Atlanta vs. Charlotte (luxury, calculating, bus)

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Could not agree more, aries4118! I think the tide is finally turning, and Sonny Bubba can't run again.

Can you contribute to my post about Georgia moving backwards thanks to the likes of Sonny and friends?Mass transit was one of my biggest reasons

[johnatl]

^Sure, I'll check it out later. Thanks for the invite!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by afonega1

Yeh but Gary's is not in the same state.its easy to separate yourself when you live i another state.I have family in Elgin and they still say they are from Chicago

Sho' nuff.

[Scott Summers]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I was SOOO routing for Charlotte to get the HickCar Hall of Fame...what an embarassment that would have been in Downtown Atlanta! Congratulations on "winning" that contest.

LOL, same here. But to Urban Charlotte, I see and like Charlotte's ambition and I'm all for it. I would love for the Southeast to have more than just us, Miami, and Orlando (N.O.s grouped in with the Southeast too). Roy was on to something here and Sonny killed it so I would like to see Charlotte push Atlanta some. ATL's growing, so it's not cool to keep GRTA/Marta stagnant (thanks Sonny). That Chicago/Detroit example does make sense.

[atlantaATL]

Originally Posted by urbancharlotte

In all fairness to Atlanta, you guys were ahead of the game in the 70s with MARTA. Charlotte should have built light rail back in the early 90s instead of a first line in 2007. We have already ordered 4 more train cars due to higher than expected ridership. The station platforms are too short also. We really needed platforms capable of three car trains and not two. MARTA runs four car trains and six during special events and heavy commuting hours. I will say that I always find a seat when I ride MARTA. In Charlotte, I usually stand. We need larger trains.

The next line in Charlotte will have a "GA 400" like feel to it. The trains will run in the median of North Tryon Street. This line will support 3 car trains. It will also have a station on UNC Charlotte's campus.

There are lots of develpments going on in Charlotte within the next 5 to 10 years. This is why I said that Charlotte will be in Atlanta's league within 20 years. Charlotte is making some quick moves right now. Population wise, Atlanta will remain larger.

I think the "A" is just not used to competition from within its own region. All I can say is get used to it. Charlotte is not trying to stop anytime soon!!! This city wants to be "World Class" and that is the unofficial goal here in Charlotte. You guys don't seem to understand that. The same vision Atlanta has, Charlotte has too!!! Atlanta is just 20 to 30 years ahead of the game. Nothing more, nothing less.

It has been said by our city council that the goal is to get 100,000 residents living in uptown by 2030. Downtown Atlanta is currently about 35,000 strong. Charlotte is reaching for things that Atlanta doesn't even have yet. With Charlotte's current mentality, it will catch Atlanta in status only, not size.

I ride marta faithfully and there are 6 cars and there long cars. They run all night the only four car trains are the ones the make the short trips to bankhead king memorial and candler park.People are always standing up on marta expecially during the An and then rush hour. Marta actually feels like a real supoway system especially when it is traveling under the city and midtown is getting the mandarin oriental hotel which is going to stand at 700 ft plus the up and coming Loews hotel which is under contruction now

[ecoguy79]

If I was in your position, I would choose Atlanta in this current economic climate. The problem with Charlotte is that 70% of the city is built on that day backs of Wachovia and BOA. I think Charlotte is going to face a huge economic downturn in the next three years.

Two years ago when I was the mortgage broker my wife and I actually looked into moving to Charlotte. The positives of Charlotte are that it is a smaller city, with less crime, less traffic, and less inner-city problems. But on the flip side Atlanta has a more robust economy, that will better sustain jobs during the recession. That's just my opinion.

As far as where to live, I am a city guy, so I like Midtown. It is more expensive then in some of the suburbs however.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by atlantaATL

I ride marta faithfully and there are 6 cars and there long cars. They run all night the only four car trains are the ones the make the short trips to bankhead king memorial and candler park.People are always standing up on marta expecially during the An and then rush hour. Marta actually feels like a real supoway system especially when it is traveling under the city and midtown is getting the mandarin oriental hotel which is going to stand at 700 ft plus the up and coming Loews hotel which is under contruction now

Here is why I say Charlotte needs bigger trains. This is a 12:02 a.m. Sunday train leaving uptown.


