MARTA eyeing major expansion up Georgia 400 corridor (Atlanta, White: neighborhoods, taxes)

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I still think system expansion and lowered fares will be the key to MARTA's survival. You've got to create a system that people want to ride.

I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times. Double my property taxes under one condition, 100% of that extra amount goes directly to adding Marta rail up 400 and all places north, east, south, west. And I don't even ride Marta but EVERYONE will benefit fom the congestion relief.

Also, tax credits to businesses that promote and adopt telecommuting would do even more. We have the technology, we just need to quit being wimps about it and embrace telecommuting. You just don't need everyone to come in everyday. Period. Dumbest thing we do is send workers in to do simple repetitive tasks. Billing, customer care, order or data entry, sales, support...most of that can stay home. There are a myriad of ways to ensure productivity. You can log, record and measure work online. The location in which they accomplish the tasks is simply geography.

Gain rotating meetings as part of the tax credit. Don't have everyone come in on Monday when you could stagger some of the meetings. It's just a way to,use your resources more wisely.

It's insane. Tax us and give companies that money in tax credits if they will endorse telecommuting. I'll be happy to take a take home paycut to do it. It would give me 10 hours back every 5 days worked. Worth every penny.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

Now this is something I can support. I hope it happens. I also think they should extend the east line from Indian Creek to Lithonia also.

Funnily enough, that project is farther along than the project of this thread.

[Lady's Man]

MARTA needs to expand intown as well. You're not going to get a lot of traffic off the road by adding a few stations up 400. We need to increase the density intown and itp by using the DC approach, the former "murder capital" of the world. Increase density, increase demand, increase prices, and decrease the undesirables.

[MattCW]

And where would you route MARTA downtown? I think we'd all like to see a "west line" that serves the Northside/Marietta corridor and Georgia Tech, but the only things to be running around there any time soon will be the streetcars. Atlanta is long and narrow unlike other cities that are more spread out, so at most we could have two high density N-S corridors with lower density connections across them.

[cqholt]

I'm surprised given that they've been paying the MARTA tax for over 40 years and only have a few bus lines to show for it.

That's because middle and upper middle class people have a stigma about buses. If the demand was there, MARTA would have bus routes in North Fulton.

And where would you route MARTA downtown? I think we'd all like to see a "west line" that serves the Northside/Marietta corridor and Georgia Tech, but the only things to be running around there any time soon will be the streetcars. Atlanta is long and narrow unlike other cities that are more spread out, so at most we could have two high density N-S corridors with lower density connections across them.

In the form of streetcars and LRT lines. The current HRT lines give Atlanta a great backbone of high capacity, high speed transit.

[LynnHarris]

North Fulton residents voice support for MARTA expansion - Daily Agenda - Atlanta Magazine

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by LynnHarris

North Fulton residents voice support for MARTA expansion - Daily Agenda - Atlanta Magazine

Thanks for the update. If north Fulton gets tied in by heavy rail it will pop like never before.

[Ant131531]

I think Atlanta needs to just focus more rail inside the city limits. Those Eastside neighborhoods would do extremely well with more rail. It just doesn't seem like suburbanites care about rail outside of the perimeter so screw them and make a world class transit system within the I-285.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

I think Atlanta needs to just focus more rail inside the city limits. Those Eastside neighborhoods would do extremely well with more rail. It just doesn't seem like suburbanites care about rail outside of the perimeter so screw them and make a world class transit system within the I-285.

North Fulton seems pretty supportive (especially since they pay the MARTA tax)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

I think Atlanta needs to just focus more rail inside the city limits. Those Eastside neighborhoods would do extremely well with more rail. It just doesn't seem like suburbanites care about rail outside of the perimeter so screw them and make a world class transit system within the I-285.

I'm surprised to hear you say that.

North Springs, the northernmost station on the line, is very busy and has 6,119 daily entries.

That's far more than the intown eastside neighborhoods -- twice as many as Inman Park/Reynoldstown (3,021), three times as many as King Memorial (1,941), and six times the number at East Lake (1,101)