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Old 05-06-2011, 02:51 PM
 
16,626 posts, read 29,278,105 times
Reputation: 7550

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Quote:
Originally Posted by muxBuppie View Post
If you can't walk half a mile that is your problem, not Marta's. People still have to walk in NYC.

True this.
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Old 05-06-2011, 06:12 PM
 
169 posts, read 430,908 times
Reputation: 264
Quote:
Originally Posted by muxBuppie View Post
If you can't walk half a mile that is your problem, not Marta's. People still have to walk in NYC.
Way to go, you totally missed the point.
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Old 05-09-2011, 02:02 PM
bu2
 
23,843 posts, read 14,619,513 times
Reputation: 12635
Analysis I've seen says that transit authorities usually look at 1/4 mile radius around stations as their service area. It may be different in NY or London, but in most of the US, 1/4 mile is the limit for the vast majority of patrons. And, of course, walking past vast parking lots with lots of ingress and egress points discourages walking. Atlanta's lack of a grid system discourages walking as well. You have to walk long distances to get to the next through street. Near the High museum at 14th is one of the few nice walking areas and is a contrast to Buckhead/Lenox.
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Old 05-09-2011, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Georgia
5,845 posts, read 6,112,997 times
Reputation: 3573
Quote:
Originally Posted by bu2 View Post
You can have parking requirements without having the parking lots all out front (see Lenox/Peachtree area or Edgewood Center for how not to make it walkable). Some municipalities encourage parking in the back. The idea of MARTA sponsored TODs does not encourage me. Here they are either vacant (see Lindberg) or they are unwalkable. I'd rather see some flexibility to get developers to come up with workable ideas and keep the government out.
Lindbergh Center is nearly a ghosttown? That's news to me.
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Old 05-09-2011, 02:49 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,731 posts, read 14,284,505 times
Reputation: 2774
Quote:
Originally Posted by toll_booth View Post
Lindbergh Center is nearly a ghosttown? That's news to me.

I'm over there all the time. There are a couple of retail vacancies, but the area has become truly vibrant most of the time. Hardly a ghosttown by any stretch.
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Old 05-09-2011, 03:26 PM
 
Location: Georgia
5,845 posts, read 6,112,997 times
Reputation: 3573
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnatl View Post
I'm over there all the time. There are a couple of retail vacancies, but the area has become truly vibrant most of the time. Hardly a ghosttown by any stretch.
Well of course. But bu2's post suggested otherwise.
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Old 05-12-2011, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Marietta, GA
45 posts, read 76,471 times
Reputation: 55
Here are a couple of my passionate opinions first, then my list of four highest priority MARTA expansions:

1) For greatest overall transportation efficiency, Mass Transit should not impede other types of transit such as vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. For that reason, I support heavy rail implementations over light rail/street car because heavy rail goes under, over, or through obstacles without interfering with other transportation modes - If a train stops/blocks vehicle traffic, you are defeating the purpose. I also support buses using express lanes and building priority bus pullovers at stop lights so the bus does not block traffic and gets a slight jump - there is nothing worse than a bus holding up thirty cars behind them to pick up one passenger.

2) Mass Transit should connect to high volume destinations for everyone and should not be presented/interpreted as the traffic mode for the poor. MARTA needs to connect the Atlanta region's high volume destinations - Period. There are several very high volume locations that are not connected to MARTA rail within current MARTA jurisdiction and several huge ridership potential locations situated a few hundred feet outside of Fulton/Dekalb county that MARTA just ignores because the county in question does not participate in the MARTA tax. It is in MARTA's best interest to identify rail routes and destinations that would increase ridership and build heavy rail to those destinations.

Now my list of four highest priority MARTA extensions:

#1 - Stone Mountain Park - Build a Heavy Rail extension down Memorial Drive corridor to Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain Park boasts that it has 4 Million+ annual visitors - it would be great to provide Georgia's most popular attraction with a heavy rail station to attract both downtown convention visitors as well as the rest of us who would enjoy the convenience of a Heavy Rail Link to Stone Mountain.

#2 - Cumberland Vinings - Build a Heavy Rail extension from Dunwoody Station with stations near Roswell Road, Northside Drive, Wildwood, and with major station near Cumberland Mall. This route/destination would provide direct rail access to a huge number of business offices and corporate headquarters (65,000+ jobs as well as Cumberland Mall, Cobb Galleria Convention Center, Cobb Energy Center, Hotels, etc. This is a situation where MARTA should consider buying land and right-of-ways even though it falls slightly outside Fulton County but the win for MARTA would be dramatic increase in ridership because a direct rail footprint in the Cumberland Vinings area.

