commuter rail (Atlanta: crime, neighborhood, living in)

[MattCW]

I'm saying you can't compare the two. Orlando's proposed light rail system will cost just as much as our Clifton Corridor.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Arguable...and has been argued. As for the OP...I also fail to see why you're posting about Florida in the Atlanta forum.

Are we going to see every transit project throughout the country touted in the Atlanta forum, because some posters here can't stop beating the transit horse?

You mean the "nothing but SUVs and cars, no transit, no bikes" horse? Or the "let's kick one of the worst traffic problems in America down the road" horse? Yeah, those horses have been soundly pulverized.

[noah]

I thought it was relevant to post since it is interesting that a region 1/3 the size of ours with huge growth projections (like us) was able to pull off and get substantial federal funding for 32 miles, expanding to 60+ miles in the near future.

For city residents commuter rail doesn't really impact our lives but for the region as a whole it could be a big plus. We all have coworkers who are stuck on the freeways hours each day. I can imagine how many people would have access to commuter rail if we had 60 miles of it. And if the Feds were willing to make it happen in a city of 2.2 million I am sure they would be interested in what we have.

Plus, it seems we have much better bones to tie commuter rail into with our subway system than central Florida has.

[NY2ATL2NY]

Its A crying Shame that Atlanta Refuses to do anything real about the traffic down there...Now Central Florida has beat us to the punch...Along with Nashville, and other cities taking the dive on commutter Rail...these places got like half the population we do and have enough sense to realize they need something other than expanded 10-12 lane hwys runnin all willy nilly...Atlanta is just a backwards Place...Cobb and gwinett ALONE have over a MILLION people and The Rule in atlanta is to spend untold amounts expanding 75/85 and adding "Hot lanes" N this kind of stupid ****...Its Like Puttin dozens of bandaids on a sinkin boat and hopin it stays afloat...Traffic will only get worse..which is what a city would want cuz it signals more people movin in...but for the love of God Already PLEASE build an alternate way to get about and commuter rail IS the answer...Yea we got the freight issues and blah blah excuses mentioned on previous thread But still enough is enough...If other Places can do it then Why cant Atlanta????? Becuase they dont want to...Yet traffic steadily Builds...I dont know of ANY failed commuter systems in america that didnt work out....Its Overdue to put comutter rail
At the forefront of evrything in Metro ATL...But I guess the bumpkins in the Dome are waitin for absoulute gridlock from 285 to within to do somethin real...All these separate mentalities within these counties is Beyond old...If it wasnt for ATL Proper then The state of georgia (except Savannah maybe cuz of its Port) Would be a Just a "Pass Thru" state on the way to Important cities as New Orleans,Miami, Etc...The city was founded on railroads And now act as if Its some
Kind of Boondoggle Investment....What a Travesty that is Atlanta,GA....

[cqholt]

Orlando is not a major railroad town like Atlanta. Also, Florida already has a successful commuter rail in South Florida, that started out single track, then got upgraded to 2 tracks in the 2000's.

[DTL3000]

It's a shame that a city built because of railroads doesn't have commuter rail.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

You mean the "nothing but SUVs and cars, no transit, no bikes" horse? Or the "let's kick one of the worst traffic problems in America down the road" horse? Yeah, those horses have been soundly pulverized.

Hyperbole and twist things much?

From my perspective, we've beat the snot out of building rail downtown as opposed to building it between suburbs where it could really impact on commutes. We've also discussed the lack of historical railroad passenger service in Atlanta, as existed in places like NY, Chicago, Philly, etc. We've gone over the historical taxation and governmental reasons ad nauseum too.

So we need one more thread where the same question is asked again, as if for the first and only time?

Oh...and stop with the tired old stereotypes and talking points. I don't own an SUV. I've stated on this forum I'd be in favor of sensible transit that solves actual transportation issues for the Atlanta suburbs (where 90% of the population lives), and I own and ride a bike all the time. As a matter of fact, the new wide bike path that was just built along Barrrett Pkwy is great. Mountain biking is fun as well.

What I don't agree with are political mantras that demand gratuitous "transit" for the sake of it, without concrete funding and ridership information. I don't agree with bicycles on the road, since motorized vehicles going 45 or better do not mesh well with bikes doing 20 mph, especially on 2 lane roads, and when bikes ignore traffic laws.

Oh...and did you read the recent stats that show the number of cars on the road is actually decreasing?

[toll_booth]

Attack the messengers all you want, neil, but until we choose to address our serious traffic woes, this issue is not going to go away. And by pointing the fingers at the bicyclists, you shift most of the blame to where it does not belong.

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Hyperbole and twist things much?

From my perspective, we've beat the snot out of building rail downtown as opposed to building it between suburbs where it could really impact on commutes. We've also discussed the lack of historical railroad passenger service in Atlanta, as existed in places like NY, Chicago, Philly, etc. We've gone over the historical taxation and governmental reasons ad nauseum too.

So we need one more thread where the same question is asked again, as if for the first and only time?

Oh...and stop with the tired old stereotypes and talking points. I don't own an SUV. I've stated on this forum I'd be in favor of sensible transit that solves actual transportation issues for the Atlanta suburbs (where 90% of the population lives), and I own and ride a bike all the time. As a matter of fact, the new wide bike path that was just built along Barrrett Pkwy is great. Mountain biking is fun as well.

What I don't agree with are political mantras that demand gratuitous "transit" for the sake of it, without concrete funding and ridership information. I don't agree with bicycles on the road, since motorized vehicles going 45 or better do not mesh well with bikes doing 20 mph, especially on 2 lane roads, and when bikes ignore traffic laws.

Oh...and did you read the recent stats that show the number of cars on the road is actually decreasing?

Let's be honest. Who's going to ride rail between suburbs LOL? The suburbs here are like 2k people per square mile...way too sparse to build a healthy inter-suburb transit system.

IMO, they should just stick with expanding rail in Atlanta. Screw The suburban folks. They CHOSE to live that far away from the city.

Honestly, Atlanta's MARTA footprint is already pretty large. I found this not too long ago. Subway systems at the same scale / fake is the new real

Most cities have a zig zag of lines in the city core and around it. If MARTA had some lines that go to the cool Eastside neighborhoods and West Midtown, we'd be good.

[MattCW]

I'm tired of this myth that suburbanites CHOSE to live in the suburbs. Many of us were born here. Other had no choice. Intown neighborhoods (closer to where the jobs are) are either crime-filled areas or the cost of living is too high, particularly if you have a family! Want to bring people back into Atlanta? IMPROVE THE CITY! What do you really want? Suburbanites to all move away to someplace that actually cares about moving its people around?