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

[Pessimistic Observer]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world

please find another thread to haunt

on a side note cobb's already canceled service for monday
what a county of wusses thats what governor edmund randolph would say

[Fiorenza]

please find another thread to haunt

Sorry, you have no say unless you're a mod.

You guys need to understand why your attempts to add 1% transportation tax on the cost of living in an already tax-overburdened Georgia are doomed to failure in 2012.

[mike1986]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Sorry, you have no say unless you're a mod.

You guys need to understand why your attempts to add 1% transportation tax on the cost of living in an already tax-overburdened Georgia are doomed to failure in 2012.

LOL, tax overburdened? Georgia has some of the lowest taxes in the country across the board. I'll take a small one cent sales tax on the cost of living to ensure we can maintain a high quality of life. I don't want to see Atlanta and the state of Georgia wither up and die like you do. It's only doomed to fail if there are enough uninformed and stubborn voters like yourself.

[Fiorenza]

Georgia is not one of the wealthier states, but we're fiscally in better shape than most. I'd like to keep it that way.

Poor people can't afford an additional 1% regressive sales tax for unnecessary pork barrel projects. For a family that spends $20,000 on personal expenditures, that's $200.

[mike1986]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Georgia is not one of the wealthier states, but we're fiscally in better shape than most. I'd like to keep it that way.

Poor people can't afford an additional 1% regressive sales tax for unnecessary pork barrel projects. For a family that spends $20,000 on personal expenditures, that's $200.

A one cent sales tax is not going to break the bank or put the state in financial peril. Also, transportation/infrastructure projects are not pork barrel projects (and we don't even know what is on the project list yet). What are you smoking?

[Fiorenza]

A one cent sales tax is not going to break the bank or put the state in financial peril.

1% here, 1% there...

[mike1986]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

1% here, 1% there...

I am not saying we should raise taxes everywhere just because they are generally low here compared to most places. But let's face it, metro Atlanta needs infrastructure and transportation improvements. You cannot deny this and it is hurting our competitiveness as a state and region. I don't mind my money going towards things like infrastructure because they have positive returns and benefits. You are entitled to your opinion, but your argument is pretty ridiculous, sorry.

[Fiorenza]

Also, concept vehicles are planned which will not take so much road space per unit, meaning big infrastructure projects will no longer be required.

http://www.gmexpo2010.com/en-v/en/videos

[Pessimistic Observer]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Also, concept vehicles are planned which will not take so much road space per unit, meaning big infrastructure projects will no longer be required.

http://www.gmexpo2010.com/en-v/en/videos

they showed that at ces no plans on production though
heres an article on what the car of the now should be like
if your a tech enthusiest
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/editorial-im-ready-for-my-car-of-the-future-and-it-doesnt-ev/
not sure how long it will take the south to adopt smaller vehicles
though

[cybele]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Also, concept vehicles are planned which will not take so much road space per unit, meaning big infrastructure projects will no longer be required.

Well, that is a pretty durn good idea. The day of the Buick has come and gone, all a man needs is to get from A to point B. No reason you can't make the little ones just as nice on the inside.

[echinatl]

We are not overtaxed here in Ga. The way you talk I'm surprised you're even on this board. I figured you'd be against skyscrapers and cities and would feel better on a board devoted to country and farm living. Perhaps something like FarmsAnd2StoryRanchHomes.com would be a better fit for you? Na I'm just kidding, it's important to have different opinions, but seriously I bet the majority of your reading comes from severely right leaning blogs...I'd suggest branching out a bit.

New Prius was also announced today, with a concept vehicle set to launch 2012. With the Volt and Leaf shipping now, the next few years should be pretty exciting if you're in the alt fuel vehicle camp. Even if you aren't the tech is amazing. It's like when I first bought a 26" LCD tv for 3,000 dollars. 7 years later they're under 300! Car pricing should follow that same trend.

When it comes to roads, I feel like we should freeze new road construction state wide except for projects that increase capacity from the port of Savannah. And focus on optimizing what we already have. AJC had some articles about a few projects that will save hundreds of millions of dollars by improving efficiency, not increasing capacity.

[cybele]

Originally Posted by echinatl

When it comes to roads, I feel like we should freeze new road construction state wide except for projects that increase capacity from the port of Savannah. And focus on optimizing what we already have. AJC had some articles about a few projects that will save hundreds of millions of dollars by improving efficiency, not increasing capacity.

Well, where is the article on that if you know where it is.

