Does Atlanta Have the worst big city downtown in the South? (Columbus: income, restaurant)

[MiamiRob]

Originally Posted by hiero2

Oh, this is funny! The OP uses LA's downtown for a comparison? No man, no way, no how! Omg. Now, there is a MAGNIFICENT amount of things to do not so far away - but it ain't in LA! Spent a year + working in Pasadena, so I've been there. I loved working in the LA area - but the LA downtown? Things to do? Where I wanted to be? No way. Again, I have trouble understanding how the OP reached their opinion.

I will say this - the OP mentions rapid transit in Philly and compares to ATL. On that score, he is right. Philly has better public transit than ATL. But, to give ATL credit - at least it HAS some rail solutions to public transit. More than can be said for most southern cities. Even as ATL neglects its own wisdom, and abuses it, etc.

It could have changed, and some will have,but last time I was in Miami, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Jax, Orlando, Birmingham, - there was no rail transit. None. No subway, no surface, no trolleys, no light. Nada. Lemme think, where else - Memphis? No rail. Jackson? Too small. Nashville? No rail. Chattanooga? No rail. Move north - South Carolina - no rail solutions. North Carolina - no rail solutions, although I frankly have only traveled through NC cities over the past 20-30 years, not stopped for long. So ATL compares well enough with other southern cities in that regard - although, like I said, some of these places could have updated infrastructure since I last was there. It HAS been some 20 years since I've been in Dallas or Houston. So if anybody cares to correct / update my knowledgebase on the issue, np - but I would still bet that ATL has more rail (i.e. permanent) public/rapid transit in place than other southern cities. Base it on total miles, or ridership, either one.

When was the last time you were in Miami? It must have been before 1984 because that is when our Metrorail system opened and is the only other heavy rail system in the South besides Atlanta. It also has a 4.8 mile elevated people mover that circulates through downtown and Tri-Rail which is our 72 mile commuter rail line that serves the metro all the way up to West Palm Beach.

[stuckinsj]

Yeah . the poster also said the NOLA has no rail... HAHAH. Never been on the streetcar i guessed. Dallas has been running light rail since the 90's and its now the largest lr system in the country. Houston has a lr since 04' and is building 3 more line to open by next year. Miami has a el line, metromover, and a commuter rail line. Orlando is building a commuter rail line to open next year. So the poster is an idiot at best or never leaves their car. A good possibility coming from GA.

Downtown LA is fast becoming a great downtown. probably in 10 years it will rival Philly.

BTW downtown Philly residents are young, educated, fit, and wealthy (about 100,000 of them). SO overall city data doesnt really apply. Check out Center City District for their latest report. Center City District / Central Philadelphia Development Corporation Of Philadelphia: State of Center City also reports on office, housing, and retail.

If you have not been to a place in at least 5-8 years you should not say if its currently bad or not. Many american downtowns have been making great strides in revitalization. I would assume since downtown Atlanta is part of a larger region it would be doing better than others but its not .

[testa50]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

Both Memphis and Charlotte have substantial rail started .

And both Houston and Dallas knock Atlanta out of the water with their rail systems. (multiple systems) They both started after Atlanta but that was good because they did not make Atlanta's mistakes.
They have more lines, stations, serve a much broader area and all stations anchor busy urban centers. Truly usable systems. And the big plus...............they are safe. I would never get on Marta again, it's not secure and it doesn't got where everyone needs to go. But I do understand how it evolved into that linear city approach leaving everything east and west out.
Atlanta is not a city that will ever be know for popular transit and anyone who travels knows that.

raj

I actually laughed out loud at the suggestion that Houston has a better rail system than Atlanta. Well played.

[berkeleylake]

Originally Posted by gerrythesnake

It's the same in 100% of the city forums on here. Pick any forum and post this "Does____ have the worst ___in the US?" and see what they say.

True. People rather complain than look at the positive when posting on forums or doing reviews. I guess some of it is human nature.

Atlanta's Downtown is not the best but it is definitely not the worst either in the South. Overall, I like it and am very familiar with it. I know some of my opinion is personal bias since I live in the area.

I used to work Downtown for years. I recently was there for a big event and I was excited to see that the rail lines are being put in near the Downtown Atlanta-Fulton library. Based on what I saw, in late 2013, things are looking up with Downtown building projects / renovations for sure.

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by testa50

I actually laughed out loud at the suggestion that Houston has a better rail system than Atlanta. Well played.

None of those cites he mentioned comes close to Atlanta's heavy rail...Moron

[bhammaster]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

@Mutiny. I lived in Philly. West Philadelphia and Northern Philly are southern culture A-A. These residents are also older, which impacts their weight as well.

@alfonega. There are many factors for a city's "fat index" -- I don't disagree. But Denver has a young, rugged population that is active in sports and fitness. It is known to be a different kind of city than Las Vegas. From the get-go. Vegas is much more of a sedentary culture. You're the one who brought up Philly's "fat index." I said I agreed with its fat index, but it is highly unusual for a northeastern city to be as "fat" as a southern city like Atlanta. That is a fact. When it is, that city's large African American population is the deciding factor. Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia.

So should black people not be counted?

[Nairobi]

Atlanta can have the better downtown, for now. Houston and Dallas are too busy trying to figure out where to put all of these jobs.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

When was the last time you were in Miami? It must have been before 1984 because that is when our Metrorail system opened and is the only other heavy rail system in the South besides Atlanta. It also has a 4.8 mile elevated people mover that circulates through downtown and Tri-Rail which is our 72 mile commuter rail line that serves the metro all the way up to West Palm Beach.

No downtown streetcar, though, I guess?

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

Both Memphis and Charlotte have substantial rail started .

You've got to be kidding with Memphis.

Charlotte is a different story. Charlotte has to have a chance to grow up. It does ok-ish for its age and size.

Memphis has a contraption vintage trolley on Madison and Main streets. Its not light rail nor a form of heavy rail and is a tourist type toy. That's it that's all. Tennessee is too conservative to fund decent public transit.

Whether or not people want to admit it, Marta runs the best heavy rail system in the southeast. It would be classified as awesome if the city had more density around the stations.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by bigstick

None of those cites he mentioned comes close to Atlanta's heavy rail...Moron

The problem with light rail is that its fine for short hops, but not so great when youve got distance to cover, like the airport to Doraville. It's just too slow. Once the novelty wears off, people get tired of the inconvenience.
Light rail gets thrown out a lot as lower cost alternative to heavy rail, but there is a tradeoff.