Design Your Own MARTA Expansion (Atlanta, Smyrna: sales, contractor, sales tax)

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by mike7586

Does anyone know what happened with this? Sen. Curt Thompson (from Norcross) proposed a MARTA rail expansion bill and the article is somewhat recent (March 2010).

Georgia Senate Press Office » Blog Archive » Sen. Curt Thompson

Looks like it was held up in committee...

Georgia General Assembly - SB 285

[cwkimbro]

Georgia General Assembly - SB 285

This doesn't show it passing the house.

I did a quick skim from the House transportation committee and didn't see anything similar passed, but saw a few similar things that were written differently, but not voted on. Does anyone else who follow the GA legislature have any ideas on this?

This is interesting... It seems to just allow MARTA to enter a contract to provide services in Clayton, Cobb, and Gwinnett.

[RandyWatson13]

Originally Posted by mike7586

I personally think a U-Shaped light rail line from Kennesaw University to Cumberland across the perimeter to Norcross to Gwinnett Place/Duluth would really help. For commuter rail, the line to Athens would be a big economic boost. For commuters going Midtown/Downtown from Cobb, a commuter rail line from Rome to Downtown (with a few stops in Cobb and one in Cumberland) would be cheaper than light rail and heavy rail from Cobb to Midtown/Downtown. A third commuter rail line south to Macon would also be a good option. So... with this plan, both Cobb and Gwinnett get light rail and commuter rail.

I would love to see an expanded MARTA, but the higher cost of heavy rail and the negative perceptions (which are mostly wrong) of MARTA will prevent it from being expanded much more. Although I love the map the OP did, the places that make the most sense for the money for MARTA to expand are north to Roswell, North Point Mall, and Alpharetta and northeast to Norcross. The bridge over 285 is already there to expand to Norcross so it would be easy and less expensive and it makes no sense to build a short light rail line from North Springs to Alpharetta... so if they want rail transit they should just suck it up and expand MARTA up there. I think it would be worth it.

Good idea. There are tons of people that commute from Cumberland to Perimeter vice versa. Hell slap a rail on top 285.

The later these people act the worse it will get.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by mike7586

Does anyone know what happened with this? Sen. Curt Thompson (from Norcross) proposed a MARTA rail expansion bill and the article is somewhat recent (March 2010).

Georgia Senate Press Office » Blog Archive » Sen. Curt Thompson

Woah, didn't even know about that bill. I did a little googling, but I couldn't find anything.

I would definitely email them or call their office, but I'm betting they aren't in because of the holidays.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by tomno00

I don't think it's outdated at all. I can understand being a conservative at the national level, but why people aren't more socialist at the local level, I'll never understand.

Socialism is a term which I think a lot of people blindly equate with "communism," which in turn makes it "bad."

[MiamiRob]

Waronxmas I don't know where you get your Miami figures from but Metrorail carries about 70,000 riders a day & that is on a 22 mile system which is half of the track miles of MARTA's. I will take our transit agencies figures first before Wikipedias!
Miami's Metromover downtown carries about 27,000 to 30,000 riders per day which isn't surprising considering it's free to ride since 2003.
Metrorail's first expansion will be complete in April of 2012 when it connects to the Miami Intermodal Center just east of the Airport. This center will combine Metrorail, Tri-Rail, Amtrak and is designed with a portal for HSR eventually. I expect ridership figures to jump.

As for the OP plans & wishes the Feds don't seem to be to interested in expanding heavy rail whether it be Atlanta or Miami or Chicago or LA which is a shame. For the past few years the focus has been on Light rail instead of Heavy rail. If it weren't for the Obama administration HSR would be a pipe dream!

For the past two years Miami has submitted to the Feds requests for matching funds to extend a 9.5 mile North Line extension to the Broward county line & the FRA has denied it twice. About the only heavy rail line getting Fed backing seems to be the Second Avenue subway in Manhattan & possibly anything DC would want so I wouldn't hold your breath.

Either way I'm schocked the state of Georgia won't even give a penny towards MARTA yet tell them how to spend and/or allocate their funds! Let's hope the Feds realize that cheaper (LRT) doesn't always mean the best! Maybe Atlanta & Miami need to lobby collectivelly for heavy rail expansion funds!

