Who thinks the MARTA should be expanded to include Cobb,Gwinnett, and the other metro Atlanta counties? (Sandy Springs: townhome, neighborhoods)

[Prichard]

People who live in $600,000 homes can afford $80/week, $100/week and more for gas. Rich people having access to MARTA to save $20/week is a joke!

How far out are people, who want nothing to do with MARTA, going to have to move so they don't have to be bothered with the influx of dense and lower income development that typically springs up around MARTA stations?

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Prichard

the influx of dense and lower income development that typically springs up around MARTA stations?

Name some examples of this happening anytime in the last decade.

[Merin]

Originally Posted by Prichard

People who live in $600,000 homes can afford $80/week, $100/week and more for gas. Rich people having access to MARTA to save $20/week is a joke!

How far out are people, who want nothing to do with MARTA, going to have to move so they don't have to be bothered with the influx of dense and lower income development that typically springs up around MARTA stations?

Living in a 600k hour does not make you rich. In cities such as DC and NYC housing in this price range is pretty common and much more expensive in many cases. These people all take public transportation.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Prichard

People who live in $600,000 homes can afford $80/week, $100/week and more for gas. Rich people having access to MARTA to save $20/week is a joke!

Talk about fuzzy math.

Save $20 per week by taking Marta?

If you're paying $80/week for gas, that adds up to $320 per month. A monthly (30 day, unlimited rides) Marta card is $52.50. If you ride Marta using a monthly card, that's a savings of $267.50 per month, or a few cents shy of $67 per week.

[Prichard]

Math: $267 / month = about $3,200/year. But, you have to get to the Marta Station and park, so you have to subtract some from that. But, regardless, for the people living in the wealthier areas of N. Fulton Co, and other wealthier areas in the Northeast, that savings isn't going to get them to ride MARTA. Mainly, because they simply can't. They use their cars for work, use them to take clients out, use them to go to lunch or meet clients at their offices, use them to go to the club or spa or gym after work. They won't use it simply becaue they spent $80,000 on a new Mercedes which isn't about to sit at a MARTA station all day.

As far as Rich people living in $600K houses - I'd say that's a little above the starting house price where those people will never consider using MARTA. It might not buy a plush house in DC, but this isn't DC. Its about the entry level prce for "nice" houses in the Northern suburbs of Atlanta.

It seems to me that it's all of the DC and New York Transplants that want MARTA to go all over the place. I'd like to know what Native Georgians who live in the North - NorthEast suburbs think about MARTA.

Name some examples of this happening anytime in the last decade.

SANDY SPRINGS

[PeteyNice]

The stigma that MARTA has is very amusing and disappointing, Back in the Tri-State area people who live in multi-million dollar homes and drive SL's take the train to work every day without a second thought.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Prichard

It seems to me that it's all of the DC and New York Transplants that want MARTA to go all over the place. I'd like to know what Native Georgians who live in the North - NorthEast suburbs think about MARTA.

Perhaps not MARTA, but didn't something like 70% of polled Gwinnett County residents recently support the "Brain Train" initiative?

And I think that the expansion of MARTA or any comprehensive transportation plan is one that will work for the middle class (low and upper) folks who commute to and from Midtown and Downtown Atlanta everyday for work. It's the employees, not the execs, who benefit from public transportation options, telecommuting, etc. In NYC, there are still execs who drive into work and park, etc.

And people are moving further out of Atlanta BECAUSE of MARTA? That seems (a) unlikely the main reason or (b) a stupid one if it is.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by PeteyNice

The stigma that MARTA has is very amusing and disappointing, Back in the Tri-State area people who live in multi-million dollar homes and drive SL's take the train to work every day without a second thought.

You just can't compare the two unfortunately. The stench of racism here in Georgia is so horrible, whether folks want to admit it or not. That's not to say it doesn't exist elsewhere, but I have noticed it SO MUCH more here, particularly on issues of planned developments, transportation, etc.

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by Prichard

How far out are people, who want nothing to do with MARTA, going to have to move so they don't have to be bothered with the influx of dense and lower income development that typically springs up around MARTA stations?

Hopefully people with that mindset move way, way, way, way out of the city.

I don't know if you're aware, but transit-oriented development commands big bucks. If you look at the Linbergh Center, Buckhead, Lenox, Midtown, Decatur, East Lake, Candler Park, Inman Park, College Park, and Civic Center stations, you would see that there sure aint any flop-houses or tenaments springing up around them!

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by Prichard

But, regardless, for the people living in the wealthier areas of N. Fulton Co, and other wealthier areas in the Northeast, that savings isn't going to get them to ride MARTA. Mainly, because they simply can't. They use their cars for work, use them to take clients out, use them to go to lunch or meet clients at their offices, use them to go to the club or spa or gym after work. They won't use it simply becaue they spent $80,000 on a new Mercedes which isn't about to sit at a MARTA station all day.

Which is what flexcar was created for. If you are too good for flexcar, take a car service or a taxi.

It’s not just the people in $600k houses in DC or NYC who use transit, everybody does. Yes, even those with the $5 million houses ride transit, everybody does. Of course it take forever before you could even imagine a transit system and associated land uses which rival NYC so this type of behavior is unlikely in Atlanta. It’s not just those from NYC or DC who want transit in Atlanta, its many of the transplants who recognize the benefits of transit.

I’m sorry but Atlanta is a major city. If you want your massive house with several acres of land, no poor people, no transit and no density for miles around you need to be somewhere else. You can’t please everybody, and people who want a rural environment aren’t going to like a major city. It is vital for the health and continued success of the region that some sort of alternative means of transit is built. Deciding not to build a transit system because some rich people don’t want it is irresponsible to the rest of the population. The higher density at Perimeter was probably helped by transit (and some of it is very expensive) but the affordable housing nearby is affordable because it is old, not because it is near transit (not to mention the fact it is disappearing as we speak).