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Traffic isnt as bad as people make compared to other cities. We get that comparison more because we have larger highways. People who think Atlanta got the worst traffic isnt well-traveled
Traffic isnt as bad as people make compared to other cities. We get that comparison more because we have larger highways. People who think Atlanta got the worst traffic isnt well-traveled
...and because we used to be the worst for traffic. It's hard to shake that reputation after having it for a few years in the 90s. Some people just can't let go of something they have heard in the past that isn't applicable now.
...and because we used to be the worst for traffic. It's hard to shake that reputation after having it for a few years in the 90s. Some people just can't let go of something they have heard in the past that isn't applicable now.
Show me some reports from multiple agencies from a particular year stating Atlanta was#1 in traffic because I dont remember any. From what I know DC and LA has always had more traffic than Atlanta
ive not officially moved yet but have been spending time in Atlanta the last few weeks. I've not yet experienced the horrible traffic yet and have driven all over this place. What I've noticed is that it's not really the traffic per se, it's how spread out everything is. For example, I was in Roswell near Brookfield cointry club and wanted to go check out white pillar cc right "next door" in Alpharetta ... And b/c there was no direct way to get there, it took about 25 minutes to go the approx. 10 miles. . . Not due to traffic but two lane roads, stop signs, lights, ec.
Traffic isnt as bad as people make compared to other cities. We get that comparison more because we have larger highways. People who think Atlanta got the worst traffic isnt well-traveled
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeTarheel
...and because we used to be the worst for traffic. It's hard to shake that reputation after having it for a few years in the 90s. Some people just can't let go of something they have heard in the past that isn't applicable now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fieldm
Show me some reports from multiple agencies from a particular year stating Atlanta was#1 in traffic because I dont remember any. From what I know DC and LA has always had more traffic than Atlanta
Those are good points that Atlanta traffic is not necessarily always as bad as it often seems to be made out to be.
Atlanta's reputation for really bad traffic predates the then-massive "Freeing-the-Freeways" widening and expansion project of the 1980's from when a then much smaller I-75/I-85 Downtown Connector and I-85 Northeast Expressway were not enough to handle the traffic that had been generated by the explosive growth that a much smaller mid-sized Atlanta metro area had been experiencing since the years immediately after World War II.
For various reasons (an extreme reluctance by Georgia state government to get ahead of the curve when it comes to investing in transportation infrastructure for future growth throughout the region, etc), metro Atlanta's transportation infrastructure has often seemed to have lagged significantly behind its growth patterns. This appeared to be most evident in the years immediately after Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Summer Olympics when the region experienced a massive population growth spurt that generated massive traffic jams and increased levels of air pollution that gained the region much negative national attention during the boom years of the late 1990's (from 1996-2000).
While metro Atlanta's notorious peak-hour traffic congestion has not exactly dissipated, the region has at least made some noticeable progress in keeping traffic from being much worse by emphasizing increased rates of telecommuting and working from home, staggered/flexible work hours (where people commute to and from work before and after the worst of the morning and afternoon/evening rush hours) and convincing higher rates of people to live closer to where they work when possible.
Without those efforts (telecommuting/work from home, staggered/flexible work hours, living closer to work) to get people to use the roads less, traffic congestion would likely be even worse than it may already be prone to be at time.
The 2014 Snow Jam didn't not necessarily help the national perception that the region collectively had been doing a good deal of work on to improve upon, but traffic still is not quite bad as it could be without efforts to increase telecommuting, staggered/flex commuting and living close to work.
The Atlanta region and the State of Georgia also need to continue to invest in upgrading and expanding the region's transportation infrastructure where possible and where feasible as a means of providing the types of multimodal transportation alternatives that many of Atlanta's national and international peer metro areas offer as standard modes of getting around.
The toll lane projects ongoing on various stretches of suburban Interstate around the metro area are a good first step to making those critically-needed multimodal transportation investments, but there is still much work to be done on the multimodal transportation investment front after many years of a dormant and even virtually non-existent transportation policy.
Those are good points that Atlanta traffic is not necessarily always as bad as it often seems to be made out to be.
Atlanta's reputation for really bad traffic predates the then-massive "Freeing-the-Freeways" widening and expansion project of the 1980's from when a then much smaller I-75/I-85 Downtown Connector and I-85 Northeast Expressway were not enough to handle the traffic that had been generated by the explosive growth that a much smaller mid-sized Atlanta metro area had been experiencing since the years immediately after World War II.