#3 - Six Flags - Build a Heavy Rail extension to Six Flag main entrance. Six Flags has millions of annual visitors. A direct rail link to this major Atlanta themepark would increase Atlanta's overall attractiveness as an easy family vacation destination (Air Travelers would not necessarily need a car). A fill-in MARTA station near Fulton Industrial Blvd would serve the 10,000+ warehouse jobs in the area. This extension would be a win/win to increase visitors for Six Flags as well as ridership for MARTA. This is another situation where MARTA is not accurately considering because Six Flags is a few hundred feet inside Cobb County.

#4 - Peachtree Road to Westside of Connector - Build a Heavy Rail Subway beneath Peachtree Road from Buckhead Station to Dome/GWCC Station with fill-in stations at Buckhead Village, Peachtree & Wesley Rd (lots of high rises in this area), Piedmont Hospital, then follow existing rail line to west side of connector stations at Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech, Georgia Aquarium/Centenial Park, then connect to Dome/GWCC station. This route would provide direct rail access for one of the most densely populated corridors in Atlanta and promote the building of more high rises and more density on Peachtree Road and on the west side of the connector. This route should be a subway at least from Buckhead to the Brookwood split, the traffic limit of Peachtree Road has been reached and a surface Streetcar solution would only create more traffic congestion creating a disincentive for greater population density. Definitely expensive, but correct implementation for future growth is essential.

I haven't heard much discussion on any of these destinations ... let's hear some feedback!
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Old 05-12-2011, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Savannah, GA
4,582 posts, read 8,919,336 times
Reputation: 2421
Quote:
Originally Posted by NuclearDensity View Post
Here are a couple of my passionate opinions first, then my list of four highest priority MARTA expansions:

1) For greatest overall transportation efficiency, Mass Transit should not impede other types of transit such as vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. For that reason, I support heavy rail implementations over light rail/street car because heavy rail goes under, over, or through obstacles without interfering with other transportation modes - If a train stops/blocks vehicle traffic, you are defeating the purpose. I also support buses using express lanes and building priority bus pullovers at stop lights so the bus does not block traffic and gets a slight jump - there is nothing worse than a bus holding up thirty cars behind them to pick up one passenger.

2) Mass Transit should connect to high volume destinations for everyone and should not be presented/interpreted as the traffic mode for the poor. MARTA needs to connect the Atlanta region's high volume destinations - Period. There are several very high volume locations that are not connected to MARTA rail within current MARTA jurisdiction and several huge ridership potential locations situated a few hundred feet outside of Fulton/Dekalb county that MARTA just ignores because the county in question does not participate in the MARTA tax. It is in MARTA's best interest to identify rail routes and destinations that would increase ridership and build heavy rail to those destinations.

Now my list of four highest priority MARTA extensions:

#1 - Stone Mountain Park - Build a Heavy Rail extension down Memorial Drive corridor to Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain Park boasts that it has 4 Million+ annual visitors - it would be great to provide Georgia's most popular attraction with a heavy rail station to attract both downtown convention visitors as well as the rest of us who would enjoy the convenience of a Heavy Rail Link to Stone Mountain.

#2 - Cumberland Vinings - Build a Heavy Rail extension from Dunwoody Station with stations near Roswell Road, Northside Drive, Wildwood, and with major station near Cumberland Mall. This route/destination would provide direct rail access to a huge number of business offices and corporate headquarters (65,000+ jobs as well as Cumberland Mall, Cobb Galleria Convention Center, Cobb Energy Center, Hotels, etc. This is a situation where MARTA should consider buying land and right-of-ways even though it falls slightly outside Fulton County but the win for MARTA would be dramatic increase in ridership because a direct rail footprint in the Cumberland Vinings area.

#3 - Six Flags - Build a Heavy Rail extension to Six Flag main entrance. Six Flags has millions of annual visitors. A direct rail link to this major Atlanta themepark would increase Atlanta's overall attractiveness as an easy family vacation destination (Air Travelers would not necessarily need a car). A fill-in MARTA station near Fulton Industrial Blvd would serve the 10,000+ warehouse jobs in the area. This extension would be a win/win to increase visitors for Six Flags as well as ridership for MARTA. This is another situation where MARTA is not accurately considering because Six Flags is a few hundred feet inside Cobb County.

#4 - Peachtree Road to Westside of Connector - Build a Heavy Rail Subway beneath Peachtree Road from Buckhead Station to Dome/GWCC Station with fill-in stations at Buckhead Village, Peachtree & Wesley Rd (lots of high rises in this area), Piedmont Hospital, then follow existing rail line to west side of connector stations at Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech, Georgia Aquarium/Centenial Park, then connect to Dome/GWCC station. This route would provide direct rail access for one of the most densely populated corridors in Atlanta and promote the building of more high rises and more density on Peachtree Road and on the west side of the connector. This route should be a subway at least from Buckhead to the Brookwood split, the traffic limit of Peachtree Road has been reached and a surface Streetcar solution would only create more traffic congestion creating a disincentive for greater population density. Definitely expensive, but correct implementation for future growth is essential.

