ATLANTA TRANSIT (Marta, Beltline, Peachtree Streetcar, LovJoy Commuter, etc...) - Page 16

RobMidtowner · #**301** Posted **Jan 8, 2007, 6:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea

They might move a little faster. The motivation to get operational is somewhat different for Wall Street financiers and private contractors who are relying on toll income than it is for state DOT's.

Well I read somewhere that even if they started right now using a design-build method, it would be at least 6 years until it's fully operational.

atlantaguy · #**302** Posted **Jan 8, 2007, 6:12 PM**

Actually, I hope they drag it out as long as possible so we have time to convert the BRT line up there to LRT - as it was supposed to be.

sabino86 · #**303** Posted **Jan 9, 2007, 2:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmoga

Thanks for the plug, I wrote that article! Unfortunately it depends on where within a 5 mile circle you live. The problem in Atlanta is that people may not know that they have a transit alternative therefore never take advantage of it. There are plenty of folks that have moved here from areas that have mass transit and like taking it. They've gotten used to driving there cars and never thought to look into a MARTA option because of the stigma that "MARTA doesn't go anywhere".

It would be cool if others who ride MARTA would write similar commute descriptions. People who don't understand or are intimidated by maps and timetables can read a narrative that sell the idea to them. I believe the only way to change the transit adverse mind set in Atlanta is though grassroots ideas like this. Simply complaining about politicians and policies isn't going change things.

Prior to getting a GSU M-Deck parking pass, I used to take MARTA from Lindbergh to Five Points (for the main campus) or Peachtree Center (for classes in Aderhold). Total commute time including driving: about 35 minutes.

However, while I am a big MARTA supporter, I am currently driving to school because it only takes 20 minutes and I might need my car for immediate purposes while at or after school (fraternity stuff, bar hopping, mingling with the females

, etc.)

LoveAtlanta · #**304** Posted **Jan 9, 2007, 3:15 AM**

i think we have to find transportation solution for Atlanta to connect downtown, midtown and buckhead.
Streetcar is fab solution. It would allow tourist to cruise city and that would bring $$$ to the city. We have to have more attraction in Atlanta to attract more tourist here

RobMidtowner · #**305** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 4:47 PM**

Man I hope this doesn't take too long to get started.

Newnan_Eric · #**306** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 5:23 PM**

I do hope that somehow Atlanta and the State of Georgia can get their act together to fund these projects. I do think that MARTA could help itself a bit though...

1. Service issues need to be dealt with. The renovated rail cars should help, but they need to accelerate that process.

2. They need to create some buzz. I was thnking about this and I came up with an idea that is a little off the wall, but could kill two birds with one stone: Install new shelters on Peachtree (for the current "Peach" line and later the Peachtree Trolley). These new shelters would be an artistic design and carry a style throughout the length of the line. Think of the Art Nouveau entrances to the Paris Metro, but they could be a different style that would better suit Atlanta.

Something distinctive like the above would certainly get people's attention. It would help fill a void in this city in regards to our lack of public art. It could possibly increase ridership. If done really well, they could become recognizable symbols of our city - I mean when you see a photo of one of Mssr. Guimard's entrances, you know its Paris.

I know this would cost some money, but MARTA is usually short on the operations side and this would come out of the capital expenditures side. Besides, it has been mentioned that MARTA needs more shelters anyway. Yes, it is a little gimmicky, but heck if it works go with it.

Tombstoner · #**307** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 6:46 PM**

This is a good idea, but before we think of this sort of thing, let's install some bus shelters that 1) remind people that there is transit on the street and 2) make it more comfortable to wait for buses. It would be good if they looked distinctive, but really, anything is better than nothing. It's ridiculous to see people have to wait for buses in the rain and in the heat and then wonder why transit is unpopular.

RobMidtowner · #**308** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 7:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tombstoner

This is a good idea, but before we think of this sort of thing, let's install some bus shelters that 1) remind people that there is transit on the street and 2) make it more comfortable to wait for buses. It would be good if they looked distinctive, but really, anything is better than nothing. It's ridiculous to see people have to wait for buses in the rain and in the heat and then wonder why transit is unpopular.

