Making Atlanta Perfect: Add Ocean, Ditch Comcast, Fix MARTA

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

An airport is not as aesthetically pleasing as a body of water...hence the "wish" for an ocean. Still, any place needs a water source so you'd think they'd naturally want to be closer to the Chattahoochee.

I think a history lesson is in order here:

A sub-continental divide is a geographic feature that provides the least amount of elevational differentiation (fewer ups and downs) from one area of the country to another. Therefore, it is the perfect place for railroad tracks and the train engines that run along them, because of the slightest slope possible.

If you look on a map with railroads of the Southeast, you will see that the rail lines go right through Atlanta. The Eastern Sub-Continental Divide is the key to understanding the position of Atlanta and the city's importance as a railroad hub for the Southeast. After all, Atlanta would not have thrived without the railroad. Look at a map of the U.S. and you will see Atlanta is one of the few large American cities not on a major body of water.

Atlanta and its interesting geographic position - Atlanta Architecture | Examiner.com

Cities being built along bodies of water had nothing to do with aesthetics and everything to do with transportation of goods and people and as sources of power; the 'Hooch isn't really conducive to either one. When Atlanta was founded, railroads were replacing rivers as the dominant form of transportation which is why the city is located where it is. The city still borders the 'Hooch though, which is why it is a water source.

[cqholt]

For instance in our Gainesville example, a good place for another station might be adjacent to the existing Doraville station, then another "Midtown" Station somewhere around 10th St at Monroe Drive. It's also possible for a Gainesville line to run through to the airport to provide one-seat service to the airport for people along the line.

Dude, get over running commuter trains along the old Decatur Belt ROW. It is not going to happen. That land is now owned by the CoA and being developed for citizens by ABI.