Keith Parker: MARTA’s rail system ideally would be double its size (Kennesaw: sales, luxury)

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i'm all for heavy rail out I-20 and up 400 (i live in alpharetta), but what we *really* need is more connections intown— i'm talking west midtown, down north avenue to the O4W and ponce city market, and of course the forementioned clifton corridor project. if we don't have those last mile (or last five mile) connections, running trains to the suburbs is only going to do so much. of course, alpharetta is an exception to this rule because it's a major job center in its own right, but generally the intown subways are insufficient.

We need more north south lines that DONT go through Five Points.

[scobby]

Originally Posted by BlackPeach2

We need more north south lines that DONT go through Five Points.

I agree with you,Marta need to expand outside the city limit to attract more customers,generate more money and serve more georgians.

[jsvh]

I think the Beltline / Streetcar will be a great addition to supporting Atlanta's transit and help the city proper support a car-free lifestyle and density.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by scobby

3/4 of the city area are not served by Marta bus or train

Where did you get that statistic from, the Department of Made up Stuff?



You do realize what all of those squiggly marks are, right?

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by scobby

I agree with you,Marta need to expand outside the city limit to attract more customers,generate more money and serve more georgians.

Few transit systems cover suburbs and exurbs. MARTA should not be trying to build a station at the front door of every home in the suburbs.

Georgians need to move past sprawl. If people want to live way out in the boonies they need to be paying for their long drive. Paying for their highways with property taxes taken from city dwellers who may not even own a car leaves little incentive to live somewhere with transit. If they had to pay for tolls / gas taxes to cover those roads then their will be a reason for people to move closer in near transit or pay for the transit to come to them. Transit is a cheaper option to travel around in cities if users were having to pay directly for both.

[vista777]

This debate has been going on 20 twenty years. It would be great is MARTA would expand to Alpharetta and going east. It would cut down the traffic problem. I will be surprised if they ever expand MARTA again in my lifetime and I'm 42.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

I think that here is the wrench in the gears:

“With funding, we are ready to jump right on it.”

LOL, that's true. In it's simplest form though, that's really all it would take. If Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton adopted the MARTA, three lines could start being built that would get us to the 100 mile mark

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Yep. Compare that to the Highway fund that is insolvent: Highway Trust Fund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's no winning with some of you.

If gasoline consumption is reduced and vehicle miles driven are reduced, then you have fewer $$$ added to the fund annually. If more people take mass transit, then you also get a reduction in funding. When you siphon off highway funding to transit projects (as has been done since the late 1970s), you have less $$$ for the intended purpose.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Paying for their highways with property taxes taken from city dwellers who may not even own a car leaves little incentive to live somewhere with transit.

Property taxes stay within the city and county in which they are collected. Fulton Co. property taxes do not pay to widen Old Atlanta Road in Forsyth County. And, most city folks own one or more cars, regardless.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by neil0311

There's no winning with some of you.

If gasoline consumption is reduced and vehicle miles driven are reduced, then you have fewer $$$ added to the fund annually. If more people take mass transit, then you also get a reduction in funding. When you siphon off highway funding to transit projects (as has been done since the late 1970s), you have less $$$ for the intended purpose.

All highway funding should be 100% paid directly by drivers. 100% of transit should be paid directly by riders. Not that complicated, if there are not enough people that would use and thus pay for a road or transit line than it should not be built.