There's a "bus shelter" at Peachtree and 25th Street in Brookwood that's located right next to a dip (pot hole) in the road so whenever it rains the bus shelter and bench get soaked by every passing car! People waiting for the bus are forced to stand about 10' back on the sidewalk until the bus comes. I don't know who should fix this, but from the transit users point of view it's like someone's saying "nobody is interested in making this trip anymore pleasant for you, so just sit there get soaked and give us your money ok?" And they wonder why MARTA has such a bad reputation? I want to see MARTA be that world-class transit alternative that it was intended to be but to get there it needs improvement in a lot of areas. GT has well-designed and well-used bus shelters that are recessed from the street to provide adequate space. They're also located near activity centers on campus so taking the bus is always a viable alternative.

LoveAtlanta · #**309** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 8:10 PM**

well if swiss have it we can have it too. we make same amount of money per capita as swiss people

Tombstoner · #**310** Posted **Jan 16, 2007, 10:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveAtlanta

well if swiss have it we can have it too. we make same amount of money per capita as swiss people

I don't get the principle at work here...I can see California as the popular imagination's version of France, but everything else seems random...New Hampshire as Bangladesh???

cabasse · #**311** Posted **Jan 17, 2007, 12:09 AM**

i think it's just a map drawing comparisons between the gdp of various states and their equivalent countries, or maybe income per capita? i'd love to see an explanation, loveatlanta.

RobMidtowner · #**312** Posted **Jan 17, 2007, 2:23 PM**

Plan may rally rail to Lovejoy

By PAUL DONSKY, ERIC STIRGUS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 01/17/07

A compromise plan is being floated that could put the star-crossed Lovejoy commuter rail project back on track, two weeks after Clayton County commissioners reneged on a pledge to cover the transit line's operating costs.

Eldrin Bell, chairman of the Clayton County Commission, now says he wants the annual cost capped, though he won't offer a figure. State officials estimate the transit line's operating deficit at $4 million a year. The county commission had originally agreed to cover the entire deficit, no matter how big.

A cap "will give us a greater sense of what we have to come up with," Bell said Tuesday.

Bowing to pressure from residents who say county money should not be used for the rail line, Bell said he hoped to tap other sources, such as a transportation sales tax that could one day be levied in the region.

"I do not intend to go to the taxpayers for one dime in property taxes unless it is absolutely an emergency," he said.

Bell's middle-ground proposal may not be enough to keep the project moving forward, state officials said. The state has no money to operate the line long-term, and no work can start until federal officials — who are helping to pay for the project — see a plan to cover costs for 10 years. The line would take about two years to build.

The decision by Clayton officials to back off their earlier promise has put the entire project in doubt.

"It's certainly not positive," said David Spear, a Department of Transportation spokesman. "It's just another challenge in what's been a series of challenges on a very challenging project."

Because virtually no rail system is self-sustaining, the question is who will cover the financial shortfall.

Clayton commissioner Wole Ralph said he favors a plan in which the Atlanta region would contribute. After all, plans call for the route to one day extend south through Henry and Griffin counties all the way to Macon.

Ralph supports a regional sales tax, saying he's talked to some Atlanta officials on the same topic. He's less committed to a cap on operations costs.

"The cap is good, but a cap still puts Clayton County on the line for operations costs," he said. "Commuter rail can be successful as long as it's regional."

A regional sales tax for transportation has been discussed in local business and political circles, but the idea would require a new state law and voter approval. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is leading a call for the state General Assembly to pass a law that would allow a regional sales tax to be levied.

In addition, metro political and transportation leaders have formed a regional Transit Planning Board that is looking for new ways of paying for transit initiatives. Bell chairs the group.

Bell wants a 20-year regional transportation sales tax to fund bus and commuter rail projects, along with maintenance and operations costs for ongoing service.

"I'm looking holistic," Bell said. "A vision for the future."

The state has $109 million to build a rail line between Atlanta and Lovejoy, mostly from federal money. Passenger fares are estimated to cover 40 percent of the yearly $7 million maintenance and operation costs.

The transit line has been controversial, with some political and community leaders saying it won't do enough to alleviate traffic congestion on highways. The DOT estimates the line will handle 1,500 passenger round trips a day.

