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DEL.ICIO.USIs ‘transit’ a naughty word?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Public transportation” have historically been bad words in Snellville.
Voters here were among the most outspoken opponents during a 1990 vote on extending MARTA into Gwinnett County. The Snellville City Council under former mayor Emmett Clower voted to prohibit Gwinnett Transit buses from making routes through the city. Comments about public transportation have been the fodder for city election campaigns, particularly in 1997.
I thought about our city’s history on this issue when I learned that an express bus project planned to link Snellville to inside the Perimeter hasn’t found a park-and-ride lot in Snellville yet. I don’t know if local sentiment is playing a part, but I wondered about it.
The plan calls for Gwinnett’s transit system to provide buses that would run from a point on U.S. 78 near Snellville to an as-yet undecided spot inside I-285 — either Kensington MARTA station or the Emory University area or downtown Atlanta.
The bus routes would not be the type that frustrate drivers, with the buses pulling over and stopping at every corner, but would model the popular express rides serving the I-85 corridor, moving rapidly downtown.
I called Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) to see how things are moving along, and William Mecke told me the start date is now expected to be early 2007, not late this year as initially reported. GRTA is in negotiations with the Stone Mountain Tennis Center for a park-and-ride lot to serve the express bus, he said.
But wait. The tennis center at Stone Mountain is not in Snellville.
In my experience, the worst congestion on U.S. 78 is between Snellville and Stone Mountain Park. It seems to me the park-and-ride lot should be in Snellville where that ride of horror begins.
Mecke said it is still possible that a parking site could be found in Snellville. Nothing is set in stone yet, he said.
Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, who supports the express bus plan, said he and former mayor Brett Harrell (who now oversees the U.S. 78 Community Improvement District) rode around with GRTA officials to point out some potential parking sites in Snellville.
One was the large parking area at the Snellville Oaks shopping center; one was near K-Mart at the corner of Wisteria Drive and U.S. 78. The owner of one of the parking lots did not want to lease any spaces for the project. There was trouble tracking down the other owner, Oberholtzer said.
The mayor said he would even be willing for the bus to use extra parking spaces at the new Snellville City Hall.
Having grown up in a city (Columbus) that had bus service, I’ve never seen public transportation as a bad thing. I’ve ridden MARTA often. I’ve tried the express bus from downtown to Stonecrest Mall on I-20 and enjoyed the ride.
Years ago I realized that my view was not shared by most folks in Snellville. Since then, however, the stranglehold of traffic congestion has tightened its grip.
So I’m wondering. Do Snellville residents still see public transit as an unwanted intrusion? Do other suburban communities? Or has the time come for transportation options besides the four-wheel variety?
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
Comments
By MC
October 18, 2006 10:17 PM | Link to this
At least I know now why the county bus line doesn’t touch south of Lawrenceville. I’ve been wondering for awhile.
That’s stupifying that the owner of those lots isn’t willing to give any up, considering how empty they usually are.
By Slowdown
October 19, 2006 07:16 AM | Link to this
I’m thinking that your city council is leading the way on this one—-being a bunch of NIMBYS. This is the kind of wonderful hayseed thinking that has trapped y’all in the 1980’s. Too wrapped up in your own self-centered existence to give a hoot about anyone else.
Can’t find anyplace else to park except the Tennis Center? Do it anyhow. It may not solve your local congestion problem, (which is your problem for bad planning) but it would be a relief to the rest of us who use any portion of 78, or the roads connected to it. If you think Snellville has the worst congestion on 78, maybe you should drive down to the end where it empties out ITP. You can see a bunch of Snellvillians, lattes and cellphones in hand, roaring out of the Land of the Empty Strip Malls onto surface streets, which so inconveniently are between y’all and your jobs.
Nice to see traffic is only a becoming a problem when it’s in your neighborhoods. Isn’t Karma a bummer?
But kudos to you, Susan, for outing the bad decisions of the Snellville guvmen’t. Too bad they were just doing what the people wanted.
By leah
October 19, 2006 01:23 PM | Link to this
Sounds like Snellville (Gwinnett) is still trying to keep the “bad” element out of its city limits. Well, guess what? Most criminals have cars. And if it’s not criminals you’re afraid of; the other groups have cars too.
I really don’t understand why people are so against Marta. What is the point of parking at a lot and jumping on Marta inside the perimeter??? It’s still Marta! And don’t talk about the cost of an express ride!
Gwinnett should do away with the bus system we currently have (which sits nearly empty on every route) and help support ONE regional system. It really isn’t that hard to figure out.
By Woodie
October 19, 2006 04:45 PM | Link to this
I’ve heard both sides of this issue over the years. The real problem appears to be “who” uses the transit system and what kind of headaches the transit system brings into the county and cities. It’s a fact that MARTA has issues with thugs, drug addicts, alcholics, and various indigents who live on the fringe of society. I call these people “street people”. Most of them view visitors to there “world” as “targets”. The difficulty comes when the transit system is built but people still persist in driving their cars. I’ve seen alot of people on MARTA that I wouldn’t want to sit next to. They often outweigh the ones I don’t mind sitting next to. If the people don’t want the transit system, there is nothing you can do. We just need to let time and traffic patterns change the thinking. Many people still have the concept of the American Dream as a nice house in the suburbs far from the city problems. These people will just keep moving out farther when city life starts to resemble that in Atlanta. But Gwinnett will change eventually and many will not stay here.
By kim
October 20, 2006 12:22 PM | Link to this
I do not want public transportation in Snellville !!!!!!!!!!!! If I wanted to use public transportation ,I would have moved to the city.
By Slowdown
October 20, 2006 04:01 PM | Link to this
Well, there ya go. Kim has summed up Snellville.
Do us a favor, Kim, and stay out in Hickville away from the “City”. There are all sorts of non-white folk, liberal NEA museums, and restaurants that don’t have drive-thru’s. You might soil yourself at such ungodly doings.
By anonymousella
October 21, 2006 02:11 PM | Link to this
“The real problem appears to be ‘who’ uses the transit system and what kind of headaches the transit system brings into the county and cities. It’s a fact that MARTA has issues with thugs, drug addicts, alcholics, and various indigents who live on the fringe of society.”
yes, because god forbid any fine, upstanding snellville citizens have to ride the train with “those (black, poor and/or immigrant) people.”
as someone who actually uses marta five days a week, i can safely say that the incidents aren’t nearly as widespread as most non-riders think. and the benefits far outweigh the costs. i easily save over $200 per month on gas and parking, to say nothing on the wear-and-tear on my car — less than 30,000 miles in five years. for a $2400 savings, i can deal with (and ignore) the occasional homeless dude asking for a quarter.
By YES!!!!!
October 23, 2006 07:24 AM | Link to this
It is a very naughty word!!!!!!!