Suntrust and (probably) Turner are leaving. What's next for Atlanta? (Dallas: light rail, congested)

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by BillbblliB

Until Atlanta expands it's public transportation system, it will continue to lose ground to cities who have invested in theirs. I like the Marta trains but we need a lot more lines than what we currently have.

In all fairness, Nashville, Dallas and Charlotte have transit systems that are just as lackluster, if not more so.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by citidata18

In all fairness, Nashville, Dallas and Charlotte have transit systems that are just as lackluster, if not more so.

Some say Dallas's DART system is better than MARTA. I wouldn't know, never been. But from the map it looks it has more coverage, and most of the expansion is fairly recent. Only most of it LRT and CRT while MARTA is HRT.

[Jandrew5]

I know CNN has been talking about moving to NYC, but all of Turner is moving???

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

Some say Dallas's DART system is better than MARTA. I wouldn't know, never been. But from the map it looks it has more coverage, and most of the expansion is fairly recent. Only most of it LRT and CRT while MARTA is HRT.

It has far more coverage they invested a lot in expanding it recently. Like you said though it's mostly light rail so it's pretty slow getting around with, but Dallas has a far better road infrastructure than Atlanta even if a lot the new roads are tolled.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Huntsville_secede

Dallas has a far better road infrastructure than Atlanta even if a lot the new rolls are tolled.

That's true.

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

LOL. I don't know why that's so funny to me. I wonder the likelihood that they'd move their operations elsewhere in GA.

The only thing down there are studios. Basically custom warehouses built for filming. Those places aren't going to care about the political makeup.

[Humanista]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

I know CNN has been talking about moving to NYC, but all of Turner is moving???

There is probably the least amount of uncertainty about CNN and sports moving. It is the other brands I’d be concerned about.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by citidata18

In all fairness, Nashville, Dallas and Charlotte have transit systems that are just as lackluster, if not more so.

Charlotte is actually doing quite well on the transit front considering its size. Dallas has the most extensive LRT system in the country, although I believe it suffers from some first/last mile connectivity issues. Nashville is the one that's far behind on transit compared to most of its peers and the only one I would describe as lackluster in this regard.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Charlotte is actually doing quite well on the transit front considering its size.

I wasn't speaking on where it stands relative to its size.

It's still lackluster along with its other major city counterparts in the South (albeit in varying forms) when compared to major cities up north and out west with more more extensive transit systems.

Dallas has the most extensive LRT system in the country, although I believe it suffers from some first/last mile connectivity issues.

See my comment above about Charlotte, which also applies to Dallas.

And the poster who mentioned the speed of light rail also made a good point.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by citidata18

I wasn't speaking on where it stands relative to its size.

It's still lackluster along with its other major city counterparts in the South (albeit in varying forms) when compared to major cities up north and out west with more more extensive transit systems.



See my comment above about Charlotte, which also applies to Dallas.

And the poster who mentioned the speed of light rail also made a good point.

But you have to contextualize these things and make apples-to-apples comparisons. The point was about Atlanta losing ground to regional competitors because of traffic so it doesn't really make sense to bring Northern/Western cities into the conversation. We're not discussing this issue in a vacuum or as an academic exercise. Otherwise all U.S. cities are lackluster compared with transit systems in most other major global urban centers...but that doesn't advance the discussion in any way.

Atlanta's most pressing issues in terms of worsening traffic congestion have historically been an insufficient regional road network and high job dispersion with many of those jobs not locating near transit. Not much is going to be done when it comes to the regional road network going forward aside from widening existing roads, overhauling interchanges, and adding toll lanes but more jobs are locating near transit and transit is currently expanding which is a good thing. Dallas avoids the traffic criticism mostly because of its road network which is very beneficial being that the region is even more polycentric than Atlanta, and Charlotte is avoiding it by being proactive on expanding transit (and the regional attitude towards transit is quite positive with the suburbs wanting to get in on the action) and retaining its more centralized character with a very strong CBD and no secondary office districts challenging it for dominance. Obviously Charlotte is a smaller metro and at a different point in its growth trajectory than Atlanta, but it has been amazing to see the region not let up on transit planning and expansion ever since the initial light rail line opened, and the difference in the regional attitude towards transit compared to Atlanta is like night and day.