Transportation is region's top concern. 91% say transit is important.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by DirkMcGirt

Gas tax money has to go somewhere.

Pretty sad that the best defense of this project is "well, we got to spend the money".

Except it is not just gas tax money. It is general fund tax dollars. The Highway Trust Fund has been insolvent for years now and keeps getting hundred billion dollar+ bailouts for other sources every couple of years. That money should be going to better projects that provide more value or returned to taxpayers. If transit is expected to pay for itself, then highways need to too. And highways have a lot bigger gap that needs to be made up.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by DirkMcGirt

Zing? Really?

I'd rather pay upkeep for something that benefits 250,000 vs 17,000.

'But but but... I love trains!' I'm not opposed to transit, I'm opposed to foolish spending on transit. Think outside the box and find economical answers to transit problems. With finite resources, we can't afford to spend $1.2 billion on 17,000 trips (optimistically predicted by 2030). Think of the dedicated BRT system that could be built for that amount of money providing the last mile connection MARTA so sorely lacks. Demand more, not less.

The trick is to get that number a little closer...it shouldn't have to be 250,000 vs 17,000 in a city this size. For the future of Atlanta and our own sanity, we have to work toward an increase in transit use and a decrease in wall-to-wall traffic.

And yes, ZING. Too many people like to whine about the cost of public transit and how it doesn't generate enough revenue when the cost is but a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of building/maintaining thousands of roads and highways...and exactly how much revenue do those highways generate?

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by DirkMcGirt

Zing? Really?

I'd rather pay upkeep for something that benefits 250,000 vs 17,000.

'But but but... I love trains!' I'm not opposed to transit, I'm opposed to foolish spending on transit. Think outside the box and find economical answers to transit problems. With finite resources, we can't afford to spend $1.2 billion on 17,000 trips (optimistically predicted by 2030). Think of the dedicated BRT system that could be built for that amount of money providing the last mile connection MARTA so sorely lacks. Demand more, not less.

It isn't merely a benefit of 17,500 trips though. As others have stated, this is entirely new capacity that will also impact the current 50,000 daily auto trips in the area. The factor that you constantly ignore is that transportation investments drive future development. In other words the added capacity allows for future growth where that capacity is directed. And once built, adding capacity to transit is much more efficient than it is on the roads.

The interchange project on the other hand is entirely reactionary rather than forward looking. It will simply move drivers through ONE intersection better so that they reach other backups in the system faster.