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Old 12-07-2018, 09:02 AM
 
Location: Atlanta's Castleberry Hill
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I would take either very early or late flights, and the commute will be fine.
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Old 12-07-2018, 09:05 AM
 
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Yes, I think I can work on scheduling outside of bad times. I'm assuming that's between 6-9 am and 4 and 8 pm? Please correct me as I don't know the area.
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Old 12-07-2018, 09:07 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billl View Post
From Ellijay, you can get to Chattanooga airport (CHA) in about the same amount of time it takes to get to the Atlanta airport. If you are trying to make the trip during the morning rush, driving to CHA would probably take less time. I don't know where you would need to fly, or if you could get there direct from CHA. But it is something to consider.

Yeah, problem with that is there are very few direct flights to cities I travel to. So, I may as well just drive to ATL instead of worrying about a connection.
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Old 12-07-2018, 10:18 AM
 
10,331 posts, read 11,314,284 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ottoscav View Post
Yes, I think I can work on scheduling outside of bad times. I'm assuming that's between 6-9 am and 4 and 8 pm? Please correct me as I don't know the area.
The worst-of-the-worst peak traffic times are roughly from about after 6:30am to roughly about maybe 9:30-10am in the morning, and about 4pm to about 6:30pm on most days in the evenings.

During a particularly really bad afternoon/evening rush hour, traffic can remain heavy until about as late as 8pm on the worst-of-the-worst traffic days. But evening rush hour traffic generally should (but not necessarily absolutely always will) lighten up by about 6:30pm on most days and by 7pm on some heavier days.

Midday and early/mid-afternoon traffic can be challenging on some days (afternoon/evening rush hour seemingly can and will start as early as 2pm on some days).

As a general rule, traffic generally will lighten up while the grade schools are out of session (periods which include the months of June and July during summer vacation and some parts of winter vacation during parts of the week between Christmas and New Years), and traffic will increase around holiday and vacation travel periods.

(Periods when traffic will noticeably increase include:

> When public schools go back in session in late July and early August...

> On some Friday evenings when people may be trying to get out of and through town in significant numbers to places like the mountains, the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, Florida, Tennessee, etc, for the weekend...

> On some Sundays when people may be trying to get back home from weekend getaways in significant numbers...

> Around slightly extended holiday weekend/week periods like Memorial Day weekend, 4th of July, and Labor Day weekend...

> Before and after extended vacation periods like Spring Break, Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years.)

For you it will be very important to know when the heavier holiday and vacation traffic periods are because you will be using Interstate 75, which is a very, very, very major (massive) transcontinental arterial superhighway that is used extremely heavily for travel between points north and northwest (Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes, the Midwest, Canada, etc) and points south and southeast (like the resort and getaway areas of Florida and the Georgia and South Carolina Atlantic Coast.

While traffic on Interstate 75 through Cobb County can will be extremely heavy during most normal morning and afternoon/evening rush hours, traffic often can and will be even more extremely heavy during the travel periods around the aforementioned holiday and vacation periods.

The 'West Wall' of the I-285 Perimeter (I-285 around the west side of Atlanta) will also be heavier with increased peak hour traffic during these holiday and vacation travel periods as people use the I-285 Perimeter 'West Wall' as an alternative to using an I-75 roadway through town that can experience gridlock during these extremely heavy holiday and vacation travel periods when extra out-of-town/out-of-state traffic adds to already extremely heavy Atlanta morning and afternoon/evening rush hour traffic.

With you using the I-75 and I-285 roadways to get to and from the Atlanta Airport on a somewhat consistent basis (3-4 times each month), you will need to be cognizant of the increased heavy traffic around these weekend, holiday and vacation travel periods so that you might be able to plan accordingly, particularly when traveling to the ATL Airport to go through airport security and aiming to board departing flights on time.
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Old 12-07-2018, 10:58 AM
 
3,694 posts, read 5,935,821 times
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It's perfectly reasonable to have this sort of commute a few times a month.

