Design Your Own MARTA Expansion (Atlanta, Decatur: purchases, contractors, architecture)

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

I think you accidentally posted a working copy of this map. For instance, there are literally no new stations on the top-end Perimeter.

That's exactly what I meant by preview.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Here's a preview of the new never-gonna-happen map. Any constructive suggestions / criticisms welcome.

There's a station near my subdivision.

[0nyxStation]

As long as this fairy tale thread is, Id love to hear an official announcement of a 39th station finally being built and opened. Marta has not added a thing since 2000. 1979 to 2000 is what 21yrs? And now almost 16 years after the last station opening we get no more additions? Forget about Cobb and Gwinnett, build more stations in Dekalb, Fulton and now Clayton. Those counties should be the only ones being discussed. Lets kill the fantasy talk already and focus again on the folks that DESERVES more transit because they already PAY for it.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by BlackPeach2

As long as this fairy tale thread is, Id love to hear an official announcement of a 39th station finally being built and opened. Marta has not added a thing since 2000. 1979 to 2000 is what 21yrs? And now almost 16 years after the last station opening we get no more additions? Forget about Cobb and Gwinnett, build more stations in Dekalb, Fulton and now Clayton. Those counties should be the only ones being discussed. Lets kill the fantasy talk already and focus again on the folks that DESERVES more transit because they already PAY for it.

Actual planning by MARTA is doing exactly this. There is no harm though in planning for service in places that are currently outside the MARTA service area, especially if it increases the possibility for those counties to approve MARTA sooner rather than later.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by BlackPeach2

As long as this fairy tale thread is, Id love to hear an official announcement of a 39th station finally being built and opened. Marta has not added a thing since 2000. 1979 to 2000 is what 21yrs? And now almost 16 years after the last station opening we get no more additions? Forget about Cobb and Gwinnett, build more stations in Dekalb, Fulton and now Clayton. Those counties should be the only ones being discussed. Lets kill the fantasy talk already and focus again on the folks that DESERVES more transit because they already PAY for it.

Good points. The biggest wild card right now is federal funding. How transit-friendly the next Congress or two will be will make a big difference, I think, in the odds of having at least one of the two major rail expansions be fully funded and under construction within the next decade.

[Atlmike]

Gold line extended from Doraville to Norcross then to Gwinnett place. This wouldnt take that long to complete actually maybe less than 10 yrs.

Purple line to Kennesaw state.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Actual planning by MARTA is doing exactly this. There is no harm though in planning for service in places that are currently outside the MARTA service area, especially if it increases the possibility for those counties to approve MARTA sooner rather than later.

Actually they've just been spending millions the last 25 years planning, not doing. I don't know how much Atlanta has spent, but I know Houston wrote off $168 million in expenses for two lines that got delayed by politics-and that was only over 10 years. I'm sure its similarly big numbers for Atlanta. They are on at least the 3rd study I know of for the North line extension.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by bu2

Actually they've just been spending millions the last 25 years planning, not doing. I don't know how much Atlanta has spent, but I know Houston wrote off $168 million in expenses for two lines that got delayed by politics-and that was only over 10 years. I'm sure its similarly big numbers for Atlanta. They are on at least the 3rd study I know of for the North line extension.

Studies have to be done for projects to qualify for FTA funds. The studies do expire and must be redone.

[arjay57]

What about cost overruns?

It seems like a lot of infrastructure projects wind up going vastly over budget and taking a whole lot longer than anticipated.

And does it make sense to expand when we already have a huge back log of deferred maintenance?

Most planners believe that extending [Boston's] iconic Green Line from its current terminus at Lechmere station in Cambridge northward through the adjacent city of Somerville is a very good idea. It’s one of the basic expansions of the MBTA system—others include connecting the Red and Blue lines, or extending the Blue Line to Lynn—that is an exercise in building on an excellent century-old network. Just a tweak, with huge returns for improved access, and opportunities for transit-oriented development.

The original estimate was around $500 million, in part because the subway line, for a portion of the project, could share a right-of-way used by commuter rail. The alignment otherwise darts through industrial areas currently in transition in Somerville, known around here as the Brooklyn of Boston. Even in these lean times for federal funding for transit projects, it was a no brainer.

Then came this week’s buzzkill: the cost could be closer to $3 billion, with the state on the hook for at least $1 billion of that. Nothing is easy.

But the increase in the estimated cost also raises philosophical questions of another kind. How can cities even think about building costly new infrastructure when so much time and money is needed to fix existing infrastructure? And how can they proceed when those repair projects themselves end up costing more than first anticipated—not least because cars, trains, bicycles, and pedestrians need to keep using critical infrastructure while it’s being worked on?

More...Boston's Costly Rail Projects and Crumbling Bridges Reflect America

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by arjay57

What about cost overruns?

It seems like a lot of infrastructure projects wind up going vastly over budget and taking a whole lot longer than anticipated.

And does it make sense to expand when we already have a huge back log of deferred maintenance?

I keep hearing this come up from time to time. Where is a report that lists just how much deferred maintenance MARTA supposedly has?