For various reasons (an extreme reluctance by Georgia state government to get ahead of the curve when it comes to investing in transportation infrastructure for future growth throughout the region, etc), metro Atlanta's transportation infrastructure has often seemed to have lagged significantly behind its growth patterns. This appeared to be most evident in the years immediately after Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Summer Olympics when the region experienced a massive population growth spurt that generated massive traffic jams and increased levels of air pollution that gained the region much negative national attention during the boom years of the late 1990's (from 1996-2000).
While metro Atlanta's notorious peak-hour traffic congestion has not exactly dissipated, the region has at least made some noticeable progress in keeping traffic from being much worse by emphasizing increased rates of telecommuting and working from home, staggered/flexible work hours (where people commute to and from work before and after the worst of the morning and afternoon/evening rush hours) and convincing higher rates of people to live closer to where they work when possible.
Without those efforts (telecommuting/work from home, staggered/flexible work hours, living closer to work) to get people to use the roads less, traffic congestion would likely be even worse than it may already be prone to be at time.
The 2014 Snow Jam didn't not necessarily help the national perception that the region collectively had been doing a good deal of work on to improve upon, but traffic still is not quite bad as it could be without efforts to increase telecommuting, staggered/flex commuting and living close to work.
The Atlanta region and the State of Georgia also need to continue to invest in upgrading and expanding the region's transportation infrastructure where possible and where feasible as a means of providing the types of multimodal transportation alternatives that many of Atlanta's national and international peer metro areas offer as standard modes of getting around.
The toll lane projects ongoing on various stretches of suburban Interstate around the metro area are a good first step to making those critically-needed multimodal transportation investments, but there is still much work to be done on the multimodal transportation investment front after many years of a dormant and even virtually non-existent transportation policy.
Like was mentioned before, the best option for you (if possible) might be to get a much better idea of where in the Atlanta metro area you will be working before committing to an area to live in.
If you end up working in an area like Duluth or Norcross (or anywhere else in the sprawling and expansive Atlanta metro area outside of the employment clusters (Downtown ATL, Midtown ATL, Buckhead, Perimeter and the Airport) where MARTA train service operates), MARTA may not necessarily be of much practical use in getting to and from work everyday.
You would likely be well advised to hold off on committing to an area in which to live until you have secured employment and know with certainty where your workplace is going to be.
I am just concerned about your insistence that you be near a MARTA station when many places of employment in the Atlanta metro area/region are not necessarily convenient to MARTA train service unless they are located in one of the 5 aforementioned ITP (ITP = the area Inside the I-285 Perimeter Loop highway) business districts/major employment clusters where MARTA trains operate (Downtown Atlanta, Midtown Atlanta, Buckhead, Perimeter Center, Atlanta Airport).....That still leaves numerous business districts/major employment clusters where very little-to-no meaningful transit service operates (Cumberland/Vinings, Norcross/Peachtree Corners, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth, Kennesaw/Marietta, Northlake/Tucker, Emory University, etc).
Because of staunch political, cultural and social opposition, Atlanta's transit system is not necessarily very extensive and cannot necessarily be counted on to be used to access many employment opportunities (particularly if an employment/career opportunity is outside of MARTA's limited train service area of Fulton and DeKalb counties).
Limiting yourself to being near MARTA limits your employment/career opportunities in an automobile-dominated, transit-averse region where many employment/career opportunities are not and will not be necessarily be accessible by transit.
Public trains (and buses) do not go all over the city and metro area in Atlanta like they may do in Chicago and finding quality affordable rental housing near transit will not be as easy to find in Atlanta as it may be in Chicago because Atlanta's transit system is nowhere near as extensive or as convenient to use in Atlanta as it may be in Chicago.
Many (if not most) employment and career opportunities in metro Atlanta will be located far from any meaningful transit access, something which will require one to drive and have access to their own privately-owned automobile.....Something which has intentionally been by design in an Atlanta/North Georgia region that traditionally has been and continues to be very politically, socially and culturally hostile to the concept of transit as a legitimate mode of public transportation.
Don't count on being able to use public transportation to provide access to good employment and career opportunities in the Atlanta metro region. You should be prepared to have access to your own privately-owned vehicle in a region that will most often demand the use of it, unlike in an infinitely much more transit-heavy city/metro/region like Chicago.