On the electric hybrid thing I would probably go with GM based on the reputation and what-have-you. They have always made a solid automobile with good legroom which you can't always say for the others.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

Well Atlanta either does this or builds more roads... like possibly a Northern Arc somewhere. If not, then Atlanta will stagnate, and I see that happening with the "recovery" as well as water issues. My guess is that Georgia will reach a deal with its neighbors to cap its share at what it consumes at present and no more, in exchange for some compensation. The Atlanta growth machine will come to a halt over the next few years, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But most of the new growth will go to the metros in NC as well as Tennessee and even Alabama.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's just what I see. 2012 is make or break for Atlanta.

The Atlanta growth machine has been going strong since Reconstruction. You really think it's going to come to a halt in such a short period of time after 150 years? The economy has been bad almost everywhere - not just in Atlanta. The city will rebound as it always does and be even better for the adversity...as it always is.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

"Transit projects for Atlanta." You guys will never stop with that. There's no money. No matter how expensive gas is, nothing is going to happen. The national decline has set in and inflation will prevent further infrastructure improvements. The smart money is gone away.

...and the future is nothing but doom and despair.

Luckily Atlantans have always had a better outlook than most of those currently in these threads - hence the tremendous growth and development of this city over the last century and a half.

[Fiorenza]

I bet the majority of your reading comes from severely right leaning blogs...I'd suggest branching out a bit.

All I'm saying is, the US and Atlanta are in decline. The deficit is not just a theory. We can no longer afford the discretionary items like infrastructure improvements.

The Atlanta growth machine has been going strong since Reconstruction. You really think it's going to come to a halt in such a short period of time after 150 years? The economy has been bad almost everywhere - not just in Atlanta. The city will rebound as it always does and be even better for the adversity...as it always is.

The Atlanta fall in income, employment and real estate value is worse than any other metropolitan area in the country except Detroit. I think the situation will not turn around - and we better accept it. That's my opinion.

[shivtim]

^You're right, you better move to North Dakota, they have an unemployment rate under 3%, and they don't spend anything on unnecessary infrastructure.

[Fiorenza]

I'm tied to Atlanta with golden handcuffs, but if I were a younger person I'd be elsewhere.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

The Atlanta growth machine has been going strong since Reconstruction. You really think it's going to come to a halt in such a short period of time after 150 years? The economy has been bad almost everywhere - not just in Atlanta. The city will rebound as it always does and be even better for the adversity...as it always is.

No, but it's been slowing for the past 10, and I'm not talking about population: I'm talking about economic and job growth. Look what happened to, for example, Chicago: They slowed down rather suddenly in the 1970's and 1980's after 130 years of breakneck growth. And only since 1990 have they managed moderate growth through high levels of immigration to offset high levels of domestic out-migration.

I'm not saying that's definitely what will happen to Atlanta. Atlanta is at an advantageous location lying in the center of three huge population clusters that are now bleeding domestic migrants people left and right: The Northeast, The Great Lakes, and Florida. But the days when growth in Atlanta was taken for granted are over. Metro Atlanta could very well gain 2 million people this decade, or only 200,000. I would not be shocked by either figure.

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by cybele

Well, where is the article on that if you know where it is.

On the electric hybrid thing I would probably go with GM based on the reputation and what-have-you. They have always made a solid automobile with good legroom which you can't always say for the others.

Was able to find it: http://www.ajc.com/news/state-to-give-new-752905.html

The Volt is very deserving of all the awards it's received. Very neat piece of machinery.

[mike1986]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

All I'm saying is, the US and Atlanta are in decline. The deficit is not just a theory. We can no longer afford the discretionary items like infrastructure improvements.



The Atlanta fall in income, employment and real estate value is worse than any other metropolitan area in the country except Detroit. I think the situation will not turn around - and we better accept it. That's my opinion.

So you are basically just giving up on Atlanta? Why bother with badly needed infrastructure improvements when you think it won't matter, right? That's pretty ridiculous way to look at things... I mean, one reason Atlanta grew so much is due to our past investments in infrastructure. Now the growth has more than caught up with those investments, and we need to re-invest to ensure we stay competitive. And, we can afford it... with a one cent sales tax that will bring in billions of dollars. It's a very small sacrifice to ensure the state and metro area you and I live in and have a vested interest in continues to prosper.

Atlanta was one of the, if not the fastest growing metro areas in the country in all aspects... so wouldn't it be fair to say that during a period of great decline, Atlanta, which grew faster than the rest, would decline faster than everyone else?