MARTA to make an $8 billion pitch to change the face of Atlanta (Decatur: appointed, real estate market)

[skbl17]

Originally Posted by jsvh

They both are dead. Neither is on the Senate agenda for a vote.

Yeah, I doublechecked, and MARTA has confirmed that the bills are dead. This is what I get for being optimistic about the General Assembly for once.

A few thoughts in light of this horrible news:

1) The General Assembly was not voting for an automatic tax increase. It's not like SB 330 was a unilateral tax increase; it wasn't. I would hope that state senators know that sales tax rates cannot be unilaterally raised by the General Assembly; voters must approve any sales tax increase. If this proposal had to die, I would rather it have been at the ballot box than in the General Assembly. I have a feeling that there wasn't GOP support because of the false belief that a vote in favor of SB 330 was a vote for increasing taxes....or maybe the GOP still doesn't trust MARTA, despite the agency's financial state and outlook. Does the GOP have such a contempt for voters that they won't allow them to have a say in whether or not to raise taxes? I would still have been gutted if the proposal fell at the ballot box, but at least the voters would have had their say.

2) Cosponsors matter, except when they don't. I should note that one of the cosponsors of SB 313 was Jeff Mullis, a Republican who is also the chair of a certain Rules Committee; it's likely that he also supports SB 330. According to the AJC, the bills died because they couldn't get on the Senate Calendar...which is set by the Rules Committee.

3) I need to find out who's running against John Albers, and donate to him or her. He needs to get out. I find it hard to believe that John Albers's solution to the traffic problem is to widen GA 400 (as if Forsyth and North Fulton will stop growing) and add BRT. Ironically, just this week I've seen both GRTA and GCT buses get stuck in express lane traffic.

4) It's highly likely that I won't be voting for Fran Millar if he runs for reelection. He was against both SB 313 and SB 330, but for the unrealistic reason that "the state should support MARTA financially instead of putting a greater burden on taxpayers." Sounds good, if the state DID support MARTA. I'm too much of a realist to accept the tripe that somehow, out of the goodness of their hearts, the General Assembly would start appropriating money for MARTA. Wasn't going to happen, and isn't going to happen for the foreseeable future.

5) DeKalb now has free reign to carry through with its "1% for roads and public safety" plan. Still not voting for it - I don't trust the county government enough - but at least it won't be out of spite: the General Assembly killed this proposal, not the county commission.

6) Where does MARTA go from here? Pardon my snap-back to pessimism, but I don't think ANY of the expansions are happening now, or at least not in the same form. GA 400 rail is all but dead (MARTA themselves confirmed it in that letter to the commission,) the Clifton Corridor LRT is dead if DeKalb goes through with its "1% for roads" threats, I-20 rail may be dead for the same reason. Without the sales tax increase at 0.5%, and short of a new president basically handing out money to transit systems nationwide, MARTA will have virtually nothing for expansion; TODs and existing MARTA funds will not be enough. 16 years may become 32 at this rate. However, traffic isn't getting any better, and businesses and (some) local governments will still want MARTA rail. What now? Wait until next year, and hope that off-year voter turnout won't be so pathetic that the proposal fails again?

7) On #6, the outstanding HB 1032 is also dead - it hasn't even gotten a committee vote yet. I like Rep. Taylor, and I think HB 1032 is a great bill, but I don't want HB 1032 to become the new HR 4: bills that sound awesome and amazing, but don't go anywhere. HB 1032 would be an absolute game changer in funding rail expansion anywhere in the state regardless of agency, but the bill won't even make it past Crossover Day. That bill would have had a greater impact, as MARTA, GRTA, any agency in the state would have been able to take advantage of it to build rail lines.

8) This is now the second time a major transit proposal has failed. The flawed T-SPLOST was killed by voters in 2012, and now this proposal was killed by the General Assembly. Atlanta is now 0-2 on voting for transit expansion...well, more like 0-1.5, as voters had nothing to do with this one.

[primaltech]

Georgia sucks, as always. Light years and decades behind the rest of the country, and the competition. No news there.

The only bright side to anything, I guess, is that the private sector and real estate development will keep doing their thing every year, and at least maybe, hopefully there will be more things to walk to at the existing MARTA stations and they'll be more useful. But the problem is that that's still useless, because nobody lives near the ridiculously few stations.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by 0nyxStation

The Sky is not falling. Atlanta Georgia will be just fine. Rail doesnt need to be extended. People need to move near rail if they want rail access. 37 Stations pick one.

[jsvh]

0nyxStation does have a point. If you want transit access, walkability, and density you need to make the move to live near it. This should be a clear signal to anyone considering to buy a place that values more than one commute option and avoiding traffic, don't buy in a distant suburb like Alpharetta or John's Creek. They will not provide you any options soon. Intown is your best choice now and tomorrow.

Originally Posted by skbl17

8) This is now the second time a major transit proposal has failed. The flawed T-SPLOST was killed by voters in 2012, and now this proposal was killed by the General Assembly.

2012 TSPLOST should not count as a transit proposal. It was majority roads funding. I am a huge transit supporter and would vote against 2012 TSPOLOST against given the chance.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by jsvh

0nyxStation does have a point. If you want transit access, walkability, and density you need to make the move to live near it. This should be a clear signal to anyone considering to buy a place that values more than one commute option and avoiding traffic, don't buy in a distant suburb like Alpharetta or John's Creek. They will not provide you any options soon. Intown is your best choice now and tomorrow.

So only the very rich should be able to live near transit and/or their jobs in safe communities. Gotcha. Good plan.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by MattCW

So only the very rich should be able to live near transit and/or their jobs in safe communities. Gotcha. Good plan.

You think Alpharetta and John's Creek are a bastion of the poor? No. How about we get some rail transit along the west side Beltline corridor where the most transit dependant population in the metro is, then we consider subsidizing billions so some north side businessmen have cheap access to the airport.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by jsvh

You think Alpharetta and John's Creek are a bastion of the poor? No. How about we get some rail transit along the west side Beltline corridor where the most transit dependant population in the metro is, then we consider subsidizing billions so some north side businessmen have cheap access to the airport.

No, but they can't exactly afford to just up and leave every time someone in the household gets a new job.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by MattCW

No, but they can't exactly afford to just up and leave every time someone in the household gets a new job.

They can more so than someone on the west side.

1 in 6 americans move each year. The number one reason people move is access to jobs.

Better make that next move into the city!

[ccdscott]

Terrible news. And a major SIGH.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by jsvh

0nyxStation does have a point. If you want transit access, walkability, and density you need to make the move to live near it. This should be a clear signal to anyone considering to buy a place that values more than one commute option and avoiding traffic, don't buy in a distant suburb like Alpharetta or John's Creek. They will not provide you any options soon. Intown is your best choice now and tomorrow.





2012 TSPLOST should not count as a transit proposal. It was majority roads funding. I am a huge transit supporter and would vote against 2012 TSPOLOST against given the chance.

everything within 2 miles of a Marta rail station should be of high value, that land should be hard to come by and well developed. Marta has been here since what 1979 or 1980 something like that? I can't really speak about anything east of King Station, but the west and south lines? Too much wasted potential.