ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[gttx]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

MARTA can eat shit and die for all I care. Why the hell should I have to pay by the mile, when the train has to go there anyway. I have to walk three and a half miles to get to a bus stop. What a crock of shit-I'de love to be the one to tell the CEO just how shitty her transportation system is. How 'bout you work on customer service-that's free and will get you more riders. How 'bout not running $60 million shortfalls-didn't you just blow a huge chunk of change to build the railyard at Lindbergh that ran over by $27 million? Didn't you just spend god knows how much to convert to the breeze system that charges $5 for a piece of plastic that expires and .50 for the paper version? Talk about extortion. I'll be sure to save up for a car so i never have to give another dime to that hell hole when that plan goes into effect.

Wow, that was quite a response.

A distance-based cost system seems more equitable to me than the current fare system. Sure, it might cost more to commute in from North Springs, but local (Midtown-to-Downtown, etc) trips will probably come out less than $2.00. How much sense does it make that, as the system currently works, I pay the same amount to go from the airport all the way to North Springs as I do to jump on a train for 2-3 stops?

[DonTallPaul]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

MARTA can eat shit and die for all I care. Why the hell should I have to pay by the mile, when the train has to go there anyway. I have to walk three and a half miles to get to a bus stop. What a crock of shit-I'de love to be the one to tell the CEO just how shitty her transportation system is. How 'bout you work on customer service-that's free and will get you more riders. How 'bout not running $60 million shortfalls-didn't you just blow a huge chunk of change to build the railyard at Lindbergh that ran over by $27 million? Didn't you just spend god knows how much to convert to the breeze system that charges $5 for a piece of plastic that expires and .50 for the paper version? Talk about extortion. I'll be sure to save up for a car so i never have to give another dime to that hell hole when that plan goes into effect.

You are entitled to your opinion but you have may missed that MARTA is required by law to spend 50% of their money on capital projects (which they've tried to get changed several times). This often leads to operating short falls and capital investments that seem out of place during periods of deficits. Sorry, but those whole spiel on the railyard and breeze system would have to stand on their own merits, and not a direct explanation for the budget shortfall.

However since you had your opinion, mine is the only valid thing you brought up was customer service and the rest was a pointless rant with little true reasoning. But since you'll be out on the roads I use to too, keep your temper down we have enough angry, misinformed, and self important idiots out there f' up our morning commutes.

[briantech]

MARTA's 'Yellow Line' Angers Some In Asian Community

Asian-American activists offended that MARTA re-named the train line into the heart of Atlanta's Asian community the "yellow line" will take their objections to the transit agency's chief on Friday.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/marta-yellow-line-to-294162.html

[BlueSangha]

Originally Posted by briantech

MARTA's 'Yellow Line' Angers Some In Asian Community

Asian-American activists offended that MARTA re-named the train line into the heart of Atlanta's Asian community the "yellow line" will take their objections to the transit agency's chief on Friday.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/marta-yellow-line-to-294162.html

and was there any logical reason for changing the names of the lines to begin with to justify spending money on new maps for all the rails cars and so forth? not in my opinion-now the conductors have something else to trip up on while broadcasting their useless banter over the railcar speakers.

you can say what ever you want about my rants-but i stand by every word. I have been riding marta for 15 yrs and feel justified in what I say. When a company is in the hole like this one-someone needs to be held accountable-there is no accoutability in this company, esp to their customers-something is wrong and it needs to be fixed. I am tired of hearing excuses for the state that MARTA is in-you can play around all day long with the fare structure, but if the way you operate doesn't change-and customer service remains non existant-the outcome will always remain the same. You can't get fundamental movement on changes in the law to allow changes the way MARTA spends its money if your customers are not invested beyond the instumental value of MARTA. Get someone in there that has balls and can get something done! Get someone in there that understands the value of customer service so they can win back the support of the community-someone who can change peoples minds enough to see how important the system is and what would happen without it.

[sunking1056]

Man, BlueSangha.... As a longtime MARTA customer I have no idea what could have sparked your outrage.

Anyway, a minor note: the Breeze cards do not expire.

[Curious Atlantan]

I take Marta to work every day. I find it reasonably reliable, cleaner than most public transit systems elsewhere, and the RFID system was a clear improvement over the clunky token system.
Marta is not perfect and clearly can be improved, but it is underfunded and its bad performance is partly due to the sprawling nature of Atlanta.

[BlueSangha]

Originally Posted by sunking1056

Man, BlueSangha.... As a longtime MARTA customer I have no idea what could have sparked your outrage.

Anyway, a minor note: the Breeze cards do not expire.

My Bad-the tickets do.

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

My Bad-the tickets do.

I think the temporary ones expire, but not the permanent ones.
I take Marta every time I have to go to the airport. I use the Phillips Arena station. My only complaint is I wish there was more security, that station is a ghost town after 6:30pm and I find myself walking fast because of the sketchy people just hanging around there. I also wish Marta stations didn't look like hardened bunkers.

