success Lives Here” not “We are dumb enough to pay for nothing of value in return”.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 16, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

“NO” did you know we, the taxpayers, are building the Braves a private stadium? Kind of knocks the slogan, “We are dumb enough to pay for nothing of value in return”, out of the park.

By Kayne

July 16, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this

Well, at least we can be assured MARTA will not go near the new(shoved down the taxpayers throats)gBraves stadium. They didn’t even do that for the Braves stadium in downtown Atlanta. Just another example ineptitude by MARTA’s Board of Stupids.

By professional skeptic

July 16, 2008 4:42 PM | Link to this

So, since almost 47% of Gwinnett residents voted YES on the MARTA ballot question, it would seem that ridership would not be an issue if the train were built.

In other words, should funding became available for a Gwinnett expansion, this poll indicates there would be plenty of folks willing to hop aboard— republicans and democrats alike.

By Michael H. Smith

July 17, 2008 2:28 AM | Link to this

The “NO” majority in this “two horse” MARTA race was over 50% or do the rules of math change when the minority loses?

Just like Florida all over again. Let those pregnant chads have babies, just don’t stop counting and recounting until the losers can win. LOL

MARTA fails thrice!

By Katie

July 17, 2008 6:00 AM | Link to this

Just because 47% voted yes doesn’t mean that 47% would use it, it just means that 47% support it. Let’s not mix words here.

By WhoCares

July 17, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this

Bruce

Did you vote for or against the Braves stadium in Gwinnett?

By Bruce Wilcox

July 17, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this

I’m still waiting for my ballot?

By Bruce Wilcox

July 17, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

Sorry Mr. Smith, I ran out of fingers, my mistake.

By professional skeptic

July 17, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this

Likewise, just because 53% voted no doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of riders among the remaining 47% to justify building the train.

What I meant to convey is that if I were a regional transit planner, I wouldn’t look at the results of this non-binding straw poll and conclude that no one in Gwinnett would ride the train if it were built.

By WhoCares

July 17, 2008 5:23 PM | Link to this

Tell you what. All you people that want Marta can pay for it and then make your money back by selling tickets to evrybody that rides it from Gwinnett. See how that works out for you.

By Thank You Lady Alexis

July 17, 2008 5:37 PM | Link to this

“MASS TRANSIT IS A BAD IDEA Not only is it a fatally flawed idea that allows the wrong types of people into our communities”

Lady Alexis = Racist Pig

By Bruce Wilcox

July 18, 2008 2:26 PM | Link to this

Speaking of the stadium, todays AJC…The Braves cut tickets prices which range from two-for-the-price-of-one outfield seats to four-game packages that come with $25 gas gift cards. The Dream, the new WNBA team, cut the price of some weeknight seats to $4, a play on the price of a gallon of gas. The Falcons trimmed the season-ticket price of all upper-level seats, and Georgia Tech slashed some football season tickets by $100.

By David

July 19, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this

Damn Marta for bringing crime to Gwinnett http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/07/19/drugs_0720.html

Oh wait Marta doesn’t come to Gwinnett.

By Michael H. Smith

July 20, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

Time to move on with the Brain Train and the envisioned statewide commuter rail system that has languished far too long.

Let the liberals lament the loss of their ill-fated deformed government transportation poster child and may MARTA rest in peace.

By Bruce Wilcox

July 20, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this

Let the conservatives keep dreaming of the Brain Train as they have for years and years. By the time they get around to action instead of dreaming ,it will be too late, this county will be in total gridlock.

By OMG

July 20, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

WOW!!!I can’t stop laughing…See this is why people like Lady Aleix and the rest of the people who live in G’nett that think that the wrong types of people will come to G’nett…They’re are in the 28% that still agree with Bush!!!These are the knids of people that should not be allowed to vote!!! Yeah I said it!!! Everyone should go out and get the book “The Elite Serial Killers of Lincoln, JFK, RFK & MLK” By Robert Gaylon Ross, Sr…Trust me it will open your eyes!!! OPEN UR EYES!!!!

By Michael H. Smith

July 20, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this

No need for the liberals to keep dreaming of MARTA coming to Gwinnett for years and years or any hopes of the Fulton and DeeKalb bloated mismanagement authority getting their grubby hands on Gwinnett County taxpayer money to cover-up their miserable failures.

RIP MARTA.

Bring on the Brain Train. The Georgia Rail Authority is the way to go in a comprehensive network of city to city rapid rail transportation using the right-of-way already in place that exist today to serve us beyond tomorrow.

By wbjatl

July 20, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this

Lady Alexis: It is obvious that you are no lady!! Secondly, you are a complete, not partial…..but complete fool. Marta is a public transportation system. Therefore all aspects of the public ride Marta. You have the poor, not so poor and well to do travelers that ride the train. You have people from all walks of life that for one reason or another ride the train. For those who do not like Marta and do not wish to ride the train…..they do not ride. That is their right. All homosexuals do not ride the train. News Flash!!! There are some homosexuals who own property, have large incomes and travel by car. They may even live next door to you. As for hoodlums……unfortunately, they are all over. In the ghetto, barrio or slum….they are hoodlums. In the high income districts….they are just criminals. But do not fool yourself in thinking that crime is not already in Gwinnett, because it is. It is everywhere. However, hard-working people who just want to be able to get to work, students who want to get to school, etc., should be able to do so. Show some maturity and stop name-calling and trying to sound like you are so much better than people who might want to ride Marta. I know for a fact that having Marta close by would have been welcome a few weeks ago at my house when my car was in the shop. Taxis are expensive and do not come in a timely fashion. So “Lady Alexis” take your bigotry and narrow-mindedness to your attic and close and lock the door behind you.

By Michael H. Smith

July 20, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this

Business Rides on Rail Plans

Gov. Sonny Perdue embraced plans to build two passenger rail lines linking downtown Atlanta with the suburbs.

Developers and other business entrepreneurs see rail stations along the planned routes — from Griffin in the south to Lilburn and Lawrenceville in the northeast — as focal points for the region’s next wave of growth.

http://www.georgiabraintrain.com/polls.asp

By Bruce Wilcox

July 21, 2008 12:52 PM | Link to this

Only problem with Sonny’s plan is Gwinnett is not one of them.

By Michael H. Smith

July 21, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this

Says you.

Money on the table says different.

By TIM BEVUIL

September 25, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this

Unbelieveable. An article about expanding mass transit into the further into Atlanta’s suburbs without one mention of the inevitable rise in crime. Interesting. This article contains half the information we need to know—we already know its good for the environment.

By reader

September 25, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this

Why would mass transit bring an inevitable rise in crime? And, to what crimes, in particular, might you be referring?