YouTube - urban charlotte

Keep in mind there was not a special event to speak of uptown this night either. This train became even more crowded by the time we arrived in South End which is just only a mile away from where I shot the video. Charlotte's light rail carries almost 2,000 passengers per mile a day. This is one of the nations most successful light rail start ups ever. By comparison, MARTA carries about 3,800 passengers per mile. Given the fact that MARTA is 30 years older, fully built out, and 4 times more expensive, you can see why Charlotte's LYNX is getting attention. A fully built out light rail system can pull heavy rail numbers if it is done correctly.

As far as hotels, Trump had proposed a 900 ft plus hotel near Charlotte's South End. The economy stalled the project, but it was not cancelled. If the economy turns around, we could see this project come up soon. At any rate, Atlanta is not the only one building impressive real estate down south. It used to be that way a decade ago, but not any more.

Here is a link to that Trump tower
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...mcharlotte.jpg

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by urbancharlotte

Charlotte's light rail carries almost 2,000 passengers per mile a day. This is one of the nations most successful light rail start ups ever. By comparison, MARTA carries about 3,800 passengers per mile. Given the fact that MARTA is 30 years older, fully built out, and 4 times more expensive, you can see why Charlotte's LYNX is getting attention. A fully built out light rail system can pull heavy rail numbers if it is done correctly.

There you go again, inserting fake numbers to try and prove some ill-advised point. Marta carries 5,817 passengers per mile, almost double the number you posted above...and daily ridership is at least 10 times that of LYNX. It's the difference in light rail vs. heavy rail, and a 1 year old system vs. a 30 year old system. Marta is not fully built out either...I'm not sure where you get your information, but it's incorrect.

Charlotte transit is getting attention because it is new and has PLANS for expansion. PLANS are different from expansion under construction - so we'll see how much of it actually gets built with all the opposition and funding problems in the news. There are huge plans for expansion of transit in Atlanta, but the big question is funding.

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

There you go again, inserting fake numbers to try and prove some ill-advised point. Marta carries 5,817 passengers per mile, almost double the number you posted above...and daily ridership is at least 10 times that of LYNX. It's the difference in light rail vs. heavy rail, and a 1 year old system vs. a 30 year old system. Marta is not fully built out either...I'm not sure where you get your information, but it's incorrect.

Charlotte transit is getting attention because it is new and has PLANS for expansion. PLANS are different from expansion under construction - so we'll see how much of it actually gets built with all the opposition and funding problems in the news. There are huge plans for expansion of transit in Atlanta, but the big question is funding.

Check your's and my numbers again. I was talking about the rail ONLY portion of Charlotte's system and MARTA. According to my source, MARTA's rail carries about 67 million passengers per year and is about 50 miles of rail. Do the math and see what you come up with.

I think you are counting MARTA's bus and rail ridership together and coming up with double the passengers per mile. If you are doing this don't worry, it is a common rookie mistake. If I am wrong, it is only because my source was inaccurate.

Also, think about what you just said "daily ridership is at least 10 times that of LYNX". If daily ridership is 10 times greater and your system's miles of track is 5 times greater, then passenger's per mile is only about double, right?

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by urbancharlotte

Check your's and my numbers again. I was talking about the rail ONLY portion of Charlotte's system and MARTA. According to my source, MARTA's rail carries about 67 million passengers per year and is about 50 miles of rail. Do the math and see what you come up with.

I think you are counting MARTA's bus and rail ridership together and coming up with double the passengers per mile. If you are doing this don't worry, it is a common rookie mistake. If I am wrong, it is only because my source was inaccurate.

I'm not a rookie (My 268 posts to Your 184 posts) and I'm not calculating anything...5,817 passengers/mile is the number shown on the 2008 Listing of U.S. Heavy Rail Systems by Ridership.

You have been wrong on several counts when quoting "statistics" in this thread. I don't think it's your sources, I think it's you.