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I ride by whatever is being constructed along 75 SB with my boyfriend. Not only can I not see how that's going to work, but I can't visualize what is being made to potentially work. I think a lot more attention needs to be given to the area around Windy Ridge.
Doesn't mean they are not doing it, doesn't mean I'd ever pretend to have expertise in this field, but I feel a bit leery given how some of the other work isn't so hot so maybe planning needs special attention.
Perhaps we can just start with the existing ground tats accurately telling you where you are going.
You just aren't used to construction here. Its been so long since they built anything. It never is understandable until its done! Then it all makes sense.
IMO all they need to do, is barrier separate the existing HOV lane network on the highways with flex posts, extend it on all highways, and make it for bus only, not cars. Express bus is the ultimate HOV, with each full bus taking dozens of cars off the road. Especially if the car lanes are congested and the bus has its own lane/ bus way, many people will or would voluntarily park & ride the bus.
You could build more center exit and on ramps to make the system better, but you could at least start with what we have now. Like how about simply a bus transit center at that unused east lot at the Galleria by the highway at Akers Mill, with a large park & ride deck, that would run a MARTA articulated shuttle bus loop using the dedicated bus way. From Akers Mill to Northside Dr where it would exit, then one stop on Northside where the future Beltline will be, then one stop at Atlantic Station, then Arts Center station and that's it. Just runs that loop all day every day, and is featured as a line on the official MARTA map. It would also be the transit connection for the Braves, with a direct pedestrian connection via that bridge.
Also you'd have a Cobb-branded bus that runs from a park & ride transit center at Town Center, directly to the Cumberland transit center in its own bus lane. Quickly stops there, lets some people off and gets some new people, then continues the same MARTA route down to Arts Center.
As well as a bus that runs a loop directly from the Marietta Square to Cumberland mostly using the lane, with no other stops. And etc etc so forth.
Same idea for Gwinnett/I-85/Lindbergh Dr bus only exit. Flex post barrier separated transit only lane, that runs a simple loop between various Gwinnett County park & ride transit centers, and Lindbergh MARTA station. And it would 24/7/365, with peak business hour service at 10 min headways. 30 min headway late night hours. 20 mins Saturdays.
I guess my question is, without this unfunded center ramp addition, what was the plan to feed the HOT express lanes into the HOV system on I-75 ITP? Go around Akers Mill somehow?
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Originally Posted by cqholt
The rendering shows the HOT lanes merging into the left-most lanes between Windy Ridge and 285, that is traffic will access the HOV lanes south of Akers Mill, of course a smarter move would be to extend HOV lanes to the HOT lane entrances.
From what I understand, the toll lane system now under construction along I-75 NW outside of I-285 will connect directly to the existing HOV lane system along I-75 NW inside of I-285 when the I-75 NW OTP toll lane project is completed.
For example, traffic that is headed northbound in the existing HOV lane along I-75 ITP during afternoon/evening peak hours will be able to transition directly into the I-75 NW OTP toll lanes without having to merge into the untolled general purpose/regular traffic lanes of I-75 northbound. That traffic will just stay in the HOV lane and will automatically be in the toll lane after crossing outside of I-285.
Meanwhile, traffic that is in the I-75 NW OTP toll lanes that wants to continue on into Atlanta in the I-75 ITP HOV lanes will be able to transition directly into the existing southbound I-75 HOV lane without having to merge into the untolled general purpose/regular traffic lanes of I-75 southbound.
Motorists will be able to transition directly between the existing ITP HOV lanes and new OTP toll lanes of I-75 NW because the state wants to eventually place tolls on the existing HOV lane system inside of I-285....A plan that was indefinitely pushed back and delayed after the widespread public outrage and political backlash that ensued when tolls went into effect on the existing HOV lanes of I-85 back in October 2011.
IMO all they need to do, is barrier separate the existing HOV lane network on the highways with flex posts, extend it on all highways, and make it for bus only, not cars. Express bus is the ultimate HOV, with each full bus taking dozens of cars off the road. Especially if the car lanes are congested and the bus has its own lane/ bus way, many people will or would voluntarily park & ride the bus.
It's not that simple. Without a shoulder (which there is no room for) and additional exits for access, that is a non-starter.