[sevensixtwo]

Originally Posted by briantech

MARTA's 'Yellow Line' Angers Some In Asian Community

LOL!!!

[gttx]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

and was there any logical reason for changing the names of the lines to begin with to justify spending money on new maps for all the rails cars and so forth? not in my opinion-now the conductors have something else to trip up on while broadcasting their useless banter over the railcar speakers.

you can say what ever you want about my rants-but i stand by every word. I have been riding marta for 15 yrs and feel justified in what I say. When a company is in the hole like this one-someone needs to be held accountable-there is no accoutability in this company, esp to their customers-something is wrong and it needs to be fixed. I am tired of hearing excuses for the state that MARTA is in-you can play around all day long with the fare structure, but if the way you operate doesn't change-and customer service remains non existant-the outcome will always remain the same. You can't get fundamental movement on changes in the law to allow changes the way MARTA spends its money if your customers are not invested beyond the instumental value of MARTA. Get someone in there that has balls and can get something done! Get someone in there that understands the value of customer service so they can win back the support of the community-someone who can change peoples minds enough to see how important the system is and what would happen without it.

The biggest problem is the state - both because it gets in MARTA's way all the time and doesn't provide a cent to the system. Fix that, and you will have a much better system. Until then, it's operating with one hand tied behind it's back.

[sabino86]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

MARTA can eat shit and die for all I care. Why the hell should I have to pay by the mile, when the train has to go there anyway. I have to walk three and a half miles to get to a bus stop. What a crock of shit-I'de love to be the one to tell the CEO just how shitty her transportation system is. How 'bout you work on customer service-that's free and will get you more riders. How 'bout not running $60 million shortfalls-didn't you just blow a huge chunk of change to build the railyard at Lindbergh that ran over by $27 million? Didn't you just spend god knows how much to convert to the breeze system that charges $5 for a piece of plastic that expires and .50 for the paper version? Talk about extortion. I'll be sure to save up for a car so i never have to give another dime to that hell hole when that plan goes into effect.

Tell us how you really feel...

[DonTallPaul]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

you can say what ever you want about my rants-but i stand by every word. I have been riding marta for 15 yrs and feel justified in what I say. When a company is in the hole like this one-someone needs to be held accountable-there is no accoutability in this company, esp to their customers-something is wrong and it needs to be fixed. I am tired of hearing excuses for the state that MARTA is in-you can play around all day long with the fare structure, but if the way you operate doesn't change-and customer service remains non existant-the outcome will always remain the same. You can't get fundamental movement on changes in the law to allow changes the way MARTA spends its money if your customers are not invested beyond the instumental value of MARTA. Get someone in there that has balls and can get something done! Get someone in there that understands the value of customer service so they can win back the support of the community-someone who can change peoples minds enough to see how important the system is and what would happen without it.

Yep, and I'm pretty sure I did. And thankfully, you seemed to have at least backed off the capital spending rant, which was probably smart.

The sad thing, is in some ways (though without the listen to me pointless internet anger) I agree with you. I think there is more in terms of customer service they could do without impacting budgets and a LOT more they could do about being involvement in the community. I'm not sure I entirely agree about the balls to do something - the current GM if I recall has gone to battle with the state reps on a couple of times. I'm sure its not everything that could be done, but its pretty easy to cast stones when we don't live with the frustration they probably do.

I think someone said it best, its hard to completely judge a system when its both not funded and has a hand tied behind its back. Your argument and feelings would carry a lot more weight if the state simply stayed out of the way and MARTA mismanaged itself, or if they state provided sufficient funding for the limitations it placed on MARTA. But it does neither, so at least some of the non customer service issues seem pretty resonable.

What I would like to know, is if you feel this way about it and have for 15 years, why haven't you voted with your feet until now? I mean, if you felt this way after the first month, you might want to consider other options. Though, I'm guessing then you wouldn't have naything to complain about... but I suppose that would just be an assumption about someone I don't know.

[cybele]

Well I don't think the MARTA is all that bad. No it's not some big lovey-dovey thing but I have had drivers wait on me when I was having trouble getting on the bus. After all they do have a schedule to run and they can't wait around all day for every Tom, Dick and Harry to decide whether the bus is clean enough for his tastes.

One thing I have wondered about is why there isn't more development around the transit stations? Some of them have quite a bit but many of them have about zero or very little. Makes you wonder whether this Beltline will bring in all the development they are talking about.

[delarosa]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

and was there any logical reason for changing the names of the lines to begin with to justify spending money on new maps for all the rails cars and so forth?.

I haven't read any specifics (I'm sure they're well publicized), but my hunch is that it's to a great extent for usability benefit. The existing implementation, including the wayfinding and affordance (in the usability sense) are/were abysmal for locals to say nothing of foreign tourists, etc. Such an improvement would certainly qualify as a capital costs, but as to cost/benefit relative to other pending capital projects, I couldn't say.

