By Darryl

November 7, 2005 11:39 AM | Link to this

Hahahaha. Luckily, I work 2 blocks from Five Points and not far from the Indian Creek station.

Marta IS a joke when it comes to convienence. But I guess that’s Southern Economics 101. The will of a few (Cobb County is the biggest loser - CCT is trash), worried about their precious property values, stand in the way of progress. I guess they deserve the 1 - 2 hour commutes up I-75 each afternoon.

I would think that if Metro in DC can do business within 2 states and the capital city, Marta should definately be able to maneuver within a few counties.

Maybe Sonny should step on a few toes and do what’s best for the state and force the counties to recognize that the “M” in Marta stands for “Metropolitan”, and that there can be PAINFUL costs associated with exlusivity.

By Joe

November 7, 2005 12:40 PM | Link to this

Well, Jim, it’s nice that you get to use your transportation mode of choice. I don’t have quite the same opportunity. You see, I want choice. You have a very myopic way of thinking: that for whatever reason, I should just make the same choices you make.

I’d make choices if I had options. So right now, for both of us, we have the same set of options. For you, it’s enough — and you’re as loud as a bullhorn in proclaiming that. For me, it’s not enough. As far as I’m concerned, your pro-asphalt campaign is just a campaign against my freedom of mobility.

You can call me names. Call me a liberal if it makes you feel better. But that doesn’t change a certain reality: if I had options, I wouldn’t be using your roads so much. That would leave more room on the roads for you. And both of us being happy is better than one of us acting like a smug, old dinosaur.

By don

November 7, 2005 01:06 PM | Link to this

Hey Joe you do have a choice, you can move to a place that has easy MARTA access, or move closer to where you work and ride a bike.

Darryl, Cobb is not the loser. We have CHOSEN not to have MARTA.

If they want more people to ride MARTA try puttting stations at the stadiums or the World Congress Center, or Atlantic Station or perhaps near all the devlelopment at the Olympic park. Make it worthwile for Cobb to join and we will.

By ryan vansickle

November 7, 2005 01:16 PM | Link to this

Don - reconsider your arguments. I’m pretty sure that Darryl wasn’t referring to Cobb’s choice not to have MARTA - i’m pretty sure that he’s referring to CCT’s operations themselves not being what they could be - Cobb’s choice to exclude MARTA is irrelevant, unless you think that MARTA could help CCT run more conveniently and efficiently. Check your MARTA facts. There is a station literally next to the Georgia World Congress Center (it’s actually part of the station name - Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center Station), which is also 1-2 blocks away from all of the activity around Centennial Olympic Park. There are actually 2 near Centennial Park - Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center Station, and Peachtree Center Station. As for Atlantic Station, the MARTA Arts Center Station is within a mile, and Atlantic Station runs a frequent shuttle service into the wee hours of the morning. MARTA is also planning to start bus service into Atlantic Station on 2 routes in December - the new Route 100 Downtown Circulator and by rerouting the current Route 10 - Peachtree.

• ryan

By Joe

November 7, 2005 01:32 PM | Link to this

Don, thanks for your encouragement. I’m actually set to close on an old condo in Midtown on Wednesday.

Before I’ve had the opportunity to make this choice, I’ve lived in Cobb County all my life. Unfortunately for me, the last MARTA referendeum in Cobb happened before I was old enough to vote.

To make MARTA worthwhile for Cobb, they would need the opportunity to build.

Having taken the CCT busses on several occasions, my main complaint there is that the closest stop to where I currently live doesn’t see a bus more than once an hour, which is pitiful. I have to get up much earlier than my normal hour in the morning to catch it and get to work on time. Seeing that this closest bus stop is a mile from my house, the best way for me to get there is ride my bike, which I’ve done.

If we were a little more serious about our transit investment, transit would be more accessible for more people, and it would be worthwhile. But the myopic voice keeps sticking out in our politics, and the very people who would benefit from a transit investment resist it.

Make the investment, and then it will be worthwhile.