The state is working out an agreement with Norfolk Southern to use the freight company's tracks. The state would pay for upgrades for greater capacity and higher speeds.

Bell says he fears his board's vote has convinced state and federal officials the county doesn't want a commuter rail line. At stake is more than $87 million in federal grants to help pay for the project.

LoveAtlanta · #**313** Posted **Jan 17, 2007, 3:03 PM**

it is gdp of countries.
so in comparison GA has same gdp as swiss

we should have tram like this to connect downtown, midtown and buckhead

Tombstoner · #**314** Posted **Jan 17, 2007, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveAtlanta

it is gdp of countries.
so in comparison GA has same gdp as swiss

Oh...I get it

Yeah, that's a nice tram.

smArTaLlone · #**315** Posted **Jan 17, 2007, 4:40 PM**

Unfortunately it doesn't matter what the GDP of the state is if transit remains very low on the state's priority list.

RobMidtowner · #**316** Posted **Jan 25, 2007, 3:58 PM**

If there was ever a day that transit is on people's mind, I bet it's today with the total gridlock caused by two conventions going on in the city. Wall-to-wall traffic on I-75 and surrounding surface streets from Woodstock all the way to Philips Arena. If only people realize that today is a preview of what traffic would be like in 2030 without MAJOR interstate expansion or some other upgrade to get people in the city. Hopefully more people than just us forumers see the necessity of expanding our transit network sooner rather than later.

Andrea · #**317** Posted **Jan 25, 2007, 6:22 PM**

Critics grouse: Does the train have wheels?

Quote:

What's clear is that Atlantans hoping to hop a Beltline trolley or train -- well, they're going to be a whole lot older before they get that chance.

Terry Montague, the new president of Beltline Inc., insists "transit is at the heart" of the project and that "preparation for transit is very much underway." But she concedes "the 'when' question is hard to answer."

Five years? Eight years? A decade, maybe two? No one can say. Compare Atlanta's invisible-ink timetable with that of other cities, and there's reason for tut-tutting.

"Denver and Salt Lake City have planned and built rail lines while we've been talking," says Cathy Woolard, who, when she was City Council president, became the mom of the Beltline. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told CL that the latest addition to his city’s rail system, a $1.7 billion, 19-mile line, was conceived planned and opened in less that seven years — only a little longer than Atlanta has wrestled with the Beltline concept.

RobMidtowner · #**318** Posted **Jan 25, 2007, 6:29 PM**

sabino86 · #**319** Posted **Jan 25, 2007, 8:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobMidtowner

If there was ever a day that transit is on people's mind, I bet it's today with the total gridlock caused by two conventions going on in the city. Wall-to-wall traffic on I-75 and surrounding surface streets from Woodstock all the way to Philips Arena. If only people realize that today is a preview of what traffic would be like in 2030 without MAJOR interstate expansion or some other upgrade to get people in the city. Hopefully more people than just us forumers see the necessity of expanding our transit network sooner rather than later.

25 mile backups on I-75 between Wade Green and Williams St?

RobMidtowner · #**320** Posted **Jan 25, 2007, 8:32 PM**

Lobby for Commuter Rail at the State Capitol on Wednesday February 14, 2007

8:30am Orientation -- across the street from Capitol at
Central Presbyterian Church (Rand Chapel)

9:30am-11:30am Join The Brain Train Group at Capitol

On February 14, give your Valentine the gift of Commuter Rail. Let legislators know their constituents care about permanent congestion relief. Commuter rail from Macon to Atlanta to Athens is a real possibility, but only if we push.

Never lobbied before? Citizens for Progressive Transit and the Sierra Club are sponsoring an orientation at 8:30am. Seasoned lobbyists will tell you all you need to know. Meet in the Rand Chapel of Central Presbyterian Church 201 Washington Street, Atlanta directly across the street from the Capitol.

At 9:30am, we’ll join The Brain Train Group at the velvet ropes outside the House and Senate sending notes to and speaking with our legislators.

Get the names of your state senator and state representative at http://votesmart.org. Bring the names with you and we’ll show you how to get in touch with them on February 14.

http://www.cfpt.org/