Design Your Own MARTA Expansion (Atlanta, Buckhead: rental car, taxi, authority)

[JPD]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

But we aren't the ones complaining about it. I just tend to get annoyed when folks like you misrepresent history.


I already have local access to these facilities. I don't need MARTA to get to them; I live in Cobb already. But wouldn't it be nice to make those areas available to other people in the metro?

How did I misrepresent history? Cobb said no. If you've changed your mind since then, SPEAK UP. You have local representatives and they have access to the top command at MARTA.

Of course it would be nice to have MARTA access to every single place in the entire metro area. I don't know how many times I need to say that.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by JPD

Of course it would be nice to have MARTA access to every single place in the entire metro area. I don't know how many times I need to say that.

Nice for whom, and at what cost, paid for by whom? There seems to be a level of arrogance here, with the assumption that Cobb residents don't know what they need or want, and that others know better for them.

Let me remind everyone that a straw poll vote was recently (2008) taken in Gwinnett, and even with all the new transplants and the change in demographics, the vote still failed. Residents in Gwinnett also turned down MARTA.

I think the broader based transportation tax, with a mix of modes and a mix of audiences is a better way to address things. Some MARTA expansion is probably a good thing, but it's not the primary thing most residents of Cobb are looking for, and if that's what's presented, the tax will fail here.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Nice for whom, and at what cost, paid for by whom? There seems to be a level of arrogance here, with the assumption that Cobb residents don't know what they need or want, and that others know better for them.

Ask that again in the future when there are more wars, more oil spills and more expensive gas.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

How did I misrepresent history?

Your little tirade about some imaginary entity asking us once a week? Or is that not a gross misrepresentation of history in your world? You're only off by a factor of 780 or so ... what's a couple orders of magnitude between friends?

Cobb said no.

Sure, a quarter century before folks like me arrived. That's a rather long time, not so?

If you've changed your mind since then, SPEAK UP. You have local representatives and they have access to the top command at MARTA.

Hey, like I said, I don't care. I'm already here. But folks ITP seem to complain about it a lot, and seem bitter enough about that vote way back in Cobb's history to bring it up here as if it's still relevant and whine about it even when they've sat on their hands and done nothing for longer that some of the posters here have been alive.

How can you complain about Cobb's lack of interest when MARTA itself doesn't care enough to even ask about it? They have access to Cobb County voters, and arguably more to gain.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by JPD

Ask that again in the future when there are more wars, more oil spills and more expensive gas.

Not everyone is sensitive to oil prices. I work from home and travel, so I use less gasoline than a Prius driver.

Even if I did drive lots, MARTA would not help me reduce my driving. Many Cobb residents are in similar situations. People aren't going to pay a tax for something from which the perceive they derive no direct benefit.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Your little tirade about some imaginary entity asking us once a week? Or is that not a gross misrepresentation of history in your world? You're only off by a factor of 780 or so ... what's a couple orders of magnitude between friends?


Sure, a quarter century before folks like me arrived. That's a rather long time, not so?


Hey, like I said, I don't care. I'm already here. But folks ITP seem to complain about it a lot, and seem bitter enough about that vote way back in Cobb's history to bring it up here as if it's still relevant and whine about it even when they've sat on their hands and done nothing for longer that some of the posters here have been alive.

How can you complain about Cobb's lack of interest when MARTA itself doesn't care enough to even ask about it? They have access to Cobb County voters, and arguably more to gain.

I think you're misreprersenting what I've said. Some posters here, who are from Cobb, seem to be saying that they want MARTA, and/or that demographics have shifted in such a way that MARTA is probably something that is now desired by the voters. All I'm saying is, if you (not YOU personally) want it, don't wait for an invitation. Be proactive and see if you can make something happen.

Frankly, I don't have any interest, or need, to go to Cobb County, by car or transit. So I really don't care if Cobb people sit in traffic when driving to Atlanta or Dunwoody.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Not everyone is sensitive to oil prices. I work from home and travel, so I use less gasoline than a Prius driver.

Even if I did drive lots, MARTA would not help me reduce my driving. Many Cobb residents are in similar situations. People aren't going to pay a tax for something from which the perceive they derive no direct benefit.

OK neil. I have a question. Let's assume for a minute that you're right, that MARTA is not the way to solve Cobb County's traffic woes. That's one potential solution down. My question to you is, what WOULD work? What IS your proposed solution?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

OK neil. I have a question. Let's assume for a minute that you're right, that MARTA is not the way to solve Cobb County's traffic woes. That's one potential solution down. My question to you is, what WOULD work? What IS your proposed solution?

