An "Improvement" in Transit..If you wanna call it that.. (Atlanta: how much, live in)

[NY2ATL2NY]

So ATL Managed to get this Streetcar project off the Ground...By Picking Someone to design and build the Vehicles...Im for this project...BUT I Think for a
Pricetag of 47 Million bucks it wont DO A DAMN THING for overall congestion...its like a tourist line for Downtown....If ATL Put this Kind of energy into its COMUTTER RAIL startup then maybe we couldve actually had a Line or two Running by now...I Think Atlanta shouldve been puttin 100 PERCENT Into Commuter Rail...ITS TIME TO CUT THE BULLSHYT ALREADY!!! What good is a 2.6 mile streetcar going to do for the Hellified Traffic coming from ALL DIRECTIONS (I20-75-85-400)???? ABSOULUTELY NOTHING! Its like Damn Already how much longer do we have to suffer?? They say this "Is the beginning of regionwide transportation"...When in 2050???...I know theres all kind of BS Politics with the freight railroads and watever but We need to Focus on the Commuter Rail Implementation...I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!

[PeteyNice]

Blame the state and the suburban counties. $47M would not have made a dent in environmental impact studies for commuter rail let alone actually building something. And, why should the city be completely funding something that is of primary benefit to residents of other counties?

The state has had a huge pile of money set aside from the federal government for commuter rail for years but it is matching funds and they refuse to match them so the money just sits.

The state and its balkanized way of doing transit is the biggest obstacle. I don't see that ever being overcome.

[waronxmas]

The streetcar is not meant to do a thing about congestion and never was. It is improve pedestrian connectivity and transit in the City of Atlanta proper. Not every transit project has to be about what people OTP do/want.

[cqholt]

The streetcar will showcase to the citizens of the metro area how this old technology can be used in a modern city. Streetcars are cheaper than building HRT, sever higher density areas, but don not travel as far. Streetcars can be used as collector-distributor system to complement MARTA's existing HRT. I can see streetcar systems being implemented in Marietta, Roswell, and other older downtown areas to move people about. Streetcars are not meant to alleviate congestion from long-distance travel.
Blame GDOT for not building Commuter Rail The money is there and if GDOT doesn't do something soon with it the feds are going to take it back. So please do not blame the City of Atlanta for wanting to help a historic corridor and move tourist from 2 of its most popular destinations. Tourism is big business in Atlanta.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by NY2ATL2NY

So ATL Managed to get this Streetcar project off the Ground...By Picking Someone to design and build the Vehicles...Im for this project...BUT I Think for a
Pricetag of 47 Million bucks it wont DO A DAMN THING for overall congestion...its like a tourist line for Downtown....If ATL Put this Kind of energy into its COMUTTER RAIL startup then maybe we couldve actually had a Line or two Running by now...I Think Atlanta shouldve been puttin 100 PERCENT Into Commuter Rail...ITS TIME TO CUT THE BULLSHYT ALREADY!!! What good is a 2.6 mile streetcar going to do for the Hellified Traffic coming from ALL DIRECTIONS (I20-75-85-400)???? ABSOULUTELY NOTHING! Its like Damn Already how much longer do we have to suffer?? They say this "Is the beginning of regionwide transportation"...When in 2050???...I know theres all kind of BS Politics with the freight railroads and watever but We need to Focus on the Commuter Rail Implementation...I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!

It took me longer to make sense of this mess than it takes me to drive to work.

[ATLTJL]

Seems ludicrous to me. I can't imagine anybody using this thing on a regular basis as it doesn't really go many great places that aren't within walking distance anyway.

Maybe it will help revitalize some parts of downtown, though.

Bottom line is I don't live in Atlanta. If this is a project that the city's taxpayers decided that they wanted, who am I to tell them not to do it? I think they are wasting their money, but if they think it's important, they should be able to do it.

It would be awesome if I'm wrong and the streetcar helps the city.

BTW, we are talking about the streetcar that goes from Philips Arena over the King Center, right?

[cqholt]

Bottom line is I don't live in Atlanta. If this is a project that the city's taxpayers decided that they wanted, who am I to tell them not to do it? I think they are wasting their money, but if they think it's important, they should be able to do it.

It would be awesome if I'm wrong and the streetcar helps the city.

BTW, we are talking about the streetcar that goes from Philips Arena over the King Center, right?

This is a project that the City of Atlanta residents are paying for and no one else. Tourism is very important to the City of Atlanta and downtown. The streetcar will help move tourist between 2 popular destinations, King Center and Centennial Olympic Park. Most opposition on here are from non-residents, lets ask some Sweet Auburn residents or business owners their opinions on it?
http://clatl.com/atlanta/atlanta-str...nt?oid=2269459

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

This is a project that the City of Atlanta residents are paying for and no one else.

I thought half the money was coming from a federal grant.

[cqholt]

I thought half the money was coming from a federal grant.

That is true, but if Atlanta hadn't scooped up the TIGER fund it would have gone to some other city, maybe even a liberal city!

[NY2ATL2NY]

I Understand Guys....Ur right it is the GDOT That is responsible for this not Atlanta proper...Even tho it is the State capital so it kinda Indirectly is on Atlanta But I Get it...The streetcar wasnt meant to do anything but shapeup Downtown Which is an Absoulutely Awesome thing for the City...I remember when the GDOT Had the 87 Million for the Startup line to Griffin GA and nothing was done with it...SMH...Such a frustrating thin dealing wit these gdot guys....I think we need some Brand New YOUNG faces in there to Reflect The new Era...The Transit Era...that were in ..And Finally Detract from this OLD mindset of building roads all crazy....And finally embrace Commuter Rail 100 percent...Guess ill be sitting in traffic for quite some time to come everytime I visit...I Look forward to riding the new StreetCar eventually Tho!