Georgia Senate panel recommends 'path forward' for regional transit (Atlanta: fence, safety)

[cqholt]

With a professional background in development and commercial real estate, Gooch seems to be among a small but growing minority of elected officials finally connecting the immutable dots between land use and transportation. Rounding out the study committee were pro-transit leaders such as Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) Sen. Valencia Seay of Riverdale and Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta.

Among those testifying before the study committee was Nick Juliano, southeast public affairs manager for Uber, the ride-hailing service. Juliano is a pro-transit stalwart and his company has been working with MARTA to provide “first-mile, last-mile” connectivity for travelers who live too far from a bus stop or train station to have convenient trip to their destinations. Despite some doomsayers, it’s doubtful Uber, Lyft and self-driving cars will kill public transportation; but they could complement it.

Better late then never: "A path forward" for Ga. transit funding - SaportaReport

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

I said this a few years ago and people hooted me down.

Just saying.

[primaltech]

Uber IS transit IS MARTA. From my location, Uber on 75 to Midtown Station is by far the best way for me to get to MARTA. And that station doesn't even have parking, if I wanted to park.

[primaltech]

Uber may not be MASS transit, but it is effectively transit, in my book. You ride, instead of drive, and it's publicly available for a fare. So by definition it can't hurt transit, because I believe it is transit.

I think it's complimentary to MARTA. I think in general it helps the world of mass transportation more than hurts it, because when you Uber to somewhere, you're not tethered to a car. It's much easier to utilize MARTA at that point, when you don't have to worry about where you parked, and when any point on the MARTA system is now a potential drop off or pick up point.

If we had an overall culture where almost every car on the road is an Uber, and almost nobody owned a car, even then, MARTA mass transit would still have its place, to bypass the vehicle congestion, hopefully reduce the vehicle congestion, and to generally serve the denser areas. Dense areas that would be even more dense (a lot more), because there wouldn't be parking lots and decks and garages everywhere. Cities would be able to be a lot more human scale in how they're built and developed. So that's very conducive to mass transit.

The less dense suburbs on the other hand are very conducive to Uber, instead of mass transit. But because Uber still suffers from traffic congestion travel time delay (even if it makes it less stressful/wasteful to the rider), it doesn't replace mass transit on space efficiency grounds.

Even a hypothetical world of AV everything and Uber everything, won't make transit obsolete. If anything, it will just simply merge with transit. They will blend seamlessly.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Uber may not be MASS transit, but it is effectively transit, in my book. You ride, instead of drive, and it's publicly available for a fare. So by definition it can't hurt transit, because I believe it is transit.

I think it's complimentary to MARTA. I think in general it helps the world of mass transportation more than hurts it, because when you Uber to somewhere, you're not tethered to a car. It's much easier to utilize MARTA at that point, when you don't have to worry about where you parked, and when any point on the MARTA system is now a potential drop off or pick up point.

If we had an overall culture where almost every car on the road is an Uber, and almost nobody owned a car, even then, MARTA mass transit would still have its place, to bypass the vehicle congestion, hopefully reduce the vehicle congestion, and to generally serve the denser areas. Dense areas that would be even more dense (a lot more), because there wouldn't be parking lots and decks and garages everywhere. Cities would be able to be a lot more human scale in how they're built and developed. So that's very conducive to mass transit.

The less dense suburbs on the other hand are very conducive to Uber, instead of mass transit. But because Uber still suffers from traffic congestion travel time delay (even if it makes it less stressful/wasteful to the rider), it doesn't replace mass transit on space efficiency grounds.

Even a hypothetical world of AV everything and Uber everything, won't make transit obsolete. If anything, it will just simply merge with transit. They will blend seamlessly.

Ride Sharing, transit, and even AV ride sharing can all work together to provide a complete transportation system THAT WORKS.

[fourthwarden]

Ralston to create new transportation funding panel

House Speaker David Ralston on Thursday announced the creation of a new panel charged with studying transportation and ways to pay for it, including transit.

Ralston, a Blue Ridge Republican, told reporters that the new subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget each year.