I'm not Neil, obviously, but I think there are several key corridors in Cobb (shown in magenta in the map below) where a lot of traffic flows ... listed in no particular order:

(A) Veterans Memorial Highway
(B) East/West Connector
(C) Macland Road/Macland Connector (future/SPLOST)
(D) Barrett Parkway
(E) I-75 Corridor + Cobb Parkway/Highway41

I'm sure there are others; I don't know areas north of I-75 very well, so I'm just listing ones I've had to deal with on a regular basis. There are also other large roads of note such as South Cobb, Atlanta Road, Austell Road, etc, but I'm not sure if those are major commuting routes or not.

I suspect even bus service along those lines would prove useful, and I think CCT runs buses along some (most) of those routes right now.

My route to/from work is (B), and if regular mass transit existed along that corridor (roughly paralleling CCT route 70), I would consider taking it. I would also heavily use (D) and (E), I suspect.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

OK neil. I have a question. Let's assume for a minute that you're right, that MARTA is not the way to solve Cobb County's traffic woes. That's one potential solution down. My question to you is, what WOULD work? What IS your proposed solution?

First, I never said "MARTA is not the way to solve Cobb County's traffic woes" but I have said that most people do not commute downtown, so MARTA would only serve a small number of people in Cobb.

If you read my past comments, I've been very clear about what could possibly help many people like me. Light Rail and transit options that take us where we need to go. From Kennesaw to Cumberland; from Cobb to Dunwoody and the Perimeter Mall area; From Cobb to North Fulton and Gwinnett. There is a thread now on the forum about commuting from Lawrenceville to Tucker.

The issue isn't transit or nothing. It's transit that makes sense for people and provides a solution to a problem they actually need solved. There are also many people that would not take transit if it stopped right outside their door. For example, I bet many mothers who need to bring strollers and diaper bags with their small children aren't going to take transit, even if it was able to take them to where they needed to go.

There is a saying in my line of work...and it goes like this:

"Customers want a solution that solves a business problem with technology. They don't want technology."

The same thing is true for transit. People want solutions to their transportation problems. They don't necessarily want transit or MARTA, per se.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I'm not Neil, obviously, but I think there are several key corridors in Cobb (shown in magenta in the map below) where a lot of traffic flows ... listed in no particular order:

(A) Veterans Memorial Highway
(B) East/West Connector
(C) Macland Road/Macland Connector (future/SPLOST)
(D) Barrett Parkway
(E) I-75 Corridor + Cobb Parkway/Highway41

I'm sure there are others; I don't know areas north of I-75 very well, so I'm just listing ones I've had to deal with on a regular basis. There are also other large roads of note such as South Cobb, Atlanta Road, Austell Road, etc, but I'm not sure if those are major commuting routes or not.

I suspect even bus service along those lines would prove useful, and I think CCT runs buses along some (most) of those routes right now.

My route to/from work is (B), and if regular mass transit existed along that corridor (roughly paralleling CCT route 70), I would consider taking it. I would also heavily use (D) and (E), I suspect.

Hmm, arterial bus. At first I was skeptical about it, but the more I read about it, I like arterial bus as a potential transit option. And yes, all those routes you mentioned within Cobb County sound like reasonable options for future bus or light rail transit corridors.

Originally Posted by neil0311

First, I never said "MARTA is not the way to solve Cobb County's traffic woes" but I have said that most people do not commute downtown, so MARTA would only serve a small number of people in Cobb.

If you read my past comments, I've been very clear about what could possibly help many people like me. Light Rail and transit options that take us where we need to go. From Kennesaw to Cumberland; from Cobb to Dunwoody and the Perimeter Mall area; From Cobb to North Fulton and Gwinnett. There is a thread now on the forum about commuting from Lawrenceville to Tucker.

The issue isn't transit or nothing. It's transit that makes sense for people and provides a solution to a problem they actually need solved. There are also many people that would not take transit if it stopped right outside their door. For example, I bet many mothers who need to bring strollers and diaper bags with their small children aren't going to take transit, even if it was able to take them to where they needed to go.

There is a saying in my line of work...and it goes like this:

"Customers want a solution that solves a business problem with technology. They don't want technology."

The same thing is true for transit. People want solutions to their transportation problems. They don't necessarily want transit or MARTA, per se.

These sound like things you *wouldn't* do. So what *would* you do to improve traffic?