AJC article states that the southside poised for growth

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by oobanks

I agree with you 100 percent. I can for some reason see light rail running to at least Jonesboro and Commuter rail Maybe a little further out into Henry County. Im pretty sure Marta will end up going with some kind of Light/Commuter Rail Mix to at least LoveJoy or Bus Rapid Transit, depending on Time Tables and what they can actually push through in a timely manner. Dont see a Heavy Rail expansion happening though, would take longer and cost more. As far as any kind of Commuter Rail to Macon, i dont see that any time in the foreseeable Future. It all has to do with politics and the way State Government feels about Transit. They have been talking about rail to Macon since the 90s.. Its gonna take a True State effort and i dont see that happening.

I wonder how many people that voted "yes' for MARTA in Clayton did it under the assumption that HRT was going to be used.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by oobanks

I agree with you 100 percent. I can for some reason see light rail running to at least Jonesboro and Commuter rail Maybe a little further out into Henry County. Im pretty sure Marta will end up going with some kind of Light/Commuter Rail Mix to at least LoveJoy or Bus Rapid Transit, depending on Time Tables and what they can actually push through in a timely manner. Dont see a Heavy Rail expansion happening though, would take longer and cost more. As far as any kind of Commuter Rail to Macon, i dont see that any time in the foreseeable Future. It all has to do with politics and the way State Government feels about Transit. They have been talking about rail to Macon since the 90s.. Its gonna take a True State effort and i dont see that happening.

I have heard light rail for sure from my MARTA source, and Keith Parker re-iterated there would be rail yesterday, but he also hinted at BRT. So I agree with you.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by Gulch

I wonder how many people that voted "yes' for MARTA in Clayton did it under the assumption that HRT was going to be used.

I don't know. Judging from what I saw from the Clayton contingent yesterday - they were just thrilled to have transit again. I think the votes were about a real need - not necessarily heavy rail.

[oobanks]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

You realize counties like Gwinnett are quickly nearing 900K. Clayton is probably somewhere near 270K at this point. Clayton has A LOT of ground to cover if it wishes to be the "next" Gwinnett.. and either way, why would it want to be? It needs to have its own identity and not make the same mistakes Gwinnett or DeKalb have.



Wouldn't Henry have to approve the MARTA tax... if it were LRT? Wouldn't LRT or HRT make more sense than CR, even to Henry? At least to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Any further and CR would suffice.

I think you Totally missed my point on this one. I was speaking more in terms of Layout and Density, not Current Population. Every one knows the Northern Suburban Counties are far more populated. Also as far as the Transit and Highway infrastructure. Clayton will soon have Marta and Demographics are kinda Similar to Dekalb, so is Density. As far as Henry, it is starting Toll Express Lanes and its Suburban layout is simular to Gwinnett in the earlier stages. So is the Traffic Congestion if you have ever driven down I-75 during rushhour or even on the weekends. As far as Transit, i dont see Marta Light Rail and definitely not Heavy Rail Coming into Henry, possibly Commuter Rail and that would be something State ran 9 time out of 10 if that ever happens. The closest Marta can get to Henry or the ATL Motor Speedway is LoveJoy or sections of Stockbridge on the Clayton side. They could possibly run Shuttles to the Speedway on Race weekends, who knows. Most Heavy Rail Subways around the US or world normally dont run out that far in the burbs, they stay confined to the Urban dense areas. Commuter Rail is made for the far out Burbs and Exurbs

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by oobanks

MARTA Extention into CLAYTON COUNTY, I-75 South Metro Rev. Toll Lanes, Porsche Plant, New Jobs in the Southlake Area, Im not suprised.... I can see Clayton County becoming the next Dekalb and Henry County the next Gwinnett easily. The signs are there

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

You realize counties like Gwinnett are quickly nearing 900K. Clayton is probably somewhere near 270K at this point. Clayton has A LOT of ground to cover if it wishes to be the "next" Gwinnett.. and either way, why would it want to be? It needs to have its own identity and not make the same mistakes Gwinnett or DeKalb have.

Originally Posted by oobanks

I agree with you 100 percent. I can for some reason see light rail running to at least Jonesboro and Commuter rail Maybe a little further out into Henry County. Im pretty sure Marta will end up going with some kind of Light/Commuter Rail Mix to at least LoveJoy or Bus Rapid Transit, depending on Time Tables and what they can actually push through in a timely manner. Dont see a Heavy Rail expansion happening though, would take longer and cost more. As far as any kind of Commuter Rail to Macon, i dont see that any time in the foreseeable Future. It all has to do with politics and the way State Government feels about Transit. They have been talking about rail to Macon since the 90s.. Its gonna take a True State effort and i dont see that happening.

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

Wouldn't Henry have to approve the MARTA tax... if it were LRT? Wouldn't LRT or HRT make more sense than CR, even to Henry? At least to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Any further and CR would suffice.

