MARTA Expansion could be on 2017 Fulton Ballot (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: fit in, transfer)

[cqholt]

Fulton County Chairman John Eaves said that’s coming next.

“We're poised to take the baton of what the city has done,” he said. “I think the appetite for rail expansion to the outer extremities of Fulton County is very high, and it's just a matter of getting the political leadership aligned, in terms of what MARTA expansion looks like, whether it’s heavy rail or light rail or a combination of the two.”

He said there is potential to extend MARTA in Fulton County both north and west.

“I think we have the beginnings of a true regional transit system that's in the making right now,” he said.

Discussions about transit will begin between mayors in Fulton County and the county commission in December, and it could be on the ballot as soon as next year, Eaves said.

MARTA Expansion Could Be On The Fulton County Ballot In 2017 | WABE 90.1 FM

[fieldm]

FOH

Yall aint gonna do shyt

[bogans]

Putting it in 2017 seems like a way for them to hope it doesn't pass due to poor turnout. Then they can point at that election to say they tried but clearly the people said no.

edit: Also by decoupling the election from Atlanta's they hurt it by making it harder to spread the word and explain to constituents. Feels like this might have been a calculated move on their part when they divided Fulton from Atlanta from the get go.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by bogans

Putting it in 2017 seems like a way for them to hope it doesn't pass due to poor turnout. Then they can point at that election to say they tried but clearly the people said no.

edit: Also by decoupling the election from Atlanta's they hurt it by making it harder to spread the word and explain to constituents. Feels like this might have been a calculated move on their part when they divided Fulton from Atlanta from the get go.

I share you cynicism. That said, I think we're up to the fight. There's momentum right now, the mistakes form Atlanta's campaign are fresh in mind, and it's close enough to 2016 that people still remember the shenanigans of the legislative session ( I hope).

A solid push, and a good project list could very well get it done.


Let's see... Connect 400 will be on there, as well as a bunch of ART and bus upgrades... what could he have meant by expanding MARTA in Western Fulton?

I would like to see consideration given to a South Fulton Commuter Rail line, also.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Let's see... Connect 400 will be on there, as well as a bunch of ART and bus upgrades... what could he have meant by expanding MARTA in Western Fulton?.

West Line extension to Fulton Industrial probably.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by Gulch

West Line extension to Fulton Industrial probably.

I wonder if they'll try to take it to the river. OH, or they're talking about a Green Line extension, which showed up in one of the proposed city plans before the list was finalized.

[primaltech]

The 5-station Red Line expansion north to Windward Pkwy is a no-brainer. And there's already official plans with awesome station locations, and they settled on how the train would cross to the west of the highway, and not cross back over. And they better not try to do light rail with that either, where people have to transfer at North Springs. Needs to be heavy rail.

But other than that project, I don't see any other really pressing needs for rail in Fulton, other than maybe a commuter rail from College Park to Palmetto. I mean obviously areas like Sandy Springs could use improved bus frequency/capacity, but that isn't rail.

Blue Line should go to Six Flags, which is in Cobb. An obvious useful destination. To have it go teasingly closer to Six Flags but not quite there, to me is pretty silly. It does make sense to extend it to 285 at Boulder Park Dr, to catch NB commuters on 285 before getting to the 20 interchange, but that is in Atlanta. And the Green Line should be extended, but that's also in Atlanta. So I'm not sure what he's referring to.

Fulton Industrial is very low density. It's industrial. It's like a trucking corridor. And everything on it is very sprawled and cars oriented. I don't see much benefit in rapid transit to there. You're still going to have to connect to a bus from there anyway, might as well be connecting to a bus from a station at 285.

[fourthwarden]

From here.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Blue Line should go to Six Flags, which is in Cobb. An obvious useful destination. To have it go teasingly closer to Six Flags but not quite there, to me is pretty silly.

It would've been a good idea to build Six Flags near transit, but not a good idea to built transit to Six Flags—investing hundreds of millions of public money to serve a private theme park that could close one day is a dicey proposition. Of course if they wanted to privately fund the construction and operation, that would be nice, but isn't likely to happen.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by magnetar

It would've been a good idea to build Six Flags near transit, but not a good idea to built transit to Six Flags—investing hundreds of millions of public money to serve a private theme park that could close one day is a dicey proposition. Of course if they wanted to privately fund the construction and operation, that would be nice, but isn't likely to happen.

If MARTA rail went to Six Flags' ticket gate, that would be such a benefit to business, I doubt they'd ever close. They'd expand. Maybe even turn some of that insanely massive parking lot into a few more rides.

But if the park ever did close, the rail station would still be useful as a park&ride commuter station for cars (and Xpress buses) coming into the city from I-20. And then someone could also turn Six Flags' land into a giant, dense, transit-oriented mixed use development. It's right on the river, it would be perfect for something like that.