Who thinks the MARTA should be expanded to include Cobb,Gwinnett, and the other metro Atlanta counties? (Buckhead: crime, neighborhood)

[pirate_lafitte]

Atlanta is too big of a city and metropolitan area not to have a good rail transit. This excuse of "it would bring in crime", doesn't work for me. I was robbed in the suburbs by men who had a car. It shows me that crime can come from anywhere. Atlanta needs its transit system improved because the buses are a joke. I have taken them and they are all a joke. A metrowide rail line is needed.

[atlantamoi]

Totally agree. It has kept me from moving out where I would like to live, actually. It's sad that we see this city growing so fast and there doesn't seem to be any real progress in dealing with it.

BTW, also burglarized by men in a car when I used to live in Buckhead. Had nothing to do with a rail/bus line.

[lastminutemom]

Yes, but we also have to improve upon what we have. In the suburban parts of Fulton/DeKalb, the busses run so sporatically that to be time efficient you really have to drive to the station anyway.

I know that there is movement towards housing near MARTA stations, but frankly this is almost all multi family housing, not something that is very appealing to those raising families. In parts of the METRO DC area, you can live in a very nice neighborhood and still walk to the METRO station.

[Merin]

I agree, I think traffic wouldnt be nearly as bad if more places had Marta Stations. But if the local residents keep opposing them, what can you do? Maybe when they are paying 6.00 a gallon for gas will they change their minds.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Merin

I agree, I think traffic wouldnt be nearly as bad if more places had Marta Stations. But if the local residents keep opposing them, what can you do? Maybe when they are paying 6.00 a gallon for gas will they change their minds.

Nah- that's the same argument that was used 10 years ago- only then it read something like "maybe when they are paying $3.00 a gallon for gas they will change their minds".

Bob

[Merin]

10 years ago, I don't remember anyone talking about gas prices.They were under 1.00. Today I was at the gas station, someone behind me spent 80.00 on gas. Can you imagine that doubling?

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Merin

10 years ago, I don't remember anyone talking about gas prices.They were under 1.00. Today I was at the gas station, someone behind me spent 80.00 on gas. Can you imagine that doubling?

When I was 16, I pumped gas, and prices were approaching the $1 mark- it was a topic of conversation everywhere. When I was living in Las Vegas, prices were approaching $2, and it was all anyone could talk about. Now it's $3, and in a few years it'll probably be $4 and so on. Life will continue to go on......

Bob

[turtlemom]

I hate and despise MARTA - both rail and bus service. Bad schedules, bad routes, bad-a-- passengers for the most part. Busses smell awful. I have serious arthritis, and both the busses and train jostle me and cause major pain problems. Won't ride 'em.

As far as including more of the Metro counties, it would only be more of the same. I see no changes in management, no changes in revenue base. Had the original plan been put into operation in the first place, it might have been different. But it wasn't. Can't go back and re-do it now. Have to develop an entirely different plan, and override the counties that think they don't want it. Crazy.

Cheerio
Turtlemom

[Merin]

Life will continue to go on with people realizing changes will have to be made when they pay almost 200.00 a week for gas. I believe the traffic situation will influence the need for change as well. The rising gas prices have already impacted the price of transporation;therefore it has and will continue to impact the prices of most everything we buy. Since we all have to buy food, and most need to buy clothes, it only makes sense people will seek to change things they have a chance of controlling.

[atlantagreg30127]

Years ago under Governor Roy Barnes, he set things in motion for such a thing. He was the leader in establishing the Georgia Regional Transit Agency, (GRTA) and the thought was that they would eventually have the authority (and funding) to override local governments when it came to transit. In other words, if they thought the rail should be expanded into a particular area, it would. No voting or political drama - it would just be done.

Unfortunately, people saw past that and voted Mr. Barnes out of office because something apparently much more pressing was at issue... he took the Confederate emblem off the state flag and the universe collapsed as a result. He was voted out, and "Sonny" was voted in. Well, he got in, forgot about the flag, and he has also made very public statements to the news media that he has absolutely no thoughts about public transit. As a matter of fact, in the last budget proposal, he didn't even earmark any funds for any public transit projects in the state. None. He said it's "not an issue". He did of course, take the time to legalize fireworks, for as we know, allowing children to play with explosives is more important than public transit, isn't it? (roll eyes)/

Story in the transit budget here: http://www.11alive.com/news/article_...?storyid=90658


So the GRTA now has little other than basic funding, and their roll has been chipped down to basically adding an occasional "express bus route" here and there. With an average of up to 90,000 people per year moving into the metro area, we can only hope that the next person that's elected to office puts a much higher priority on transit. Each year makes it that much worse, and we've got a few more years of transit being ignored before the opportunity comes up to do more from someone else of power.

In other words - get used to driving in traffic here.