Originally Posted by oobanks

I think you Totally missed my point on this one. I was speaking more in terms of Layout and Density, not Current Population. Every one knows the Northern Suburban Counties are far more populated. Also as far as the Transit and Highway infrastructure. Clayton will soon have Marta and Demographics are kinda Similar to Dekalb, so is Density. As far as Henry, it is starting Toll Express Lanes and its Suburban layout is simular to Gwinnett in the earlier stages. So is the Traffic Congestion if you have ever driven down I-75 during rushhour or even on the weekends. As far as Transit, i dont see Marta Light Rail and definitely not Heavy Rail Coming into Henry, possibly Commuter Rail and that would be something State ran 9 time out of 10 if that ever happens. The closest Marta can get to Henry or the ATL Motor Speedway is LoveJoy or sections of Stockbridge on the Clayton side. They could possibly run Shuttles to the Speedway on Race weekends, who knows. Most Heavy Rail Subways around the US or world normally dont run out that far in the burbs, they stay confined to the Urban dense areas. Commuter Rail is made for the far out Burbs and Exurbs

An interesting (and ironic) point about oobanks' comparison of Henry County to Gwinnett County is that Henry County political and business leaders have openly expressed a desire to see Henry County become "the next Gwinnett County".

Despite all of the overcrowding and congestion and increasing crime issues that have come with such massive population growth and overdevelopment in Gwinnett County, there are political and business interest in other counties in the Atlanta region (like Henry and Coweta and Paulding counties) that view Gwinnett County as being a smashing success that they would like to emulate.

I also agree with WanderingImport that Heavy Rail Transit service needs to extend as far south as the Atlanta Motor Speedway which hosts many major events throughout the year in addition to just a few major automobile racing events each year....Major events which often generate much additional traffic on already heavily traveled routes like US 19-41 South and I-75 South.
Season Calendar | Events/Tickets | Atlanta Motor Speedway

I also agree with oobanks and other posters about the pressing need for regional commuter rail service to be implemented out to Henry County and beyond....Preferably in the form of some kind of higher-speed passenger rail service along both the GA 54/US 19-41 South and I-75 South corridors....And preferably as far south as Bibb (Macon) and Houston (Warner Robins, Bonaire, Kathleen and Perry) in Middle Georgia where the locals are intensely interested in being linked to Atlanta with high-speed passenger rail service and receiving the possible economic boost that such a link would provide.

Originally Posted by oobanks

Most Heavy Rail Subways around the US or world normally dont run out that far in the burbs, they stay confined to the Urban dense areas. Commuter Rail is made for the far out Burbs and Exurbs

That's an excellent point that most HRT lines normally don't run that far out into surrounding suburban areas (...the Atlanta Motor Speedway is about 29 miles or so south of Five Points).

Though there are two notable examples where HRT lines do operate at least that far out from the Central Business District of a large major metropolitan region:

One notable example is in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area where the BART Yellow Line operates out to Pittsburg/Bay Point area of Sacramento River Valley which is about 36 miles east/northeast of Downtown San Francisco.

The second notable example is in the Washington D.C. area where (when completed) the new Metrorail Silver HRT Line will operate out to the Ryan area of Loudoun County in Northern Virginia which is about 30 miles west/northwest of Downtown Washington.

(...Loudoun County is a Washington D.C. suburb which traditionally has been somewhat very similar in nature to the Atlanta suburb of Forsyth County, except for the fact that a major airport (Dulles International Airport) is located in the once far-flung outer suburban/exurban county.)

It should also be noted that MARTA was originally proposed to be a regional Heavy Rail Transit system with lines originally envisioned to reach out into the suburbs (and then-exurbs) at least as far out as Clayton and Cobb and Gwinnett counties and beyond.

Even though they were considered to be much more far-flung then they are now, it was intended for Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties to originally be part of MARTA....A regional transit vision which (of course) voters in Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties rejected early-on.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

You realize counties like Gwinnett are quickly nearing 900K. Clayton is probably somewhere near 270K at this point. Clayton has A LOT of ground to cover if it wishes to be the "next" Gwinnett.. and either way, why would it want to be? It needs to have its own identity and not make the same mistakes Gwinnett or DeKalb have.



Wouldn't Henry have to approve the MARTA tax... if it were LRT? Wouldn't LRT or HRT make more sense than CR, even to Henry? At least to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Any further and CR would suffice.

The Atlanta-Macon-Savannah isn't really "commuter rail." Its passenger rail, like the proposed Atlanta-Charlotte rail improvements. Its to replace discretionary or business trips on planes, buses and cars, not commuter trips.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by bu2

The Atlanta-Macon-Savannah isn't really "commuter rail." Its passenger rail, like the proposed Atlanta-Charlotte rail improvements. Its to replace discretionary or business trips on planes, buses and cars, not commuter trips.

At a distance of only about 80-85 miles or so from Downtown Atlanta, Macon would be eligible for regional commuter rail service (hopefully of the high-speed or higher-speed variety) to and from Atlanta.

The roughly 248-mile distance between Atlanta and Savannah would definitely necessitate the need for long-distance/intercity passenger rail service between the two cities (...hopefully also of the high-speed variety).

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by bu2

The Atlanta-Macon-Savannah isn't really "commuter rail." Its passenger rail, like the proposed Atlanta-Charlotte rail improvements. Its to replace discretionary or business trips on planes, buses and cars, not commuter trips.

I realize that. I was speaking more specifically about Atlanta to Macon as commuter rail.

My earlier comment was more in reference to the type of transit from near the airport to as far as Henry County.