Atlanta Transit Expansion Comes Closer as Region Prepares for Tax Referendum (Doraville: university, tax rates)

[testa50]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Where we could very possibly shoot ourselves in the foot is to not plan a course of action where we become the eventual hub of this future HSR rail operations in the Southeast. Thank goodness for a good geographical location though.

Well, this is all going to take a hell of a long time to pan out and, like you say, we are blessed geographically. You can't go between Charlotte and Tennessee because of the mountains. Going from Charlotte down to Florida is a really long haul with no major cities. Any route between AL/MS/LA/TX and the Carolinas/Virginia pretty much HAS to go through Atlanta.

I'm not heavy in favor of HSR, but if it gets built, we may as well have lines supporting us. I still think HSR to Charlotte makes sense since there are so many substantial intermediate cities (Athens, Clemson, Greenville, Spartanburg) that would be served--that's the real advantage of HSR over flying.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Right now, the only cities that meet that definition for High Speed Rail within a 500 mile radius is Charlotte and Savannah.

I'd love to have even a nice medium speed train to Savannah. It wouldn't have to be the TGV or the Shinkansen, just a first rate, modern train that would get me down there in 2-3 hours. That certainly beats driving and is competitive with flying. Two or three runs a day would be fantastic.

It would be a real game changer, in my opinion, for Atlanta to have easy access to a world class port like Savannah.

Athens is high on my list as well. Can you imagine how civilized it would be if you could buzz over to UGA for a conference, maybe grab some lunch downtown and get back on the train for the cocktail hour?

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'd love to have even a nice medium speed train to Savannah. It wouldn't have to be the TGV or the Shinkansen, just a first rate, modern train that would get me down there in 2-3 hours. That certainly beats driving and is competitive with flying. Two or three runs a day would be fantastic.

It would be a real game changer, in my opinion, for Atlanta to have easy access to a world class port like Savannah.

Athens is high on my list as well. Can you imagine how civilized it would be if you could buzz over to UGA for a conference, maybe grab some lunch downtown and get back on the train for the cocktail hour?

It's almost cocktail hour now, arjay!!!!! Woo hoo!!! Seriously, though, a train to Athens and Savannah would be very cool. I could see taking it over for an afternoon and night in Savannah and back again the next day. I'll never do that in a car.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'd love to have even a nice medium speed train to Savannah.

Me, you, 6 million other Atlantans and 400,000 Savannians want this at the very least. It's not a bad option either.

There would likely be a ton of stops between Atlanta and Macon (or a separate train all together), but given the mass nothingness between Macon and Savannah a trip on a modern regular speed train would probably take 3 hours tops.

From there it's mutually beneficially from a getting around standpoint. Savannah and small and compact enough to not need a car to get around and Atlanta proper has MARTA.

Then there is biggest benefit of all: parades and green beer on St. Patty's day in Savannah and back in my bed in Atlanta the same night.

In other words, we all win.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

It's almost cocktail hour now, arjay!!!!! Woo hoo!!! Seriously, though, a train to Athens and Savannah would be very cool. I could see taking it over for an afternoon and night in Savannah and back again the next day. I'll never do that in a car.

I'm just about to get started, Ansley.

If we had that kind of train service it would radically alter the feasability of making short visits to Athens, Savannah or other cities in the region. I'd love to hook up with Nashville, Chattanooga and Charlotte.

That's where first rate rail service excels. It doesn't have to be a super duper bulletmobile. Just a nice train that gets you there in good order in a reasonable amount of time.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

There would likely be a ton of stops between Atlanta and Macon (or a separate train all together), but given the mass nothingness between Macon and Savannah a trip on a modern regular speed train would probably take 3 hours tops.

From there it's mutually beneficially from a getting around standpoint. Savannah and small and compact enough to not need a car to get around and Atlanta proper has MARTA.

Buzackly.

We don't need special rail beds to run a decent train to Savannah, do we? It wasn't that long ago that the mighty Nancy Hanks came roaring out of Atlanta every morning and headed for the coast. I don't know what her top speed was, but, man, once she got out of the city that train was moving!

Couldn't we just bring that service back, and maybe update it with some new technology and modern rolling stock? Start small and then build from there. After all, the Central of Georgia was around long before anybody even dreamed of I-20.

Sec. LaHood and Gov. Deal, are y'all reading this?

[ATL Urbanist]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Then there is biggest benefit of all: parades and green beer on St. Patty's day in Savannah and back in my bed in Atlanta the same night.

St. Pat's Day transit is great, but I gotta say that the biggest benefit, for me, would be escaping that inCREDibly boring drive from Atlanta to Savannah on I-16. I love Savannah to pieces and I would definitely visit more if I didn't have to make that drive.

[po-boy]

Train is a really nice way to travel for those intermediate trips. When I lived in DC I took the Acela up to New York City several times. It was super-convenient, comfortable and not too expensive. The trip took like three hours. It was a much more pleasant experience than flying and it took me right into the heart of the cities instead of the airports which are further from the downtowns (except Reagan National, which has a great location).

As I said in a previous post, I think Atlanta-Charlotte makes a lot of sense. And Charlotte would presumably be connected with Raleigh. If Raleigh connected with DC, that would give people in Atlanta access to pretty much the entire east coast (though I think once you start getting above 8 hours or so you may be better off flying).

Atlanta-Savannah sounds nice too, but I'm not sure if the quantity of trips would be high enough to justify the expense.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'm just about to get started, Ansley.

If we had that kind of train service it would radically alter the feasability of making short visits to Athens, Savannah or other cities in the region. I'd love to hook up with Nashville, Chattanooga and Charlotte.

That's where first rate rail service excels. It doesn't have to be a super duper bulletmobile. Just a nice train that gets you there in good order in a reasonable amount of time.

This is a good point. In Italy, for instance, you should always ask for "regionale" trains...their "low speed" version. It costs half as much as the high speed variety, and hits something like 150kph on the straightaways, which is plenty fast for me. I just settle into a book or watch the countryside and don't even notice whether the journey takes 3 hours or only 2 hours and 15 minutes.

[toll_booth]

One of the proposed projects is collector-distributor lanes on 400 in Sandy Springs. Anyone know the details about that?