By Steve

November 7, 2005 01:44 PM | Link to this

I think Jim Wooten could replace every one of his columns with the same three sentences. “I’m Jim Wooten. I’m old, and I don’t like the way things are now compared to the way they used to be in an imaginary perfect past. I’m old!”

By Frank

November 7, 2005 01:59 PM | Link to this

Mr. Wooten’s ride partner sounds ideal to me except for the cigarette part. I have had my name on the list for carpooling for years with nary a bite.

I would love to be able to take transit to work, but I live in Marietta and work in Dunwoody. The CCT bus from Marietta to Dunwoody MARTA would be fine except there is no bus route from there to where I work. There used to be a bus from North Springs MARTA but it was taken off during a route reduction last year. The alternative is a two hour commute involving two buses and a train ride.

The proposed 285 BRT project would be wonderful if I were still working here at age 75.

By Sarah

November 7, 2005 02:15 PM | Link to this

I am carless in Atlanta and agree that MARTA is less than ideal, but by combining it with my bike the inadequicies of the system are less of a pain. Its nice that MARTA allows bikes on its buses and trains b/c their network can only get you so close and be so convenient. MARTA’s shortcommings seem mostly to be the fact that in Atlanta it doesn’t collect the revenues of a city with a larger and more-utilized public transport system.

By Joe

November 7, 2005 02:25 PM | Link to this

Don - There ARE stations near the stadiums, World Congress Center, and Atlantic Station. They just don’t meet the silly suburban standard of “near” which constitutes crossing no more than one street and not having to walk near any “undesirables”.

You can easily walk from Five Points or Georgia State station to the Stadiums and from Arts Center it’s just a short walk across the new bridge to Atlantic Station.

By Henry

November 7, 2005 03:01 PM | Link to this

Regarding you liberals badmouthing Wooten, you guy are hypocrites. You would not want someone to belittle you because of your beliefs but you are quick to do that to anyone who does not share your views. I lived in Chicago the first 18 yrs of my life; took public transportation to school. It was OK. When I turned 16 and got my license and car, I never looked back. Give me better roads. Public transit is ok but with a busy schedule, being able to run errands at lunch in my car is a necessity. Especially considering that Atlanta is not a city that was designed with Public Transit in mind. Even though I live in the City (Grant Park) it is still difficult for me to do anything without getting in my car. On the other hand cities like Chicago and New York have neighborhoods that are so developed that one can take care of most daily business within a few block of home. Atlanta is not that way. Because of cost, it will take decades for ATL to get a decent public transit system. Until then we need better roads. BTW, I am not a conservative or liberal so don’t write any stupid comments about me being old and not wanting change etc. There are a few of us around who realize that this liberal/conservative fight is meaningless.

By David

November 7, 2005 04:40 PM | Link to this

Henry, what makes you think road development will happen any faster than rail or bus development? Much of the infrastructure for the beltline is already in place so it’s not like we’re starting from scratch. The only difference is that road development can be done piecemeal. Regardless, it seems to me that all your points stem from a position of selfishness. Do you ever consider how the few extra seconds (or are you the typical Atlanta driver who saves additional time by ignoring speed limits and traffic lights?) you save by driving effect the air I have to breathe? Or the price I have to pay for gasoline when I have to haul something too big to fit on MARTA or my bike? I think a big problem with our auto-centric culture is that cars really are coccoons. They isolate us from each other and make it easier to ignore the concerns of our neighbors, thus destroying community and diluting civic-mindedness. Perhaps if we thought about what was best for all Atlantans we would each reap more individual benefits in the long run.

