Does commuting really have to be awful?!

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by JPD

Marta is pretty good for getting to sport and music events or to the airport, but for day to day running around it is not a good system. Go ride the Metro in DC and see what a transit system is supposed to be like.

DC Metro rail map:

Metro - Metrorail System Map (http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm - broken link)

MARTA rail map:

MARTA - Getting There - Rail Schedules & Maps (http://www.itsmarta.com/getthere/schedules/index-rail.htm - broken link)

I'm from the San Francisco Bay area...believe me, I know how a Train system is suppose to run BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit District, I've also used to DC Metro several times while I've been on business there and in NYC (My brother lives in Manhattan). All I'm saying that for ITP it's functional and serves it's purpose. Altanta was not built for people to ride rail all the time, I think It fits most people's needs just fine, people don't want to fully get ride of their cars so so they use Marta to fit their lives. In that case, that means using it for sporting/special events, Airport or going to work. Everything else, we use our vehicles if need be.

[deathcabber]

Originally Posted by JPD

Marta is pretty good for getting to sport and music events or to the airport, but for day to day running around it is not a good system.

Thank you, my point exactly.

[starzfalldown]

Yeah but riding Marta can be like a bus to a bus to a train to a bus. I worked in Alpharetta on North Point Pkwy and worked with alot of people with a 2 hour plus Marta commute.

Ditch the Republicans, raise some taxes, and get some benefits.

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by deathcabber

Ok, so you named places all within like a 3 mile radius. Basically you can go anywhere dead N,S,E, or W but nothing in between like up in NW Atlanta up 75N...sorry to disagree but in cities like Chicago you can get places that dont just have events etc. You can get to residential areas as well with their rail system.

The reason why Marta does'nt go into those areas was because of the ignorance of local and state leaders during the time Marta was being planned. Marta originally wanted to expand into the lily white (at the time) Cobb, Gwinett and Clayton counties. Guess we know what happened there(Thanks to those great forward thinking leaders of those communities)... They believed that Blacks would use Marta to infiltrate homes and pillage their communities.

Most people know Marta is short for Moving Africans Around Through Atlanta. These type of terms came from the ignorance of yesteryear and that's why Marta does'nt go OTP besides Fulton County. I would love for Marta to expand but it's hand are tied because of State Legislators who continue to not to fund the system.

But for me, it works fine since I live ITP inside the city and don't have to deal with the traffic.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

Altanta was not built for people to ride rail all the time.

Actually, it was. Well, maybe not "rail", but the streetcar system (public transit) was pretty extensive back in the old days. Atlanta was definitely intended to be a city in which automobiles were not a necessity. Here are some scans of their maps:

1940s:

http://jolomo.net/atlanta/pics/gpmap.jpg

1924:

http://jolomo.net/atlanta/pics/b.076.jpg

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

The reason why Marta does'nt go into those areas was because of the ignorance of local and state leaders during the time Marta was being planned. Marta originally wanted to expand into the lily white (at the time) Cobb, Gwinett and Clayton counties. Guess we know what happened there(Thanks to those great forward thinking leaders of those communities)... They believed that Blacks would use Marta to infiltrate homes and pillage their communities.

Most people know Marta is short for Moving Africans Around Through Atlanta. These type of terms came from the ignorance of yesteryear and that's why Marta does'nt go OTP besides Fulton County. I would love for Marta to expand but it's hand are tied because of State Legislators who continue to not to fund the system.

But for me, it works fine since I live ITP inside the city and don't have to deal with the traffic.

"Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta", is what I meant to write in my earlier post. Also those maps you pulled up are really nice and all, but those were different times. When the average Atlantan could'nt afford their own vehicles of course they used light rail in Atlanta. Of course it would be great to have it here but let's get real. People here in Atlanta will ditch their cars anytime soon unless it's absolutely necessary. Just like in the San Fran Bay area, people use BART for their own distinct purposes, like going to work and to the airport and to the city for events. BART does'nt run into residential areas for the most part in the Bay area either...

[clsmith15]

They will not build a commuter rail going into the suburbs. They are afraid low income people will move there if they do that.

[Nada_III]

Originally Posted by clsmith15

They will not build a commuter rail going into the suburbs. They are afraid low income people will move there if they do that.

so low income people can afford expensive suburban housing?

-a|ex