If you could change one thing about Atlanta, what would it be? (Jersey: crime, living in)

[jennydowd]

Mass transit, definitely.

[jeweloflight]

Forget waterSOURCE, I just want a real coastline, with a beach. Oh, and can somebody open a real New York Style Pizzeria or an Italian Restaurant? Authentic restaurants....that's it, authentic restaurants. I'm sick of being bound in chains. Chains, chains, all up in chains. Chain restaurants, that is.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by john1963

commuter rail doesn't solve anything. The rail still has to arrive within distance of your job. The infrastructure isn't there, so don't whine about it. Marta would have to greatly increase routes before commuter rail outside the city would work.

Well, commuter rail seems to work for millions of people on long island. It boils down to do you want to sit in your car for an hour, or relax on a train and read a book.[/quote]

Well, I feel I'm being attacked since you quoted me 3 times, but I'll address them again, cordially.

Long Island traffic is horrible, my g/f's family is from there, I've been to Nassau and Suffox(spelling?) county multiple times on business and personal, traffic there is just as bad if not worse. Small free ways, strip mall central, etc.

yes it works for for people who work in Manhattan but my experience tells me most people on long island work on long island.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by john1963

"I'm surprised no one's mentioned major water source. Seems most big cities have a large major water source while Atlanta does not."

Lake Lanier is the major water source. Atlanta drinking water comes from the chattahooche.

yes, I know this, I also know that Allatoona is designed to prevent Rome from flooding and Allatoona pumps water to Lanier. As a lake junkie, born and raised, I'm very familiar with the Corp of Engineers design and procedures.

However, lakes are not a major water source when compared with the rest of the major cities.

They're on the coast, MAJOR rivers, or great lakes. Lanier would not fall in this category

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by john1963

gt wrote: "commuter rail doesn't solve anything. The rail still has to arrive within distance of your job. The infrastructure isn't there, so don't whine about it. Marta would have to greatly increase routes before commuter rail outside the city would work."

I am not whining. Someone asked a survey and i responded. If you don't like my reply that is fine, but there is no need to call me a whiner.
Perhaps you should know the facts before posting; The amtrak line runs from the heart of midtown at peachtree road/I-85 and runs north all the way to new york city, i know cause i have ridden it. It runs very close to I-85 all the way north to lake lanier. A person could go from gwinnett mall to the heart of atlanta on a commuter train. Perhaps you should know your facts before posting un-truths and insulting people who are just trying to help.

I shouldn't have used the term 'whine', I apologize, when I quoted you, but Yankees move down here and feel the need to enforce their big city ways from up North.

I know my facts.. and geography. I grew up in North Cobb, back again and I lived downtown for 6 years, in the middle. Lets look at downtown. How many people actually work within walking distance to the rail system, hardly none when compared to the city as a whole.

When I was at Tech it was so easy to get around downtown that I rarely ever used Marta. The problem is getting in and getting out of the city. But getting in is the issue, yes you can park at a lot and then take a bus/train south, but once you get to a station, how easy is it to get to a job/appointment, etc. It's not!

Yes for anyone that worked w/i 4 blocks of peachtree and lived in Gwinett it would be great. However, that's not common. So if you don't work around that area you're SOL. yes you can take a train to a bus, then another bus, etc, but then wha'ts your commute time add up to be?

Traffic inside the perimeter is not that bad, it's the traffic outside the perimeter. Mainly b/c most people work off 285 somewhere, get a northern arc, Marta, and then maybe I'll agree with some points.

[john1963]

i accept u apology, i too drunk to read all that other stuff. You cool man.

[LLD]

Hmmm... well gt6974a... I'm not a Yankee, being from Texas but I can certainly see the advantages of commuter rail and a good subway system. I don't think either are "big city ways from up North." I think it is just good for any big congested sprawling metro area. I do agree with you though that they need more stations and better connections of buses/shuttles etc so people can get to their places of work. And I agree that some other arteries like the Northern Arc could help too after reading the responses in the thread where I was querying about such an addition to the current road system.

[jjordan]

I support mass transit 100%...but only ITP. I don't think the city of Atlanta should waste money on suburbanites when it could create a world class transit system that would make the city a breeze to get around. OTP, mass transit is largely unsustainable because of the simple fact that everyone wants to live in a single family home on a half-acre lot. The density in the metro area is pathetic and the only place where density is coming is ITP.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by LLD

Hmmm... well gt6974a... I'm not a Yankee, being from Texas but I can certainly see the advantages of commuter rail and a good subway system. I don't think either are "big city ways from up North." I think it is just good for any big congested sprawling metro area. I do agree with you though that they need more stations and better connections of buses/shuttles etc so people can get to their places of work. And I agree that some other arteries like the Northern Arc could help too after reading the responses in the thread where I was querying about such an addition to the current road system.

I think Northern Arc would be a short term solution and then make it worse later, creating more sprawl. I'm expecting an offer on a position that is at peachtree/international blvd., right at a MARTA station. I'll probably use GRAA or whatever it's called to get there b/c parking costs wouldn't be included. But if I worked at Atlantic Station it would be easier to drive. And this is what 15 - 20 blocks.

It goes back to how Atlanta is laid out.

[gottaGetOut]

Destroy the fake racial perceptions. WHERE are all the interracial couples????