Citizens for Progressive Transit (CfPT)

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Really? Have you ever tried to acquire hundreds of miles of contiguous property for a rail system like they have drawn? Have you put together many land deals for parking areas, stations, etc? Have you negotiated many deals to cross waterways, state highways, interstates, etc? Have you worked out agreements with existing freight rail lines to utilize their tracks for commuter service?

I hate to say it, but this plan is about 20-30 years too late- it'd take hundreds of billions (yes, that's billions with a 'b') of dollars and decades to assemble the land, construct the rail lines, stations, etc., and actually operate the system, which a large portion of the people would never use because it doesn't deliver them to the doorstep of their offices. The only reason the systems in places like NYC work is because there's a subway infrastructure (which was put in place underground way before it's planned capacity was ever reached) that gets 95% of commuters within a few blocks of their office- that doesn't (and can't) exist in Atlanta.

It's not hard for Atlantans....just look at good ole Ted and all the Land he's bought out West....Trying to get a cattle drive from Canada to Mexico....................

...That being said, I don't agree with alot of the map as far as the 'outskirts'.....

i.e. Rome not connect to Cartersville?????? I can see Cedartown, but not RockMart....LOL

....I really don't see there being that much of a demand considering how crappy traffic is..... you'd have to be suicidal to drive from Rome to Atlanta everyday....

.....I still think the solution is flying cars!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Atlanta is built on granite, which makes it perfect for tunneling rail in stable tunnels.

Yes, and the cost+technology factor for tunneling is much better than it was in the 1970's.

[atlantamoi]

I truly wish their plan could come to fruition. I hate seeing this city I love and have lived in for 19 years go through worsening standards of living.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by atlantamoi

I truly wish their plan could come to fruition. I hate seeing this city I love and have lived in for 19 years go through worsening standards of living.

This is exactly how I feel. Let's hope things change.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Sure it is, but it's still far more expensive than the area can ever fund- we're not talking about building a bicycle path here. Again, if the politicians had gotten their heads out of their asses several decades ago, we'd already be well on our way to having a regional rail system, but at this stage of the game, CFPT can draw as many pretty pictures as they want- it's just not going to happen. People are going to have to just deal with long commutes or move to the inner city (which isn't an acceptable alternative for many of us), and Atlanta will just continue to be like LA, Houston, and other areas that have crappy commutes from bedroom communities.

I understand the costs involved are large, but far more expansive than we can afford? Maybe the ENTIRE plan, but not sub-segments of it. There's no reason why there cannot be light rail going down I-75 rather than expanding it to however many lanes they want to do. The same for the top end perimeter - a light rail system is perfectly capable in that area. As far as commuter rail - the key is partnerships with the railroad companies already in place. Yes, I realize it's easier said than done, but we don't have to start from scratch here. The Brain Train idea is certainly possible and probably very viable as well.

So, yes, the CFPT plan is quite unlikely to come to fruition as a whole, but important segments can be made. Plus, if there is a will, there is a way. If citizens just stop accepting new road projects and focus monies on repairing and maintaining the roads we have and devote other funds to other transit options, we can combat the congestion problem and work to improve out quality of life. I believe pessimism is defeatism, and I don't believe that is the American or Georgian way of thinking.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Unfortunately, the CFPT site is little more than a fantasy web page. More like the "one day we'll all ride in flying cars and live in cities under glass domes" kind of vision.

There is no web page, no petition, and no amount of letter writing that will have much of an impact (if any) on the current administration. Even if an actual progressive group of leaders took over one day, as has been said, the amount of work and money involved getting land, planning, and actually building the stuff would cost so much that anything they actually do would be a fraction of the scale of the stuff on that site.

Some studies are now finally being done that show Atlanta is starting to lose business because of how bad the traffic is here. One day when some large scale serious studies are done that put dollar amounts on how much money the region, not just the city, is losing because of the traffic, then people in power will raise an eyebrow and take notice. Not that it will be in time to do anything, but again, only the fact they realize they're losing money will cause them to do ANYTHING - not a web site or letter writing campaign or any amount of citizens griping to them about it.

It's unfortunate, but true. Atlanta is past the point of saving when it comes to traffic. Nothing, ever, at any time, will fix it. We can only hope that in the future a few more options will be made available to those who will be able to take advantage of them.

It wasn't studies that showed we were losing business because of traffic but the businesses, specifically MeadWestvaco chose Richmond over Atlanta and admitted it was because of traffic. They would rather commute to the DC area for their internaitonal travel needs than deal with Atlanta traffic. We lost out on another major HQ relocation for the same reason but the company was never identified.

That being said, there is reason for hope.

First the Transit Planning Board was created a couple of years ago and have now come up with a regionwide basic map of where various types of transit might work as well as how to better integrate existing transit.
(Map attached)

Second, the suburban counties now WANT transit. The Cobb county head says they need a light rail connection to downtown and perimeter now rather 10 years from now. And more recently, the Gwinnett Mall CID is proposing a light rail line to the Doraville station.


Third and probably most important is the possibility of the state legislature passing the regions sales tax to fund regional transportation projects. The Atlanta civic organizations are pushing hard for this and if there is local control, there is a greater chance of transit getting some of the funds.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by J2rescue

It wasn't studies that showed we were losing business because of traffic but the businesses, specifically MeadWestvaco chose Richmond over Atlanta and admitted it was because of traffic. They would rather commute to the DC area for their internaitonal travel needs than deal with Atlanta traffic. We lost out on another major HQ relocation for the same reason but the company was never identified.

And there is rail that connects Richmond to Washington, D.C.! Sigh...(!)

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by wxjay

There's no reason why there cannot be light rail going down I-75 rather than expanding it to however many lanes they want to do. The same for the top end perimeter - a light rail system is perfectly capable in that area....

Top-end perimeter light rail is likely. The I-75 route would have to go along Marietta Blvd through Bolton. If they try to bring it down I-75 the NIMBYs in the million dollar homes there will have a cow and there's absolutely no reason considering a line could go straight up Marietta Blvd (or the huge rail depot next to it) and bypass all the NIMBYs.

I was wrong about the CfPT map going up I-75. It actually goes up the W&A which is more viable and probably even better than connecting to the Bankhead line until Bankhead is cleaned up and better than going near I-75 as well.

[MarySB]

Seems to me that with all the building going on in the 'burbs and all the commuters up there unhappy with the commute, that the financial part of it would be feasable, not in the immediate future ( which is what is needed) but, certainly, in ten years or so.

[netdragon]

Cumberland and Southern Marietta (Windy Hill) is going to get something (I'm hoping light rail over BRT) in the next few years. revive285 top end | Home https://www.commentmgr.com/projects/...0post%20DP.pdf

This is especially interesting:
"Georgia DOT has gone a step further and stated that all new freeway lanes in the metro Atlanta area will be managed and that
all existing general-purpose lanes on interstates and major state routes will remain free to the public when using public private
initiatives as the implementation mechanism."