CHA for a business traveler is nearly useless. Expensive, infrequent flights to a handful of hubs, divided loyalty among different airlines (United to DC vs American to Dallas etc etc) make it a non-starter for any serious traveler who has an option like ATL an extra ~hour down the road.

Flying out of the Atlanta airport is a major perk of being a business traveler based here: no matter what time of day and in what city I'm going to, there will be a direct flight to accommodate me. Sometimes it will be a hellish early Southwest flight, granted, but it gets me there and lets me spend a lot more nights at home than I otherwise would. Unrivaled flight network if you're an east-coast-centric person (and among the best looking to West Coast/Europe/Latin America); nothing comes close to comparing.
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Old 12-07-2018, 12:45 PM
 
26 posts, read 31,195 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by testa50 View Post
It's perfectly reasonable to have this sort of commute a few times a month.

CHA for a business traveler is nearly useless. Expensive, infrequent flights to a handful of hubs, divided loyalty among different airlines (United to DC vs American to Dallas etc etc) make it a non-starter for any serious traveler who has an option like ATL an extra ~hour down the road.

Flying out of the Atlanta airport is a major perk of being a business traveler based here: no matter what time of day and in what city I'm going to, there will be a direct flight to accommodate me. Sometimes it will be a hellish early Southwest flight, granted, but it gets me there and lets me spend a lot more nights at home than I otherwise would. Unrivaled flight network if you're an east-coast-centric person (and among the best looking to West Coast/Europe/Latin America); nothing comes close to comparing.

I totally agree which is why we were focused on north Georgia areas as opposed to other metro's. Thanks.
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Old 12-08-2018, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
3,655 posts, read 3,898,475 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ltaag View Post
Not really if you take 75 to 285. As long as you are on 285 by 7pm you will have a straight shot because you will have a reverse commute on 285. Also make sure you are on 75 in the afternoon by 3:30pm if you can
Why not switch to Marta at North Springs and skip the awful Southbound stop and go that is the norm everyday?
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Old 12-09-2018, 06:05 PM
 
26 posts, read 31,195 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by architect77 View Post
Why not switch to Marta at North Springs and skip the awful Southbound stop and go that is the norm everyday?
I can park my car at that station for several days if I go on a business trip?

Is MARTA safe and does anybody else have an opinion on this option?
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:35 PM
 
Location: Odessa, FL
2,218 posts, read 4,348,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ottoscav View Post
Yes, I think I can work on scheduling outside of bad times. I'm assuming that's between 6-9 am and 4 and 8 pm? Please correct me as I don't know the area.
Whenever I travel to the airport leaving from Woodstock I have always tried to be on the freeway by 6:30. After that it starts to get slow and crowded. From Ellijay or Jasper you would probably have to leave around 5:30 to get to south Cherokee county by 6:30.

However ..... now we have the express lanes! These are variable toll lanes that require a transponder known as "The Peach Pass". Acquiring a pass costs nothing more than a $20 deposit on tolls. Morning tolls typically range from $2 to $6, and you will get from south Cherokee to the perimeter (I-285) in less than 30 minutes, bypassing the worst of the traffic. Given how infrequently you will make this trip, you should definitely take a look at this option as a way to reduce the drive time and (more importantly) reduce the variation in the time enroute. It won't help you through or around downtown Atlanta, but it will help you for what is typically the worst part of the drive.

https://www.peachpass.com/
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:40 PM
 
Location: Odessa, FL
2,218 posts, read 4,348,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by architect77 View Post
Why not switch to Marta at North Springs and skip the awful Southbound stop and go that is the norm everyday?
Getting to North Springs from the Jasper/Ellijay area would require a lot of driving on congested surface roads (or going all the way to I-285, in which case he might as well just drive to the airport). There is no easy or direct route. If he was in the Dawsonville/Dahlonega area it would be a more viable option.
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