Connect 400 (Proposed MARTA rail) meeting on 21 March! (Pitts, Buckhead: construction, live)

[testa50]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

I haven't said a thing about crime this whole time.

Maybe it would be helpful for me to see your point of view if you could give an example of somewhere in Atlanta where a MARTA station was built near residential homes and surrounding property values went up because of it. I think that would be helpful.

And I'll ask for an example of the opposite. Establishing causality here is going to be impossible.

Here's a question that has relevance and is at least possible to answer: if you were to chart the average change in value of houses within a mile of a MARTA station over the last x years, do you think it would be better or worse than the metro area as a whole?

It's definitely plausible that the answer is either better or worse--I'm not sure either way--but if I had to bet my life on it, I would certainly take the "better" side of the bet.

[joey86]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

I haven't said a thing about crime this whole time.

Maybe it would be helpful for me to see your point of view if you could give an example of somewhere in Atlanta where a MARTA station was built near residential homes and surrounding property values went up because of it. I think that would be helpful.

All of it. That is my example. Whole cities gain value with mass transit.

[SAAN]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

GA 400 had that for about five years. the far right lane was dedicated for bus service only, and it was an express bus from windward to north springs. it didn't fix the problem, so they changed the far right lane to another traffic lane.

It didnt fix the traffic problem, but people who took the buses than ran in that lane all the way never had to sit in the traffic.

BRT and HRT will not solve the traffic problems, but for those who take it, it will solve there traffic problems.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by testa50

And I'll ask for an example of the opposite. Establishing causality here is going to be impossible.

Here's a question that has relevance and is at least possible to answer: if you were to chart the average change in value of houses within a mile of a MARTA station over the last x years, do you think it would be better or worse than the metro area as a whole?

It's definitely plausible that the answer is either better or worse--I'm not sure either way--but if I had to bet my life on it, I would certainly take the "better" side of the bet.

Great question. I know there is a lot of literature on the subject but I'm not sure there's a global answer.

My own feeling is this. In neighborhoods that are solidly established or where housing is on the upswing, rail access is usually a plus.

Locally you can see that in areas like Buckhead, Brookhaven, Ansley, Decatur and Midtown. Would values have gone up there anyway? Probably, but I believe that most people regard easy rail access as a significant amenity. While we don't use the train on a daily basis it's terrific for access to the airport. We also use it for trips to the museum, sporting events, government offices and sometimes just for going out to dinner. I also found it very helpful when I was unable to drive for a year or so due to illness.

You see the same thing in other cities around the country and internationally. Many of the best neighborhoods have rail access, even if people don't use it every day.

On the other hand, I can't point to too many cases where transit access has lifted up a neighborhood that was in decline. I'm sure that has happened but I can't think of any examples offhand.

Nor can I think of any instances where it has done harm.

[cqholt]

On the other hand, I can't point to too many cases where transit access has lifted up a neighborhood that was in decline.

Take it for what's its worth, but talking to many of the old timers in Kirkwood, they all point to MARTA being built as the start of improvements. When the streetcar route that connected Kirkwood to Downtown Atlanta and Decatur was dismantled in the 50's the area was hurt.

[bfarley30]

I personally had another great experience on MARTA. Hung out downtown, went to the Sundial at the Westin and had drinks in Buckhead. Took the train to all of it! Trains were right on time and coordinated perfectly at the Lindberg station. Buses had a fair amount of people on them even at 11 p.m. It made me realize, even more, how the ones talking about all the "riff raff" and "thugs" that are on the trains and buses really don't ride the system at all. I was even at Five Points and didn't see or hear a bunch of mess. I really wish MARTA rail AND bus was expanded, even if just in Fulton and Dekalb. Let Cobb and Gwinnett deal with their traffic issues by themselves if they don't want to join, though Gwinnett is pretty close to 50/50 now on the issue. Let Clayton join and reap the benefits of mass transit.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by bfarley30

I personally had another great experience on MARTA. Hung out downtown, went to the Sundial at the Westin and had drinks in Buckhead. Took the train to all of it! Trains were right on time and coordinated perfectly at the Lindberg station. Buses had a fair amount of people on them even at 11 p.m. It made me realize, even more, how the ones talking about all the "riff raff" and "thugs" that are on the trains and buses really don't ride the system at all. I was even at Five Points and didn't see or hear a bunch of mess. I really wish MARTA rail AND bus was expanded, even if just in Fulton and Dekalb. Let Cobb and Gwinnett deal with their traffic issues by themselves if they don't want to join, though Gwinnett is pretty close to 50/50 now on the issue. Let Clayton join and reap the benefits of mass transit.

MARTA trains have one of the highest on time percentage in the nation. Off peak the southbound Gold Line will always wait for the southbound Red Line to unload at Lindbergh. Your right about the ones that do the most complaining about thugs and unsafe don't ride it, its just their perception or what they've heard from others.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by bfarley30

I personally had another great experience on MARTA. Hung out downtown, went to the Sundial at the Westin and had drinks in Buckhead. Took the train to all of it! Trains were right on time and coordinated perfectly at the Lindberg station. Buses had a fair amount of people on them even at 11 p.m. It made me realize, even more, how the ones talking about all the "riff raff" and "thugs" that are on the trains and buses really don't ride the system at all. I was even at Five Points and didn't see or hear a bunch of mess. I really wish MARTA rail AND bus was expanded, even if just in Fulton and Dekalb. Let Cobb and Gwinnett deal with their traffic issues by themselves if they don't want to join, though Gwinnett is pretty close to 50/50 now on the issue. Let Clayton join and reap the benefits of mass transit.

Bingo. Humans tend to fear the unknown much more than the known.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by cqholt

MARTA trains have one of the highest on time percentage in the nation. Off peak the southbound Gold Line will always wait for the southbound Red Line to unload at Lindbergh. Your right about the ones that do the most complaining about thugs and unsafe don't ride it, its just their perception or what they've heard from others.

Yeah I've noticed that too. If the schedule says that a train will leave at 6:11, then forget about boarding if you arrive at the platform at 6:12.

Also, the nighttime gold-to-red-line transfer used to have long delays at times, but now the wait is only a couple of minutes. (Now if they could just do the same at Five Points--but admittedly, that's going to be tougher.)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Yeah I've noticed that too. If the schedule says that a train will leave at 6:11, then forget about boarding if you arrive at the platform at 6:12.

Also, the nighttime gold-to-red-line transfer used to have long delays at times, but now the wait is only a couple of minutes. (Now if they could just do the same at Five Points--but admittedly, that's going to be tougher.)

Always arrive at the station at least 2 minutes early. People that don't use MARTA complain about arriving at a station and waiting 10 minutes, but I guess they don't realize trains run on schedules that are published online and are available on Google Maps.