I haven't heard much discussion on any of these destinations ... let's hear some feedback!
Very good ideas IMO! These kinds of ideas should have been implemented 20 years ago.
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Old 05-12-2011, 11:08 AM
 
3,128 posts, read 6,495,596 times
Reputation: 1599
Quote:
Originally Posted by NuclearDensity View Post
Here are a couple of my passionate opinions first, then my list of four highest priority MARTA expansions:

1) For greatest overall transportation efficiency, Mass Transit should not impede other types of transit such as vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. For that reason, I support heavy rail implementations over light rail/street car because heavy rail goes under, over, or through obstacles without interfering with other transportation modes - If a train stops/blocks vehicle traffic, you are defeating the purpose. I also support buses using express lanes and building priority bus pullovers at stop lights so the bus does not block traffic and gets a slight jump - there is nothing worse than a bus holding up thirty cars behind them to pick up one passenger.

2) Mass Transit should connect to high volume destinations for everyone and should not be presented/interpreted as the traffic mode for the poor. MARTA needs to connect the Atlanta region's high volume destinations - Period. There are several very high volume locations that are not connected to MARTA rail within current MARTA jurisdiction and several huge ridership potential locations situated a few hundred feet outside of Fulton/Dekalb county that MARTA just ignores because the county in question does not participate in the MARTA tax. It is in MARTA's best interest to identify rail routes and destinations that would increase ridership and build heavy rail to those destinations.

Now my list of four highest priority MARTA extensions:

#1 - Stone Mountain Park - Build a Heavy Rail extension down Memorial Drive corridor to Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain Park boasts that it has 4 Million+ annual visitors - it would be great to provide Georgia's most popular attraction with a heavy rail station to attract both downtown convention visitors as well as the rest of us who would enjoy the convenience of a Heavy Rail Link to Stone Mountain.

#2 - Cumberland Vinings - Build a Heavy Rail extension from Dunwoody Station with stations near Roswell Road, Northside Drive, Wildwood, and with major station near Cumberland Mall. This route/destination would provide direct rail access to a huge number of business offices and corporate headquarters (65,000+ jobs as well as Cumberland Mall, Cobb Galleria Convention Center, Cobb Energy Center, Hotels, etc. This is a situation where MARTA should consider buying land and right-of-ways even though it falls slightly outside Fulton County but the win for MARTA would be dramatic increase in ridership because a direct rail footprint in the Cumberland Vinings area.

#3 - Six Flags - Build a Heavy Rail extension to Six Flag main entrance. Six Flags has millions of annual visitors. A direct rail link to this major Atlanta themepark would increase Atlanta's overall attractiveness as an easy family vacation destination (Air Travelers would not necessarily need a car). A fill-in MARTA station near Fulton Industrial Blvd would serve the 10,000+ warehouse jobs in the area. This extension would be a win/win to increase visitors for Six Flags as well as ridership for MARTA. This is another situation where MARTA is not accurately considering because Six Flags is a few hundred feet inside Cobb County.

#4 - Peachtree Road to Westside of Connector - Build a Heavy Rail Subway beneath Peachtree Road from Buckhead Station to Dome/GWCC Station with fill-in stations at Buckhead Village, Peachtree & Wesley Rd (lots of high rises in this area), Piedmont Hospital, then follow existing rail line to west side of connector stations at Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech, Georgia Aquarium/Centenial Park, then connect to Dome/GWCC station. This route would provide direct rail access for one of the most densely populated corridors in Atlanta and promote the building of more high rises and more density on Peachtree Road and on the west side of the connector. This route should be a subway at least from Buckhead to the Brookwood split, the traffic limit of Peachtree Road has been reached and a surface Streetcar solution would only create more traffic congestion creating a disincentive for greater population density. Definitely expensive, but correct implementation for future growth is essential.

I haven't heard much discussion on any of these destinations ... let's hear some feedback!
So logical yet sadly not done. Great post!
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Old 05-12-2011, 11:14 AM
bu2
 
23,843 posts, read 14,619,513 times
Reputation: 12635
Quote:
Originally Posted by toll_booth View Post
Well of course. But bu2's post suggested otherwise.
I'm not over there much at nighttime so it may be livlier than it appears. But there is almost no activity in the daytime. There are vacancies on the street level retail. The apartments don't appear to have a high occupancy, but I don't have any stats on that.
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