[scpatl4now]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

and was there any logical reason for changing the names of the lines to begin with to justify spending money on new maps for all the rails cars and so forth? not in my opinion-now the conductors have something else to trip up on while broadcasting their useless banter over the railcar speakers.

The justification for the color coded system is that people not familiar with Atlanta dont know where in the hell Doraville is located, but can more easily identify a color since most transit in major cities do that. As for the cost to reprint signage...and being in that business I can tell you with certainty the cost will be minimal. It makes for better customer service especially for people not familiar with Atlanta. My only question is who was the dork who decided the Doraville train would be the Yellow line. I've even heard that they were warned about it and did it anyway...now, that is just plain stupid

[scpatl4now]

In the AJC today...hows about them apples. Kinda flies in the face of Republicans who say it was a failure dont you think?

[micropundit]

The Atlanta Beltline announces the selection of a team led by the Atlanta office of Perkins + Will and New York firm James Corner Field Operations to design the 22-mile corridor encircling intown Atlanta. The team will be responsible for creating the look and its comprehensive design standards, which will be the Beltline’s playbook throughout its multi-year development.

Perkins+Will’s team is led by a trio who knows Atlanta well: landscape architect Leo Alvarez, architect John Threadgill and urban designer Ryan Gravel, whose graduate thesis is the basis of the BeltLine project. James Corner Field Operations recently completed the design of The High Line in New York City, one of the most innovative urban park projects in the United States. Some 19 firms will be involved.
The project’s scope is huge. According the statement issued today, it encompasses civil and structural engineering; surveys; utilities; streetscapes; landscape design; trails; transit; stations; bridges; tunnels; historic preservation; public art locations; and signage. The team will also define the physical boundaries of the corridor and identify engineering constraints and design functional elements, such as trash receptacles.

Also huge: the prestige of this plum commission and the stakes. The $2.8 billion Beltline project impacts 45 neighborhoods. If successful, it will be transformative in terms of transportation, park and recreation space, residential and commercial development and public art. The team’s task, as Beltline president and CEO Brian Leary said, is nothing less than “building the BeltLine’s foundation.”

[scpatl4now]

I just finished reading this about how FL got a huge chunk of high speed rail stimulus funding...and its take on GA is scathing, to say the least

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/10/how-florida-cashed-in-on_n_454467.html

These clowns in the Gold Dome just dont get it...at all

[simms3_redux]

First, the FL HSR will be a huge redliner and will cost way too much money. Nobody will ride it and it won't be "High Speed" like we think of in Europe or Asia. That being said, we here in GA do not need that kind of waste. BTW Karen Handel, who I am supporting, has expressed numerous times that rail is going to be an essential part of GA's infrastructure, freight and pasenger. She also believes that heavy rail is not the future of urban transit, but I do not know exactly what option she thinks is, haven't had that talk with her. It could very well be streetcars or lightrail.

On MARTA, the biggest issue is safety. I know this from first hadn experience. I live right near the Art Center Station and ride MARTA fairly frequently, but nowadays only when I have to. This past summer (and I hate to bring race in to this, but I have to) I (having had drinking and driving violations) wanted to take MARTA to a bar, where I would meet people. This was around 11. I, thinking Art Center Station in midtown on the N-S line would be safe. Well, at that hour I was the only white person, and amidst a much lower class of people. It was not long before one was taunting me and asking me questions so I moved away. The guy continued and then when I would not give him my phone to borrow, he out of the blue socked me in the face. His posse came over and surrounded me and he proceeded to beat the crap out of me while some in the group chanted beat whitie etc. I escaped after none of the 30 or so other bystanders came to help me and I was bleeding everywhere. I found the two MARTA "cops" just coming out of the upstairs back coffee room joking and looking at me. There was no concern there. They wanted me to walk back down to the platform with them, amazingly (I was a little scared at that point because even with the cops, I was the only white person, and ATL cops have given me reverse racist remarks before), but at the time they were of no help. The guys escaped, none of the bystanders of course knew anything, even though some were talking to that posse creepy group before everything went down. I told the cops I was fine and went back to my place to clean up, but I was in great pain. After I would not stop bleeding I went to the ER the next day, had a CAT scan, received stitches on my eyebrow, and found out I had a broken nose and an orbital fracture (cheekbone). Eventually the main culprit was found, and I told authorities I wanted to prosecute when I was asked. After that, after numerous calls back to find out what I needed to do, nobody called back, nobody answered my calls.

This is a chilly reminder that there are some serious safety issues with MARTA (Im sure we all know someone who has a similar story or who has at least been mugged). This is also proof that there is just a huge problem in Atl in general. I love Atlanta and am a student at GT, and I want to stay and find work here, but when I think of some of the scary situations I have been in here, it makes me want to leave. GT students in particular have had a rough couple of years, whether on MARTA or just around the stations. It is a shame.

[sunking1056]

Originally Posted by simms3

This is a chilly reminder that there are some serious safety issues with MARTA

It's truly awful that that happened to you.

But it's really more a chilly reminder of an extreme and rare circumstance.