Keith Parker: MARTA’s rail system ideally would be double its size (Atlanta: real estate, apartment)

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by erick295

Holy s**t dude, you write some of the longest and most confusing sentences I've ever seen.

Sorry, but someone had to say it. Carry on...

You must be new around here. Just wait for his 10,000 word essays on what could've easily been said in 10 words. I've never seen someone say so much to say so little.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

Pull an Obama, he breaks laws all the time.

???????????

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by erick295

Holy s**t dude, you write some of the longest and most confusing sentences I've ever seen.

Sorry, but someone had to say it. Carry on...

I agree. I appreciate the statements he contributes, but the information seems to come out in parangraphical sentences.

[gtjared]

Originally Posted by mattee01

I agree. I appreciate the statements he contributes, but the information seems to come out in parangraphical sentences.

Same. I've actually learned quite a bit about Cobb politics, etc. from his posts, but they do get long winded. That said, I'd rather see these long posts by him than none at all.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by gtjared

Same. I've actually learned quite a bit about Cobb politics, etc. from his posts, but they do get long winded. That said, I'd rather see these long posts by him than none at all.

I love B2R's posts. Yes, they may be a tad prolix at times but they are packed with good data and analysis.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

This is also a good question because business and political interests in traditionally transit-averse but increasingly severely-congested Cobb and Gwinnett counties have been talking of quietly supporting a potential move by the North Fulton County legislative delegation to push the state to takeover MARTA and sell it off to private investors as a means of getting rail transit lines extended into North Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties without having to ask tax increase-averse and government expansion-averse suburban voters for a sales tax increase.

Originally Posted by erick295

Holy s**t dude, you write some of the longest and most confusing sentences I've ever seen.

Sorry, but someone had to say it. Carry on...

Holy s**t dude! You write some of the shortest and most simple-minded sentences anyone has ever seen.

Sorry, but someone had to say what everyone was thinking.

For some, it's easy to criticize but difficult, if not impossible, to actually have something meaningful to contribute to a discussion.

To break it down so that you and a few of the reading-impaired and the simple-minded can understand (as most people who log-on to City-Data.com actually have excellent reading comprehension skills and actually like to read words): BUSINESSMEN IN COBB AND GWINNETT COUNTIES SECRETLY SUPPORT NORTH FULTON REPUBLICANS' DESIRE TO SELL MARTA TO HIGHEST BIDDER!...Complete story in pictures at 11!

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

You must be new around here. Just wait for his 10,000 word essays on what could've easily been said in 10 words. I've never seen someone say so much to say so little.

Likewise, gtcorndog, just like how everyone so anxiously awaits your 10-word essays on what could have been easily said in zero words. I've never seen someone with so little (if anything) to contribute to the conservation say so much to communicate absolutely nothing.

Or to translate specifically for you gtcorndog: DUH...HE SAY TWO MANY WOORDS GTCORNDOG DON'T LIKE 2 REED...END DUH.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by erick295

If the best example of privately funded rail transit you can come up with is a fragmented system that folded more than half a century ago and left Atlanta with the very mess that MARTA is trying to solve, I think I made my point.

I think it is a great example of the damage that has been done by dumping tax dollars into highways. Why do you think no sprawl existed before that? Why do you think sprawl is still missing from places where they make users pay for transportation?

If roads are so great and that is all that is economically viable then why are you opposed to having users directly pay for how much transportation they are using like people do for water or power? It would just mean more roads.

[gtjared]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I love B2R's posts. Yes, they may be a tad prolix at times but they are packed with good data and analysis.

Spot on.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by MattCW

You can't define a user of public infrastructure as someone who only rides the train or drives on the street. That's like saying a user of the police is only someone who is arrested, or calls 911. In my town, there are plenty of streets I've never been on once, but those streets host several large industries that bring millions of dollars into the city not just in taxes. Because of them, I enjoy a stronger police force that keeps crime down for me, as well as enough people around to support the local businesses which keeps them open and available for me. So "user fees" applied only to direct users basically creates free-loaders out of everyone else. It's also a false selfishness, since sure you'll be able to keep a small extra amount of your money, but what do you get out of it? Far less than if everyone is taxed, that's for sure.


There's nothing toy light rail about it. The light rail is far cheaper than the Heavy Rail would be, and allows the sharing of right of way where it would be incredibly expensive to build the dedicated RoW needed for heavy rail. Even so, very little of it will be truly shared, there will be dedicated reservations or lanes for most. But it will provide a huge benefit. Currently, there is no transit means of traveling between Avondale and Lindbergh that is much less than an hour. Clifton LRT will cut that down to 28 minutes last I looked which is less than drive-time during the rush hour, and about the same as driving off-peak.

I take it you don't travel to Alpharetta very often, there is tons of density up that way, and tons of traffic. 400 is shrouded by trees so it's not easy to see the development.

Look at the MARTA studies. Beyond the mall there's nothing near the MARTA corridor until you get to North Alpharetta.

As for Clifton, its not that expensive to have dedicated ROW from Lindberg to Emory. If you use the RR tracks to East Lake (not that that is necessarily the best route), that ROW will not be extraordinarily expensive. Instead, they've got a slow line that takes traffic lanes from an already over-burdened area for a ridership that is less than half the ridership that would go only on a heavy rail stub from Lindberg to Emory. Since they will force a transfer to use the system, they won't get many people who actually have a choice.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

disagree. alpharetta is a job center, with many commuting directly to north alpharetta (windward, old milton, etc.) and the north point area from places all over the metro. i used to do deliveries in the alpharetta area. you would not believe how many jobs are really located here. we've got the regional corporate HQ for verizon AND at&t for goodness sakes.

Actually, that's part of the reason for not going out to the tech hub in North Alpharetta, in addition to what I've said about there being very little between the mall and that tech hub.

Do we really want to encourage businesses to locate on the fringe of the north metro area by putting a heavy rail stop?