Keith Parker: MARTA’s rail system ideally would be double its size (Atlanta: tax, to live in)

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

I know this is not an announcement, no grand plan has been announced, yet it seems grand in comparison to the attitude of MARTA we have known in the past. This guy is STELLAR. He's doing what he says needs to be done. He is acknowledging the organizations faults and setting realistic goals to remedy them.

MARTA really used to suck. Now, maybe that attitude stems from my relatively young age. But I have always perceived MARTA as an organization that got a grand initial investment and then mismanaged it to hell. It seemed like quality was never much of a goal. Seems like the overall attitude of MARTA has changed thanks to Mr Parker. His actions are slowly but surely proving this.

I guess I'm really not expecting much to come of this speech / article. Uhhhhh, funding? But its great to see talk of expansion rather than deficits.

Agreed. Good post!

[bu2]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i'm all for heavy rail out I-20 and up 400 (i live in alpharetta), but what we *really* need is more connections intown— i'm talking west midtown, down north avenue to the O4W and ponce city market, and of course the forementioned clifton corridor project. if we don't have those last mile (or last five mile) connections, running trains to the suburbs is only going to do so much. of course, alpharetta is an exception to this rule because it's a major job center in its own right, but generally the intown subways are insufficient.

Where would you put it?

[bu2]

They probably could have built the east line to Stonecrest if they hadn't spent so much money on studies they never did anything about.

Clifton Corridor needs to be MARTA, not a toy light rail train running on heavily traveled streets. That and Roswell should be the top priorities, but those are both pretty expensive. We really shouldn't go out to north Alpharetta. There isn't the density. You have to go through miles of nothing (now you have to go through miles of flood plain to get to Roswell-but it gets more populated after).

[MattCW]

You can't define a user of public infrastructure as someone who only rides the train or drives on the street. That's like saying a user of the police is only someone who is arrested, or calls 911. In my town, there are plenty of streets I've never been on once, but those streets host several large industries that bring millions of dollars into the city not just in taxes. Because of them, I enjoy a stronger police force that keeps crime down for me, as well as enough people around to support the local businesses which keeps them open and available for me. So "user fees" applied only to direct users basically creates free-loaders out of everyone else. It's also a false selfishness, since sure you'll be able to keep a small extra amount of your money, but what do you get out of it? Far less than if everyone is taxed, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by bu2

They probably could have built the east line to Stonecrest if they hadn't spent so much money on studies they never did anything about.

Clifton Corridor needs to be MARTA, not a toy light rail train running on heavily traveled streets.

There's nothing toy light rail about it. The light rail is far cheaper than the Heavy Rail would be, and allows the sharing of right of way where it would be incredibly expensive to build the dedicated RoW needed for heavy rail. Even so, very little of it will be truly shared, there will be dedicated reservations or lanes for most. But it will provide a huge benefit. Currently, there is no transit means of traveling between Avondale and Lindbergh that is much less than an hour. Clifton LRT will cut that down to 28 minutes last I looked which is less than drive-time during the rush hour, and about the same as driving off-peak.

That and Roswell should be the top priorities, but those are both pretty expensive. We really shouldn't go out to north Alpharetta. There isn't the density. You have to go through miles of nothing (now you have to go through miles of flood plain to get to Roswell-but it gets more populated after).

I take it you don't travel to Alpharetta very often, there is tons of density up that way, and tons of traffic. 400 is shrouded by trees so it's not easy to see the development.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by cqholt

MARTA can only serve those areas that approved the 1% sales tax to fund the system. Fulton and DeKalb counties only. Clayton County residents did approve a non-binding vote, but the county commission never put a binding vote to the public.

Pull an Obama, he breaks laws all the time. Kind of like Cobb county. Why ask the residents? Unfortunately, Gwinnett and Cobb now have their fiefdoms (Gwinnett county transit and Cobb county transit). Just getting harder by the year. Sooner or later, the other counties won't have a choice.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

MARTA can only serve those areas that approved the 1% sales tax to fund the system. Fulton and DeKalb counties only. Clayton County residents did approve a non-binding vote, but the county commission never put a binding vote to the public.

You sort of have to feel sorry for the folks in Cobb, Clayton, Gwinnett, etc.

They are paying a goodly share of the MARTA tax but can't get any service.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by arjay57

You sort of have to feel sorry for the folks in Cobb, Clayton, Gwinnett, etc.

They are paying a goodly share of the MARTA tax but can't get any service.

But they don't have to pay for it, yet they choose to. If they don't like it, then they don't have to shop in Fulton/Dekalb counties.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by red92s

My garage would ideally be double it's size. With funding, I am ready to jump right on it.


. . . this game is fun!

/THREAD

[demonta4]

Question: If Cobb and Gwinnett tried to create a rail system would you ride it?

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by arjay57

MARTA should build a line that goes out to Matt's house since he is being forced to commute 45 miles a day but not one to Neil's house since he doesn't need it.

I'll be okay if they will just replace the streetcar line to Buckhead that got torn out about 75 years ago.

Arjay, I think you just won the internet.