CURBED ATLANTA: Traffic & Transit Dominate List of Complaints of 'New Atlantans' (Decatur: transplants, 2015)

[LynnHarris]

As one of 20 questions, we asked Atlanta newcomers what they've liked least about living here. Roughly 90 percent mentioned traffic, car culture, sprawl and/or the paucity of reliable transit options. Answers to other questions were heavily influenced by respondents' frame of reference (for instance, Atlanta is freezing right now for Floridians, but tropical for New Yorkers). When it came to transit and traffic, however, the chorus was almost uniform: Something's really wrong here.

Below, we've selected some of the more enlightening responses, as they pertain to gripes new Atlantans have. Names, ages and/or occupations were included when it added context to the response:

"I really don't like having to drive everywhere. I would love the option to get to work without a car on days I didn't feel like driving. I've gained 30 pounds eating southern food and not moving. -"L. Weiss, a 32-year-old construction executive from Queens.


"The lack of a cohesive, real city feel is a problem for Atlanta in my eyes. This exacerbates the traffic problems, the sprawl problems, and the infrastructure problems." - Victoria Gutierrez, 30, who's lived in Boston (most recently), San Francisco and Chicago.


"I hate the us-vs.-them vibe everywhere. It seems like there are so many stereotypes about individual neighborhoods, zip codes, sides of town (not to mention ITP/OTP.... although that's a lot more legit). If you live in Buckhead, then everyone south of Ponce thinks you're a snob. If you live in Decatur, then everyone thinks you're a granola. If you live away from the Beltline... well then you're nobody. I just think it's silly — how about we get on the same team here and enjoy and appreciate the wildly different sections of our city? There are interesting and cool things about Capitol View AND Virginia-Highland, y'all." — 25-year-old Julia Edwards, a teacher who most recently lived in Greenville, SC.


Full Story & Comments: Traffic, Transit Dominate List of New Atlantans' Complaints - New Voices Atlanta - Curbed Atlanta

[ATLTJL]

Traffic is the number one problem in Atlanta?

Thanks for the 411, Curbed Atlanta! Now that we know that, we can get busy fixing it!!!!

And honestly:

Exactly two respondents mentioned crime or safety issues as what they've liked leased about Atlanta

What I liked LEASED about this article was its lack of copy edit.

[Jimmeh]

Julia wants us all to be friends. We can do that, right?

[AtlantaIsHot]

Get a load of some of those transplants' statements. While it is easy to pigeonhole people from the northeast as in-love with transit types, that is not uniform. I read several statements from Massachusetts and New York transplants that stated they thought Atlanta transit was "awesome" because it allows for cars. One New York transplant said people in NYC walked and rode the subway because they had to, not because they want to.

Certainly gives one a different perspective and pause before denigrating too much. However, I still remain mostly on the side of improved transit, just for the sake of providing people with an alternative to driving. I still see rail transit as a worthy goal.

[Staysean23]

I live in NY and people ride the train because they have too. NYC makes it very hard to have a car here. Some days I wish I had a car especially on the weekends when they are shutting down lines

[magnetar]

"Have to" = "it is more efficient to". There are plenty of people who own cars in NYC; it's not against the law. It's just much easier to walk and take transit. That's kind of the point. If Atlanta's transit system were more comprehensive, people here would feel like they "had to" take MARTA to avoid the traffic.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by magnetar

"Have to" = "it is more efficient to". There are plenty of people who own cars in NYC; it's not against the law. It's just much easier to walk and take transit. That's kind of the point. If Atlanta's transit system were more comprehensive, people here would feel like they "had to" take MARTA to avoid the traffic.

I'm guessing that you haven't driven around NYC very much. Even ignoring the traffic and trying to find parking, there are the tolls.... lots of them and they are all pretty expensive.

[Clayton white guy]

Traffic and transit would make the list of "old Atlantans", too. LOL

[AbbeyMickey]

Originally Posted by LynnHarris

If you live in Buckhead, then everyone south of Ponce thinks you're a snob. If you live in Decatur, then everyone thinks you're a granola. If you live away from the Beltline... well then you're nobody. I just think it's silly — how about we get on the same team here and enjoy and appreciate the wildly different sections of our city? There are interesting and cool things about Capitol View AND Virginia-Highland, y'all." — 25-year-old Julia Edwards, a teacher who most recently lived in Greenville, SC.

A "granola"? What the heck....the heck does granola mean?

[ATLTJL]

It means you have a compost heap in your backyard, only buy organic fruit at the DeKalb Farmers Market, and you drive a Nissan Leaf.

It's just a modern hippie.

Of course, that's only been in the past 20 years or so. When I first moved here, Decatur was known primarily for lesbians.