[cqholt]

Atlanta should build and implement something similar to LA's Metro ExpressLanes, for it's HOT Lane network.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_ExpressLanes) where BRT-style buse service serve the lanes, have pull-offs at stations, without having to exit the freeway or lanes(https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ha...!5m1!1e2?hl=en), and funding collected via the lanes fund the transit.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Atlanta should build and implement something similar to LA's Metro ExpressLanes, for it's HOT Lane network.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_ExpressLanes) where BRT-style buse service serve the lanes, have pull-offs at stations, without having to exit the freeway or lanes(https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ha...!5m1!1e2?hl=en), and funding collected via the lanes fund the transit.

Yes. That's a fantastic suggestion, that would be perfect for Atlanta metro/suburbs. The right balance of everything we need, combined with what we have already, and very relatively cost effective to build out.

Instead of heavy rail (or even commuter rail) to Cobb/Gwinnett, maybe we could implement something like this, with articulated high-capacity buses, with a frequency of every 5 or 10 minutes or something, running exclusively in the existing and planned HOT managed toll lanes, with a bus-only short pull-over lane at the center-aligned BRT stations built in the median. Where from there you'd have pedestrian connection to park&ride decks, and local bus connections and etc. Then you could have the following freeway BRT lines:

-I-20 from Thornton Rd to Wesley Chapel (future HRT station connection), with a direct pedestrian bridge connection to MARTA Red/Gold heavy rail at a new Mechanicsville infill HRT station. Stations at Six Flags, Fulton Industrial Blvd, Boulevard (Grant Park), Moreland, Gresham, Candler, etc

-I-85 in South Fulton, from Palmetto to a new Red/Gold HRT connection station at Riverdale Rd or Old National

-I-75 maybe at least from Windy Ridge (or whatever the last bridge before it turns into that reversible lane), to Arts Center Station via a new 15th St bridge with HOT exit, or maybe to Civic Center Station which would be redesigned as a bus/train hub built in the median. Stations at West Paces, Howell Mill, Deering Rd (for Brookwood, and Amtrak)

-I-85 from Lindbergh or Arts Center or Civic Center, all the way out to Hamilton Mill, with stations at every major road in Gwinnett, plus new stations for DeKalb at N Druid Hills, Clairmont, Shallowford

-I-285 top end. Connect with Doraville, Medical Center

I think it would be great. Turn the freeways into a BRT system, just like that Metro Express example.

[primaltech]

I can imagine something like this at Sugarloaf Pkwy, under I-85:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9601...!5m1!1e2?hl=en

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Yes. That's a fantastic suggestion, that would be perfect for Atlanta metro/suburbs. The right balance of everything we need, combined with what we have already, and very relatively cost effective to build out.

Instead of heavy rail (or even commuter rail) to Cobb/Gwinnett, maybe we could implement something like this, with articulated high-capacity buses, with a frequency of every 5 or 10 minutes or something, running exclusively in the existing and planned HOT managed toll lanes, with a bus-only short pull-over lane at the center-aligned BRT stations built in the median. Where from there you'd have pedestrian connection to park&ride decks, and local bus connections and etc. Then you could have the following freeway BRT lines:

-I-20 from Thornton Rd to Wesley Chapel (future HRT station connection), with a direct pedestrian bridge connection to MARTA Red/Gold heavy rail at a new Mechanicsville infill HRT station. Stations at Six Flags, Fulton Industrial Blvd, Boulevard (Grant Park), Moreland, Gresham, Candler, etc

-I-85 in South Fulton, from Palmetto to a new Red/Gold HRT connection station at Riverdale Rd or Old National

-I-75 maybe at least from Windy Ridge (or whatever the last bridge before it turns into that reversible lane), to Arts Center Station via a new 15th St bridge with HOT exit, or maybe to Civic Center Station which would be redesigned as a bus/train hub built in the median. Stations at West Paces, Howell Mill, Deering Rd (for Brookwood, and Amtrak)

-I-85 from Lindbergh or Arts Center or Civic Center, all the way out to Hamilton Mill, with stations at every major road in Gwinnett, plus new stations for DeKalb at N Druid Hills, Clairmont, Shallowford

-I-285 top end. Connect with Doraville, Medical Center

I think it would be great. Turn the freeways into a BRT system, just like that Metro Express example.

The Top-End should be built as rail from the beginning, as it will ridership demands that warrant it.
The only issue with this is a lot of the surface street congestion occurs near freeway interchanges. MARTA and GRTA should use a tiered approach to transit planning, extend HRT where it makes sense, build CRS where it makes sense, and then express buses.