Transit Expansion in Metro Atlanta: Los Angeles and Measure R--a template/"how to" for our region? (city hall)

[aries4118]

Transit Expansion in Metro Atlanta: Los Angeles and Measure R--a template/"how to" for our region?


Take a look:

Los Angeles County rail projects: Metropolitan Transportation Authority is poised to accelerate its rail projects - latimes.com


Rail projects funded by Measure R - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-metro-budget.eps-20110515,0,5172788.graphic - broken link)




Thoughts? Comments? Could Metro Atlanta implement something like this for transit expansion?


And don't forget to Enjoy!

[atlantagreg30127]

If you enjoy digging enough (I don't), then I think it was the Travel or Discovery Channel that last year had a very interesting documentary about rail/transit in L.A. from the mid-1900s. Look it up if it's online and it's worth watching and very informative. It appears that a company that built monorail systems offered to build a FREE monorail system in L.A. that had a pretty impressive reach. Free materials, free labor. All L.A. had to do was collect fares and pay for maintaining the system, and if they allowed it to be advertised properly the company that built it would even pitch in for that. This would have led to a very extensive rail system by now, if it had been built.

Put short, people in little suits showed up at City Hall, and convinced the then Mayor that it would be more feasible to use "commuter buses" instead... buses that used diesel for fuel. They went with this, dumping the free transit offer.

Decades later, which led to the documentary, it came to light that all of the major oil companies had people and stock in the company that ran that commuter bus system. Go figure.

L.A. is not the only city that has been greatly "influenced" by the oil mafia over the decades. The L.A. system was shelved by them... the U.S. rail system was pretty much shut down by them except for a few tracks left today, among others. Atlanta, the "car city of the South", I'm sure has been held by many oil execs behind the scenes for many years, as I would be shocked if it weren't true, most likely a number of State leaders as well. "Gifts" go a long way when creating State laws and distributing funding.

L.A. leaders finally started to give big oil the cold shoulder (some). I would doubt Georgia leaders are that progressive yet. Good for our region? Yes. Will it happen anytime soon here? No. Thank oil people for that (and those who cave to their offers).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

If you enjoy digging enough (I don't), then I think it was the Travel or Discovery Channel that last year had a very interesting documentary about rail/transit in L.A. from the mid-1900s. Look it up if it's online and it's worth watching and very informative. It appears that a company that built monorail systems offered to build a FREE monorail system in L.A. that had a pretty impressive reach. Free materials, free labor. All L.A. had to do was collect fares and pay for maintaining the system, and if they allowed it to be advertised properly the company that built it would even pitch in for that. This would have led to a very extensive rail system by now, if it had been built.

Put short, people in little suits showed up at City Hall, and convinced the then Mayor that it would be more feasible to use "commuter buses" instead... buses that used diesel for fuel. They went with this, dumping the free transit offer.

Decades later, which led to the documentary, it came to light that all of the major oil companies had people and stock in the company that ran that commuter bus system. Go figure.

L.A. is not the only city that has been greatly "influenced" by the oil mafia over the decades. The L.A. system was shelved by them... the U.S. rail system was pretty much shut down by them except for a few tracks left today, among others. Atlanta, the "car city of the South", I'm sure has been held by many oil execs behind the scenes for many years, as I would be shocked if it weren't true, most likely a number of State leaders as well. "Gifts" go a long way when creating State laws and distributing funding.

L.A. leaders finally started to give big oil the cold shoulder (some). I would doubt Georgia leaders are that progressive yet. Good for our region? Yes. Will it happen anytime soon here? No. Thank oil people for that (and those who cave to their offers).

I saw the documentary that your talking about--very informative...and depressing.

[AcidSnake]

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna have to look into this.

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

If you enjoy digging enough (I don't), then I think it was the Travel or Discovery Channel that last year had a very interesting documentary about rail/transit in L.A. from the mid-1900s. Look it up if it's online and it's worth watching and very informative. It appears that a company that built monorail systems offered to build a FREE monorail system in L.A. that had a pretty impressive reach. Free materials, free labor. All L.A. had to do was collect fares and pay for maintaining the system, and if they allowed it to be advertised properly the company that built it would even pitch in for that. This would have led to a very extensive rail system by now, if it had been built.

Put short, people in little suits showed up at City Hall, and convinced the then Mayor that it would be more feasible to use "commuter buses" instead... buses that used diesel for fuel. They went with this, dumping the free transit offer.

Decades later, which led to the documentary, it came to light that all of the major oil companies had people and stock in the company that ran that commuter bus system. Go figure.

L.A. is not the only city that has been greatly "influenced" by the oil mafia over the decades. The L.A. system was shelved by them... the U.S. rail system was pretty much shut down by them except for a few tracks left today, among others. Atlanta, the "car city of the South", I'm sure has been held by many oil execs behind the scenes for many years, as I would be shocked if it weren't true, most likely a number of State leaders as well. "Gifts" go a long way when creating State laws and distributing funding.

L.A. leaders finally started to give big oil the cold shoulder (some). I would doubt Georgia leaders are that progressive yet. Good for our region? Yes. Will it happen anytime soon here? No. Thank oil people for that (and those who cave to their offers).