Great points. I certainly won't bank on it. I'm assuming that parking in these employment areas must be ample? Here in Chicago, monthly parking in a garage runs about $250 / month. What should I budget for parking since MARTA is limited?
Those are good points that Atlanta traffic is not necessarily always as bad as it often seems to be made out to be.
Atlanta's reputation for really bad traffic predates the then-massive "Freeing-the-Freeways" widening and expansion project of the 1980's from when a then much smaller I-75/I-85 Downtown Connector and I-85 Northeast Expressway were not enough to handle the traffic that had been generated by the explosive growth that a much smaller mid-sized Atlanta metro area had been experiencing since the years immediately after World War II.
For various reasons (an extreme reluctance by Georgia state government to get ahead of the curve when it comes to investing in transportation infrastructure for future growth throughout the region, etc), metro Atlanta's transportation infrastructure has often seemed to have lagged significantly behind its growth patterns. This appeared to be most evident in the years immediately after Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Summer Olympics when the region experienced a massive population growth spurt that generated massive traffic jams and increased levels of air pollution that gained the region much negative national attention during the boom years of the late 1990's (from 1996-2000).
While metro Atlanta's notorious peak-hour traffic congestion has not exactly dissipated, the region has at least made some noticeable progress in keeping traffic from being much worse by emphasizing increased rates of telecommuting and working from home, staggered/flexible work hours (where people commute to and from work before and after the worst of the morning and afternoon/evening rush hours) and convincing higher rates of people to live closer to where they work when possible.
Without those efforts (telecommuting/work from home, staggered/flexible work hours, living closer to work) to get people to use the roads less, traffic congestion would likely be even worse than it may already be prone to be at time.
The 2014 Snow Jam didn't not necessarily help the national perception that the region collectively had been doing a good deal of work on to improve upon, but traffic still is not quite bad as it could be without efforts to increase telecommuting, staggered/flex commuting and living close to work.
The Atlanta region and the State of Georgia also need to continue to invest in upgrading and expanding the region's transportation infrastructure where possible and where feasible as a means of providing the types of multimodal transportation alternatives that many of Atlanta's national and international peer metro areas offer as standard modes of getting around.
The toll lane projects ongoing on various stretches of suburban Interstate around the metro area are a good first step to making those critically-needed multimodal transportation investments, but there is still much work to be done on the multimodal transportation investment front after many years of a dormant and even virtually non-existent transportation policy.
Great points. I certainly won't bank on it. I'm assuming that parking in these employment areas must be ample? Here in Chicago, monthly parking in a garage runs about $250 / month. What should I budget for parking since MARTA is limited?
You got it.
Outside of Downtown and Midtown (and even in Downtown and Midtown), parking will generally be pretty ample.
Monthly rates vary but generally should not as high as the parking rates in Central Chicago.
In Central Atlanta (primarily Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead), garage parking rates can run from as low as $65/month to as high as $175/month in some cases. Generally, you probably won't have to budget more than $150/month on the high end for garage parking in Central Atlanta if you end up working in Downtown, Midtown or Buckhead. Garage parking will be even cheaper (most likely far cheaper) in areas like Perimeter Center and Cumberland, if needed.
Outside of Downtown, Midtown and much of Buckhead, the business districts will most likely largely be suburban-style business parks where you just drive and park.
Outside of Downtown and Midtown (and even in Downtown and Midtown), parking will generally be pretty ample.
Monthly rates vary but generally should not as high as the parking rates in Central Chicago.
In Central Atlanta (primarily Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead), garage parking rates can run from as low as $65/month to as high as $175/month in some cases. Generally, you probably won't have to budget more than $150/month on the high end for garage parking in Central Atlanta if you end up working in Downtown, Midtown or Buckhead. Garage parking will be even cheaper (most likely far cheaper) in areas like Perimeter Center and Cumberland, if needed.
Outside of Downtown, Midtown and much of Buckhead, the business districts will most likely largely be suburban-style business parks where you just drive and park.
I agree with this on parking and wanted to add that many employers in Atlanta pay for your parking for you.
I worked in both Buckhead and downtown near Peachtree Center and in both locations the organization I worked for paid for my parking for me. It was $75 a month for parking back then (this was about 5 years ago so I'm sure it's gone up).
But parking in Atlanta is WAY less expensive than Chicago parking, which is ridiculous IMO.
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Period. Great post!