Yeah, the first few times I went past it I was almost thinking there was a major transit line being constructed. Then I remembered it was Cobb and they prefer to spend the same amount of money as a transit line but for more car lanes that cannot carry as many people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primaltech
And car lanes that are just going to be as congested as all the other lanes, because the cars will have nowhere to go. Attempting to funnel even more cars into 285 from 75, is not going to make the traffic better. It will make it even worse.
Cobb needs a separate right of way mass transit system, to compliment the road system. That's exactly what this mega NW corridor project could have been, for not much more cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gulch
It needs a rail (not BRT) line.
The toll lane project that is under construction along Interstates 75 and 575 NW OTP was implemented because it was basically the quickest and easiest thing that could be implemented....That's because the state already owned much of the right-of-way that the reversible toll road is being built on and because then-incoming Georgia Governor Nathan Deal wanted to implement a major transportation project (to help keep his administration and continued Republican rule viable in a very politically crucial part of the state) after very few, if any major transportation initiatives being undertaken in the fast-growing and increasingly congested Atlanta metro region during the entire administration of former Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia's first Republican governor since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The I-75/I-575 toll lane system is not meant to be a cure-all solution to the transportation ills of the I-75 Northwest Corridor (which is why Governor Deal nixed the previous restrictive public-private partnership deal that would have severely financially penalized the state for making improvements to parallel transportation corridors, including mass transit). The project is just meant to provide motorists an option to not having to sit in worsening traffic congestion during peak hours on I-75 while the powers-that-be come up with more viable long-term multimodal transportation options like regional mass transit.
We also need to keep in mind that the toll lanes being constructed along I-75 Northwest are a state-funded transportation project, not a Cobb County-funded transportation project.
Cobb County is most certainly accepting of the toll lane project being built along I-75 NW after many years of no additional regional transportation infrastructure being built along the I-75 NW corridor during many years of high growth of population, development and traffic northwest of Atlanta. But Cobb County did not propose, design, fund, construct or even request this project be built. This project is being helmed completely by Georgia state government by way of the Georgia Department of Transportation and the State Road and Tollway Authority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primaltech
So I guess this is for an additional ramp, not covered by what's already funded, to create a 4-way HOV intersection at Akers Mill? Since it already has southbound HOV ramps.
I guess what's already funded in the NW corridor project, just feeds the lanes around Akers Mill? I'm confused on what's already funded, I thought this was included in the NW corridor project.
Also I wish they wouldn't have chosen reversible lanes. I hope they can make it a non reversible system in the future, that always has at least one lane going both ways. It is indeed going to be a shame that the high-occupancy carloads of families coming down I-75 in the evenings won't be able to use this to exit to park at the Galleria which is right there, to go to the Braves, because the lane will be going north in the evenings.
The State of Georgia chose reversible lanes because they had very limited funds for construction and land acquisition and because the Cobb County voting public wanted very little, if any, additional land to be taken for road construction through an area with a very heavy amount of existing development.
In addition to severely limited funds (the project was actually downgraded from about 8 new bi-directional lanes to 3 reversible lanes to the current 2 reversible lanes because of a combination of a lack of funds and public pushback against too large of a road expansion), reversible lanes were chosen because traffic congestion is only a major problem on the southbound side of the I-75 roadway in the morning and the northbound side of the I-75 roadway in the afternoon/evening.
The toll lane project that is under construction along Interstates 75 and 575 NW OTP was implemented because it was basically the quickest and easiest thing that could be implemented....That's because the state already owned much of the right-of-way that the reversible toll road is being built on and because then-incoming Georgia Governor Nathan Deal wanted to implement a major transportation project (to help keep his administration and continued Republican rule viable in a very politically crucial part of the state) after very few, if any major transportation initiatives being undertaken in the fast-growing and increasingly congested Atlanta metro region during the entire administration of former Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia's first Republican governor since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The I-75/I-575 toll lane system is not meant to be a cure-all solution to the transportation ills of the I-75 Northwest Corridor (which is why Governor Deal nixed the previous restrictive public-private partnership deal that would have severely financially penalized the state for making improvements to parallel transportation corridors, including mass transit). The project is just meant to provide motorists an option to not having to sit in worsening traffic congestion during peak hours on I-75 while the powers-that-be come up with more viable long-term multimodal transportation options like regional mass transit.
