Atlanta/Marietta rail line dusted off (Roswell, Smyrna: transporting, crime, subdivision)

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by aries4118

MARTA is heavy rail. Period.

Light rail can be on surface streets, but can also function in its own right-of-way. Kind of like a heavy rail, but slower.


MARTA could go out to the suburbs. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a heavy rail system that is very similar to MARTA (they were considered sister systems...a lot has changed though) and it goes well into the Bay Area suburbs...farther than one might think (with more plans for expansion). BART is known for being a somewhat unique heavy rail system, because it functions as an urban, heavy rail subway system, but also somewhat like commuter rail as it goes further out (MARTA's future perhaps? ...Or wishful thinking?)

BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit District

I'm originally from The Bay Area...Berkeley, California born! BART is a great system If you take a look on how it serves ALL areas in the bay area and what it means to people there it could easily translate here. But of course people in the bay area historically have been more liberal and forward thinking when it comes to public transportation than Atlanta and the state of Georgia so there you have it! Both of these systems started around the same time but BART keeps expanding every year and MARTA stays stagnant because the state is not behind it. BART serves rich areas as well as areas considered economically depressed, the outlying suburbs in the Bay Area outside of Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, San Leandro and San Francisco knew that BART had to be apart of their future.

[netdragon]

Ok, I will respond to a lot of what people were saying indirectly (since things were repeated so many times it doesn't make sense to quote).

First of all, I'm talking about commuter rail which is the ONLY type of rail that makes sense along the W&A corridor considering the long-term goal of expanding into Cherokee County and also Cartersville. Light rail (BRT actually thanks to Purdue) is discussed along I-75, will probably end permanently at Kennesaw town center, and that's a different subject. Commuter rail along the W&A line would probably initially end in Marietta but would be extended in the future. It doesn't have to be MARTA (it could be CCT), only the trains need to match. In fact, I believe CCT will need to own at least some trains but MARTA can still operate within Cobb County if the train types match.

Many suburban cities are MORE dense than most of Atlanta, especially along the W&A (which is what we are discussing). For instance, along the W&A, Smyrna, Cumberland and Marietta (the real city, not East Cobb) have a HIGHER density than all of Atlanta except for downtown, midtown and Buckhead. They are also more dense than Decatur as well. Density drops, actually, when you cross the border from Smyrna/Vinings onto Marietta Blvd, however there IS high density development going on near the intersection of West Marietta Street ("West midtown") and that area is going to need rail eventually.

Cobb County and Gwinnett county are not "too small" for rail. They were in the 70s, but now they both have about twice as many people as Atlanta. For example, Cobb County has 800,000 people, with most of the population being densely packed in Smyrna, Cumberland, Marietta, and Kenessaw. CCT is doing very well.

I believe light rail and heavy rail are usually distinguished by amount of riders (e.g. number of cars) a single train can carry and speeds. MARTA is heavy rail, as is the NYC subway. Both of which are heavy rail but aren't commuter trains. Metro North is heavy rail and a commuter train, and interestingly it is powered by overhead wires AND underhead wires (which Connecticut is going to change with its new locomotives). You can look up info on light rail and heavy rail on Wikipedia, where it actually defines MARTA as rapid transit and heavy rail. It then tries to distinguish rapid transit and heavy rail in the respective articles, in a way that isn't completely clear.

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

You should note that Governor Sonny Perdue made it very clear ... that he could care less about mass transit and wasn't funding anything new for it.

When do we get to boot him out of office?

[JPD]

Originally Posted by netdragon

the W&A corridor?

Sorry if this has laready been discussed, but what is the "W&A Corridor"?

I've lived in Atlanta my whole life and have never heard of this.

[netdragon]

W&A = Western And Atlantic railroad. It's owned by GA and leased by CSX. It runs through "West Midtown" (Bankhead), Vinings, Cumberland, Marietta, where another rail line branches out to Cherokee county, and from there the W&A continues towards Kenessaw, Acworth, Cartersville and onward.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by netdragon

W&A = Western And Atlantic railroad. It's owned by GA and leased by CSX. It runs through "West Midtown" (Bankhead), Vinings, Cumberland, Marietta, where another rail line branches out to Cherokee county, and from there the W&A continues towards Kenessaw, Acworth, Cartersville and onward.

