Gwinnett Chairwoman Charlotte Nash accused of violating state ethics rules, advocating for MARTA vote passage (Atlanta: sales, transfer)

[Need4Camaro]

Although I really hate admitting it and thinking of it this way, I believe that MARTA rail and any idea of expanding it is history now. I believe at this point forward the new trend will be that of town centers / live / work / shop communities sprouting up for those willing to pay $$$$ for a convenient lifestyle and the ideal now will be to move close to their job.

Those who cant afford to will be forced to commute via automobile either in the GP lanes or pay tolls to have a reliable commute.

To be honest I dont think this was a mishap at all, I believe this was entirely their agenda the whole time.

Now I dont think it's a GOOD agenda, but I can no longer realistically forsee MARTA rail making it to the suburbs.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Although I really hate admitting it and thinking of it this way, I believe that MARTA rail and any idea of expanding it is history now. I believe at this point forward the new trend will be that of town centers / live / work / shop communities sprouting up for those willing to pay $$$$ for a convenient lifestyle and the ideal now will be to move close to their job.

Those who cant afford to will be forced to commute via automobile either in the GP lanes or pay tolls to have a reliable commute.

To be honest I dont think this was a mishap at all, I believe this was entirely their agenda the whole time.

Now I dont think it's a GOOD agenda, but I can no longer realistically forsee MARTA rail making it to the suburbs.

Maybe not MARTA rail, but private sector commuter rail lines are the only possibility of having rail lines to the suburbs. But even that's probably not going to happen because the government controls everything here. It's not Japan or Florida, lol.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

Maybe not MARTA rail, but private sector commuter rail lines are the only possibility of having rail lines to the suburbs. But even that's probably not going to happen because the government controls everything here. It's not Japan or Florida, lol.

The real problem with commuter rail lines is actually the fact that the government does NOT own them therefore the railroad companies are only going to allocate real-estate to their own operations. They do NOT want commuter rail interfering with their operations, making it difficult for Georgia to lease the tracks for the allocated time necessary to run commuter operations. Because of this, they would have to build entirely new tracks using tax dollars while half the metro cries a resounding 'NO' - because they dont want to pay for it and will seldomly use it, etc. Not saying this is a good thing, but likely is going to be a big hurdle on getting commuter rail.

Also note that the high speed rail mentioned between Miami and Orlando are connecting two significant inter-state entities where as Georgia technically only has one significant city. It just wouldn't be cost effective to build a high speed rail to another Georgian city, the next most reasonable destination would be Charlotte or Orlando from Atlanta. Both would be far more expensive to build than a line from Miami to Orlando.

[primaltech]

The government owns the Atlanta-Chattanooga line thru Cumberland/Smyrna/Marietta. I don’t understand why that can’t be used for passenger rail.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Although I really hate admitting it and thinking of it this way, I believe that MARTA rail and any idea of expanding it is history now. I believe at this point forward the new trend will be that of town centers / live / work / shop communities sprouting up for those willing to pay $$$$ for a convenient lifestyle and the ideal now will be to move close to their job.

Naw, I think it has a perfect chance in 2020.

[jero23]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

The real problem with commuter rail lines is actually the fact that the government does NOT own them therefore the railroad companies are only going to allocate real-estate to their own operations. They do NOT want commuter rail interfering with their operations, making it difficult for Georgia to lease the tracks for the allocated time necessary to run commuter operations. Because of this, they would have to build entirely new tracks using tax dollars while half the metro cries a resounding 'NO' - because they dont want to pay for it and will seldomly use it, etc. Not saying this is a good thing, but likely is going to be a big hurdle on getting commuter rail.

Also note that the high speed rail mentioned between Miami and Orlando are connecting two significant inter-state entities where as Georgia technically only has one significant city. It just wouldn't be cost effective to build a high speed rail to another Georgian city, the next most reasonable destination would be Charlotte or Orlando from Atlanta. Both would be far more expensive to build than a line from Miami to Orlando.

Actually, the State of Georgia does own all of the railways. However, all do have 99-year leading agreements to the private freight railroad companies. The state could easily force these companies to share the railways through arbitration. That's what is proposed getting use agreements between Norfolk-Southern and the State with the Clayton County commuter rail line.

[MattCW]

As far as I know, the State only owns the W&A from Atlanta to Chattanooga, and the L&N Marietta to McCaysville, GA. With the possible exception of an odd shortine in south Georgia, that's it, everything else is privately owned. The State can howe've offer money for upgrades which every railroad will eventually acquiesce to. It happens for every new commuter rail system, Georgia is no different.

[PKCorey]

https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/lo...a3cd9cc18.html

The board voted 3-1 to send it to the ATL Board for approval for a potential November referendum.

[ATLTJL]

Can't wait to see how they eff it up this time.

I can't even imagine....

[PKCorey]

Approved by the ATL Board.

https://atltransit.ga.gov/gwinnettcountyamendment/

I will be voting yes in November.