[ostriches]

Seems alot of fantasizing on this thread, instead of reality.
Back in the '70's, Cobb, Clayton & Gwinnett voters, voted against funding for Marta. Since then, Marta has limped along, being underfunded & poorly managed.
Altho' to its accomplishments, it has survived & is adding to quality of life & revived development along the Decatur , Dekalb Ave. & Chamblee corridors. And w/ gas inching up to $4.oo/gal. by summer,... those are the desired areas for developers & density.
Cities that have accomplished quality rail systems have been laying tracks all through the '80's till now. Portland, Seattle, Denver, D.C., Boston, San Diego, etc. Federal funding IS necessary when you're talkin' 100 million per mile to lay heavy rail. Federal funding is not flowing now, and anyone paying attention know the next crisis will be cities all over the country filing for bankruptcy.
The growth as well as business in Atlanta will follow high dollar corridors & is moving north along 400 & east, into Gwinnett. (Gwinnett, whether we like it or not, is attracting international business & securing a future tax base).
I wish someone could show me any real money in Cobb. The Galleria/ Cumberland area hasn't changed much in 20 years. If it were prospering, there should have been overflow north of 285 , along Cobb Parkway. Cobb County has been run by crooked politicians, instead of business savvy visionaries,... we WILL pay the price!!
Marta might be able to secure funding north to Alpharetta. That will be the ONLY direction Marta will build.
Gwinnett County has a complete , thorough plan for light rail to connect to Doravilles Marta. That will see a struggle for funding, just for the fact, less money available. The Gwinnett Village CID has done a tremendous job w/ this.
Cobb County is in no way, shape or form, prepared to qualify for federal rail dollars. They are only in a limp study phase!!
Martas tunnels from the Arts Center Station were stopped in thier tracks when Cobb's suburban voters said loudly--NO! The lack of preperation & forward thinking in Cobb is shinning like a spotlight!
Marta would first have to put its accomplished north line on hold, to take rail to Cobbs border. And w/ no progressive density along the Cobb Parkway Corridor, they know they would be connecting to nothing more than an under supported CCT bus service. Even Cobb DOT webpage shows that if planning studies were completed, funding secured & bids obtained for constuction, no rail would even begin until 2019-2020.
Sorry, my friends, but the early bird got the worm w/ rail & Cobb will continue to stuggle to stay afloat!

[arjay57]

Whatever happened to GDOT's idea about putting BRT along the northern arc of I-285? Did they give up on that and just decide to go with managed lanes?

That could have been a nice complement to the MARTA system, with connections at Doraville and Perimeter..

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

Waronxmas I don't know where you get your Miami figures from but Metrorail carries about 70,000 riders a day & that is on a 22 mile system which is half of the track miles of MARTA's. I will take our transit agencies figures first before Wikipedias!

I got those numbers from APTA, which is an organization of all public transportation agencies. Those numbers where reported directly by Miami-Dade Tranist Authority and not made up.

http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship_APTA.pdf

[RandyWatson13]

Originally Posted by ostriches

Seems alot of fantasizing on this thread, instead of reality.
Back in the '70's, Cobb, Clayton & Gwinnett voters, voted against funding for Marta. Since then, Marta has limped along, being underfunded & poorly managed.
Altho' to its accomplishments, it has survived & is adding to quality of life & revived development along the Decatur , Dekalb Ave. & Chamblee corridors. And w/ gas inching up to $4.oo/gal. by summer,... those are the desired areas for developers & density.
Cities that have accomplished quality rail systems have been laying tracks all through the '80's till now. Portland, Seattle, Denver, D.C., Boston, San Diego, etc. Federal funding IS necessary when you're talkin' 100 million per mile to lay heavy rail. Federal funding is not flowing now, and anyone paying attention know the next crisis will be cities all over the country filing for bankruptcy.
The growth as well as business in Atlanta will follow high dollar corridors & is moving north along 400 & east, into Gwinnett. (Gwinnett, whether we like it or not, is attracting international business & securing a future tax base).
I wish someone could show me any real money in Cobb. The Galleria/ Cumberland area hasn't changed much in 20 years. If it were prospering, there should have been overflow north of 285 , along Cobb Parkway. Cobb County has been run by crooked politicians, instead of business savvy visionaries,... we WILL pay the price!!
Marta might be able to secure funding north to Alpharetta. That will be the ONLY direction Marta will build.
Gwinnett County has a complete , thorough plan for light rail to connect to Doravilles Marta. That will see a struggle for funding, just for the fact, less money available. The Gwinnett Village CID has done a tremendous job w/ this.
Cobb County is in no way, shape or form, prepared to qualify for federal rail dollars. They are only in a limp study phase!!
Martas tunnels from the Arts Center Station were stopped in thier tracks when Cobb's suburban voters said loudly--NO! The lack of preperation & forward thinking in Cobb is shinning like a spotlight!
Marta would first have to put its accomplished north line on hold, to take rail to Cobbs border. And w/ no progressive density along the Cobb Parkway Corridor, they know they would be connecting to nothing more than an under supported CCT bus service. Even Cobb DOT webpage shows that if planning studies were completed, funding secured & bids obtained for constuction, no rail would even begin until 2019-2020.
Sorry, my friends, but the early bird got the worm w/ rail & Cobb will continue to stuggle to stay afloat!

Did you get beat, shot, stabbed, mugged and beaten in Cobb county? You act like its the worst place to live in the world in every post.

Just curious why you hate it so?