History Lesson (especially for the newcomers)...

The Western and Atlantic Railroad is what started Atlanta. Atlanta started as the "Terminus" for this railroad line (Terminus was Atlanta's first name).

Some say the name Atlanta is derived from the Atlantic in Western and Atlantic Railroad...but this not completely proven.


The Western and Atlantic Railroad corridor (possibly a future commuter corridor for us modern-day Atlantans...can we hope?) is deeply-rooted in history (Atlanta's founding, The Civil War, The Great Locomotive Chase, Sherman, Battles, etc.).


OK. Carry on...

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by aries4118

History Lesson (especially for the newcomers)...

The Western and Atlantic Railroad is what started Atlanta. Atlanta started as the "Terminus" for this railroad line (Terminus was Atlanta's first name).

Some say the name Atlanta is derived from the Atlantic in Western and Atlantic Railroad...but this not completely proven.


The Western and Atlantic Railroad corridor (possibly a future commuter corridor for us modern-day Atlantans...can we hope?) is deeply-rooted in history (Atlanta's founding, The Civil War, The Great Locomotive Chase, Sherman, Battles, etc.).


OK. Carry on...

Thought 'Atlanta' came from Terminu's Mayor's daughter.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Thought 'Atlanta' came from Terminu's Mayor's daughter.

Wasn't the former mayor's daughter's middle name "Atalanta" and not "Atlanta"?

[J2rescue]

58 percent of respondents in 11-county metro area would favor penny tax for buses and trains

Motorists in metro Atlanta aren't just venting about the nation's second worst commute. They're willing to pay more at the cash register for buses and trains that could help alleviate it, according to an 11-county survey released today.

Asked if they would support a 1 percent sales tax to fund a specific lists of transportation projects, including rail and bus service, 58 percent of respondents said 'yes.' That support held across the region, from inner counties such as DeKalb and Fulton to the suburbs of Henry and Fayette, the survey found. And it cut across gender, race, age and income level as well.

AJC (http://www.ajc.com/metro - broken link)

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Ok, I will respond to a lot of what people were saying indirectly (since things were repeated so many times it doesn't make sense to quote).

First of all, I'm talking about commuter rail which is the ONLY type of rail that makes sense along the W&A corridor considering the long-term goal of expanding into Cherokee County and also Cartersville. Light rail (BRT actually thanks to Purdue) is discussed along I-75, will probably end permanently at Kennesaw town center, and that's a different subject. Commuter rail along the W&A line would probably initially end in Marietta but would be extended in the future. It doesn't have to be MARTA (it could be CCT), only the trains need to match. In fact, I believe CCT will need to own at least some trains but MARTA can still operate within Cobb County if the train types match.

Many suburban cities are MORE dense than most of Atlanta, especially along the W&A (which is what we are discussing). For instance, along the W&A, Smyrna, Cumberland and Marietta (the real city, not East Cobb) have a HIGHER density than all of Atlanta except for downtown, midtown and Buckhead. They are also more dense than Decatur as well. Density drops, actually, when you cross the border from Smyrna/Vinings onto Marietta Blvd, however there IS high density development going on near the intersection of West Marietta Street ("West midtown") and that area is going to need rail eventually.

When I mentioned density I meant more of a density of activities...mainly jobs. Dense population in (especially Atlanta style) suburban development doesn't necessarily translate into high transit ridership which is why I agree it should to be commuter rail. Basically the only time it makes sense is to commute to work or to one of the activity centers.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Thought 'Atlanta' came from Terminu's Mayor's daughter.

Nope. The mayor's daughter (or somebody's daughter/wife) gave the pre-Atlanta and post-Terminus name of "Marthasville".


(However, there are a lot of theories, stories, etc. about the origin or reason for the name "Atlanta." I've never heard of someone's daughter for Atlanta...only for Marthasville. Could be true then...)