Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrea
That's the point isn't it? Of course cars aren't going away in a city like ours. Instead of giving the automobile absolute priority at all times and places, however, we're identifying some built up zones where unfettered speed driving needs to compromise a little, in order to peacefully co-exist with more urban forms.
We don't need a 1970s style ramp interchange in the middle of Midtown just so that motorists can go barreling on to the Buford Highway at top speed. This is a city, for Pete's sake! Let drivers pull up to the intersection, and then move on to the highway at a reasonable pace that doesn't intimidate walkers and cyclists or turn the surrounding businesses into an invisible and irrelevant blur.
It's a myth that old-timey freeway interchanges are efficient ways to move large numbers of people anyway. Anyone driving on any of our major freeways at heavy traffic times will see enormous gaggles of vehicles at every exit, both trying to get on and get off the Superslab.
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Okay to respond to the "highways as dinosaurs" argument, let me reiterate: I am not against this plan. I'm thinking about both sides of the issue and I'm trying to see if this plan can be implemented in a way that benefits all parties. I think the idea of a mid-bridge HOV entrance on 14th street is a workable solution. It is not a blast from the 70's, isn't particularly expensive, and would promote carpooling while taking cars off of the surface street before they hit the reorganized area. This will allow and new projects to benefit from not being tainted by the perception of a traffic nightmare.
I think this solution would absolutely enhance the benefits of the plan.
As for the philosophical argument about making places more pedestrian oriented, that may be fine and I have no problem with it and I would prefer it myself, but I may have to rain a bit on the parade by mentioning that the use of automobile isn't going to be replaced in the name of new energy or the environment. It will simply evolve into a different vehicle that isn't dependent on oil.
Fortunately or unfortunately, that alone would solve the environmental problems associated with driving without the added expense of trying to make our cities more efficient.
Personally, my priorities lie in making the city more family oriented and solving the problems of deterioration of some of the less pristine communities. It is a little disconcerting that so much could be spent to reorganize a working upscale part of the city while swaths of West Atlanta are mostly ignored.
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Too bad most of this sounds like routine maintenance work rather than actually increasing transportation options. I guess $3.4 billion doesn't buy what it used to...
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