We also need to keep in mind that the toll lanes being constructed along I-75 Northwest are a state-funded transportation project, not a Cobb County-funded transportation project.
Cobb County is most certainly accepting of the toll lane project being built along I-75 NW after many years of no additional regional transportation infrastructure being built along the I-75 NW corridor during many years of high growth of population, development and traffic northwest of Atlanta. But Cobb County did not propose, design, fund, construct or even request this project be built. This project is being helmed completely by Georgia state government by way of the Georgia Department of Transportation and the State Road and Tollway Authority.
The State of Georgia chose reversible lanes because they had very limited funds for construction and land acquisition and because the Cobb County voting public wanted very little, if any, additional land to be taken for road construction through an area with a very heavy amount of existing development.
In addition to severely limited funds (the project was actually downgraded from about 8 new bi-directional lanes to 3 reversible lanes to the current 2 reversible lanes because of a combination of a lack of funds and public pushback against too large of a road expansion), reversible lanes were chosen because traffic congestion is only a major problem on the southbound side of the I-75 roadway in the morning and the northbound side of the I-75 roadway in the afternoon/evening.
That ratio of traffic inbound vs. outbound can change very quickly. As more jobs move out, there gets to be much more reverse flow congestion.
You do still have a shoulder here, on the right. Regular surface roads don't have left shoulders, so highways shouldn't necessarily need them either.
Anyway if a left shoulder is absolutely required, then just narrow the right shoulder to get the space, or widen the roadway by a couple feet where possible.
I like this stretch in Gwinnett because it's a separate right of way system, not just a lane that people can merge in and out of. And admitted, yes, you would need new access ramps built at several bridges.
That ratio of traffic inbound vs. outbound can change very quickly. As more jobs move out, there gets to be much more reverse flow congestion.
That is an excellent point that the ratio of traffic inbound vs. outbound can change very quickly. For proof of this one need to look no further than the Georgia 400 North corridor through North Fulton County to see where morning outbound traffic flows away from Atlanta have grown to be very competitive with morning inbound traffic flows towards Atlanta as commercial development has continued to increase along the Georgia 400 North corridor through North Fulton County.
With the continuing growth in the Kennesaw/Town Center Mall area of Kennesaw State University and surrounding commercial development, the potential seems to exist for a dramatically increased amount of morning outbound traffic flow away from I-285 and Atlanta to be generated along I-75 northbound OTP.
Though with about 7 major employment clusters located at (and beyond) the south end of the I-75 toll lanes (Cumberland, Perimeter Center, Buckhead, Emory, Midtown, Downtown and the Airport), the likelihood seems to be that morning inbound traffic flows (and afternoon/evening outbound traffic flows) will continue to be substantially stronger towards those 7 major employment clusters than morning outbound traffic flows along the I-75 Northwest Corridor OTP northbound towards the Kennesaw/Town Center employment/activity center cluster.....Meaning that demand for toll lane usage along I-75 NW towards I-285 and Atlanta in the morning (and vice-versa in the afternoon/evening) will likely continue to be stronger than it will be in the opposite direction.
Outside of that, like primaltech referred to, a bi-directional toll lane system (at least two toll lanes for each direction of I-75 NW OTP) probably would be more preferable for a major corridor like I-75 NW OTP. But severe funding constraints along with public opposition to a larger more higher-impact road expansion project means that the reversible double toll lane system is most likely the most road expansion that the I-75 NW OTP corridor will ever get.....Which is something that has been acknowledged by the Georgia Department of Transportation which has repeatedly stated that the two reversible toll lanes will be the last time that the I-75 NW OTP roadway will ever be widened through a corridor where land for additional roadway expansions has become scarce due to surrounding and adjoining heavy existing development.
Because of the scarcity of land and the lack of public support for additional roadway expansion along the I-75 NW OTP right-of-way, after this, if (and likely when) additional transportation capacity is added to the US 41/I-75/I-575 NW corridor, it will likely come in the form of modes of high-capacity transit on parallel state-owned right-of-ways like US 41 Cobb Parkway and the CSX/Western & Atlantic railroad.
Last edited by Born 2 Roll; 04-12-2016 at 12:43 AM..
That ratio of traffic inbound vs. outbound can change very quickly. As more jobs move out, there gets to be much more reverse flow congestion.
Or more people move in...
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