By Amy

November 7, 2005 04:50 PM | Link to this

I don’t think that any of those (non-self-identified) “liberals” are trying to bad-mouth wooten. I think that they are merely clarifying some important points regarding MARTA’s locations. And to provide another contrast, I grew up the first 18 years of my life in northern california in a place where the was virtually no public transportation and cars are a necessity. However, once I got to college, and for the years since, I have happily realized the benefits of bicycling as my primary means of transportation. I also live in Grant Park, Henry, and I commute every day to Emory and back on my bicycle, and run errands with it as well— all over town, with and without MARTA. If I can’t run some errands with my bike, I plan ahead and schedule some time in the evenings to do them in my car. I’m not saying that my way is better than anyone else’s, but I do want to say that I am totally happy and satisfied with cycling as my personal means of commuting— I hardly ever have to pay for gas, I don’t get stuck in traffic jams, AND I get some awsome exercise daily. If I could change one thing, I would simply ask that when I’m obeying the same-road-same-rules ideology, I wish that drivers in these parts would remember that their cars are potential lethal weapons, and that bikes do not have two-ton steel frames and air bags to protect us when someone absent-mindedly or aggressively blind-sides or rear-ends us.

By Melissa

November 7, 2005 05:51 PM | Link to this

Being called “liberal” is a compliment. If you really want to upset me or hurt my feelings call me a conservative!

Liberal is something to be PROUD of!

By Henry

November 7, 2005 07:17 PM | Link to this

Amy, it is good that your lifestyle allows you to ride your bike to work etc. With my lifestyle, I don’t have that luxury. Also, being the father of two kids, it is no way that I am going to Ride a bike in Atlanta with all the crazy drivers. BTW, I am considerate of bikers and don’t run traffic lights. Like I said before give me better roads, perhaps with dedicated bike lanes.

By Rochelle

November 8, 2005 06:05 AM | Link to this

You should try listening to NPR. You could use some fact for a change.

By larry english

November 8, 2005 10:58 AM | Link to this

wooten is a bonehead.

“cars are cocoons”?

why do people say this?

they like driving?

is that the only alternative to “people making demands on my time”?

i would rather be home, not answering the phone, or reading, for my quiet time.

or better, on my BIKE.

now there is your true no-demand time.

and since that is so important, there can be the added benefit of more of it.

wle.

By Jeff

November 11, 2005 12:35 AM | Link to this

Y’all think Cobb has no transit w/ CCT? Try Bartow! Yes, as of a couple of years ago we are considered metro ATL - unfortunately, and we have NOTHING in the way of transit, in a county encompassing roughly 30 - 40 miles N - S along 41, not counting our E - W dimensions or the fact that only if you live in Cartersville or - MAYBE - Adairsville is anything other than by car a viable option.

I lived @ Emory not too long ago, and I can honestly say that y’all are weenies! If I lived there, I’d be in MUCH better shape and be saving a ton of money too! I consider anything within 5 miles to be hiking distance, and anything within 10 to be biking distance, even after work. Up here, you can’t do crap - even with those distances. I know from experience that there’s not much I would need to do that I can’t find within a 10 mile radius of Emory University. Oh, and note: 75/285 interchange on the north end of town to the 75/285 interchange on the south end of town MIGHT be 10 miles… MAYBE 15, but certainly no more than that. I BELIEVE the distances E - W are similar, but I could be wrong. In other words… you can do virtually EVERYTHING inside the Perimeter with no car.

Those of us on the outside - and proud of it - don’t always have those options, though we SHOULD use them when available.

BTW: Let’s play a little math game here (I’m a math teacher): Let’s say your car gets 25 miles per gallon. You drive everyday to the store 5 miles across town. Gas costs (at the gas station right outisde my house) $2.18 right now. You’re driving 70 miles a week, just acoss town and back. That’s 2.8 gallons a week, or $6.104 you’re spending every week just to go across town. Doesn’t sound like much? I know from my own 5 mile drive across town today that its a blockbuster rental and a 20 ounce Coke, which kept me entertained for 3 hrs or so. Anyway, back to the math. Over the course of a year, that’s $317.408 that’s you’re spending JUST TO CROSS TOWN AND RETURN HOME. Granted, I AM a teacher, everybody knows we don’t get paid enough, but I’ve known ppl making 3 and 4 times my salary that wish they could find a way to save $300 a year. There ya go… and btw: it only took me about a minute to do the math there. Surely as educated as the average metro Atlantan is, it shouldn’t be that complex.