Article: Atlantans may be losing their love affair with cars... (Alpharetta: transplants, insurance)

[atlantagreg30127]

Interesting article online today. We have enough transplants from other regions who have apparently brought their desire for more mass transit here with them. Some new surveys show people's attitudes are changing.

The article has a video link with it as well in the upper corner: 11Alive.com - Survey Says: More Mass Transit (http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=114913 - broken link)

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Interesting article online today. We have enough transplants from other regions who have apparently brought their desire for more mass transit here with them. Some new surveys show people's attitudes are changing.

The article has a video link with it as well in the upper corner: 11Alive.com - Survey Says: More Mass Transit (http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=114913 - broken link)

atlgreg, I'm well aware of your stance, but I don't like the comments above, here goes.

I'm a native and want more options but, not to be a complete smart ass, we wouldn't need it if the so called 'transplants', as you mentioned, never came.

You imply from your post that the article states that it's a transplant thing, which it is not!!! It is people tired of sitting in traffic, plain and simple!

I take CCT express from Acworth, I would love transit. But I've stated many times that it's not plausible b/c of taxes. This vote suggest differently which did surprise me. It needs to go to a vote and we'll see....again I'd vote for it, just like the SPLOST we vote for now.

but get off your high horse of 'transplants' know better. Otherwise we wouldn't have a bill sitting on Perdue's desk to allow permit carriers to carry in parks, restaurants, parks, etc.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

I'm a native and want more options but, not to be a complete smart ass, we wouldn't need it if the so called 'transplants', as you mentioned, never came.

You imply from your post that the article states that it's a transplant thing, which it is not!!!

I simply posted the link. The article does not "imply" anything. It basically says that people are getting tired of driving in their cars, but in other past articles that have been discussed in here, it has been brought up that in general, people (as in natives) from Atlanta have never liked the idea of mass transit to the burbs. People from other areas such as New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, and other areas in the world who are moving here (whether the locals like it or not) are used to much more extensive and more efficient options other than interstates and cars. They will be the next batch of voters who will vote these things in, the next time the stuff does come up for public vote. In the past these people were too few and far between to swing the vote. Now they outnumber the natives.

As far as the growth, I don't like the uncontrolled and rapid growth of Atlanta either. But who's going to stop it? Are the sons of Confederate veterans going to put on their costumes and wave rebel flags as they block the interstates coming into the metro area, waving guns at all who dare invade? I doubt it. Regardless of why people like coming here, they are. They're bringing their bodies and their cars. Unless you actually WANT to be in your car commuting for 5 hours each and every day, you have two options, native: 1) Pack up and leave. or 2) Allow variations of mass transit. Not to benefit YOU - but to get THEM off the road so YOU don't have to deal with as much traffic.

I've been here 24+ years. I actually sat in old Gwinnett County meetings about MARTA and heard the comments made by "natives" back then. They didn't talk about how impractical or plausible transit was - they talked about how they didn't want the "trash from Atlanta coming out to their counties". The transplants (few at that time) had questions about how the taxing would work - the natives only cared about who might come out on the train to their neck of the woods.

Hey, I don't want someone trying to sell me a watch in my neighborhood with a transit station a block away either. But there are better ways to plan these things so you still have options other than cars without a bus route or rail being in someone's back yard, too. It's not a high horse - transplants DO know better because they've USED better than we have. It's called knowledge - and has nothing to do with horses high or low.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

It's not a high horse - transplants DO know better because they've USED better than we have. It's called knowledge - and has nothing to do with horses high or low.

except when you force a tax on people as you have mentioned in the past. I'll agree with this as long as it is voluntary, NOT forced, and as the article mentioned this poll suggest people WOULD vote for this. I'm fine with that. Just as long as it isn't forced on someone!

Last thought, although, if 'transplants' know so much, how come they keep moving here???? They already have transit in the cities you mentioned.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Last thought, although, if 'transplants' know so much, how come they keep moving here???? They already have transit in the cities you mentioned.

They move here because Atlanta currently has the "L.A. vision" that the West Coast had decades ago.

Years ago people were told how golden and wonderful Southern California was. Perfect weather. Perfect people. Perfect jobs. So they went in mass, and discovered that a lot of what people had talked about was hype. It wasn't the land of milk and honey, but it was "ok", learning to live their best with the traffic, the smog, the high cost of living. However more people moved there - then more - and more. Now it is what it is today, and people are leaving.

The same happened to Florida, once touted as "the place" to live. Then they discovered it was more a land of retirees, mosquitos, hurricanes, and high insurance rates.

Now it's Atlanta. Corporate head hunters are telling people across the globe that Atlanta is the golden city of opportunity. Realtors and relocation employees around the nation talk of how "everyone loves living here" to their clients. Black-oriented magazines tell the black community that Atlanta is THE place for blacks to succeed. I've even heard from a couple of people in the UK who have told me that job finders over there are telling folks that, "if you move to the States, you HAVE to settle in Atlanta" because "that's where all the good jobs are". So - they come. And come. And come.

Has nothing to do with transit. Many of them do come from places where the transit options are greater and perhaps more extensive. They ASSUME that since Atlanta is "the" city to be, that we have a NYC style system in place. It's only AFTER they move here that they discover - whoops - all of the above is hype. It's a big city like any other with a few extra corporate headquarters, and lots more crime and traffic than most.

Welcome to the new L.A.

[willrusso]

I would be for them expanding MARTA rail WITHIN Fulton and Dekalb counties before anything else. It's more than feasible at this point. A spur to Emory/ Druid Hills, extension to Stone Mountain, and an extension to Fulton Industrial would be perfect. Also, they could expand the Bankhead line NW to Cumberland to meet with CCT. Also, and extension of the North Line into Alpharetta wouldn't hurt.

The suburbanites can choke on their car exhaust in Cobb and Gwinnett. Or sit in those slow GRTA buses that can only go as fast as the traffic jam. It is ridiculous that a metro area of 5 million has a commute comparable to a metro area TWICE it's size - a la Los Angeles. Washington D.C. has an excellent transit system that goes through the suburbs as well as the inner city and it worked out perfectly. It did not bring doom and gloom like suburban Atlantans in the 70's claimed. Actually, property values close to transit stations in D.C. are actually much higher than properties far from the stations.

If they want transit, let them build their own light or commuter rail systems to meet with MARTA.

The funny thing is that all those counties that didn't want the "trash" from Atlanta moving to their counties now have some of the highest illegal immigrant or minority population levels in GA. They forgot the fact that poor people have cars too - albeit raggedy ones. Why in the world would someone take the train to your house and steal your TV and VCR -- Only to have to lug those heavy, cumbersome items through fare gates and up flights of stairs into train cabins? That doesn't make much sense and is totally unfounded.

One day, Metro Atlanta will reach population levels to dramatically overshadow the rest of GA. We're already at the threshold. Hopefully, at that time, we'll have the power to elect intelligent public officials that can change the region for the better. We need to get these bumpkins (i.e. Perdue) OUT of office. Hopefully, it'll happen before it's too late.

I'm off my soap box now.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

but get off your high horse of 'transplants' know better. Otherwise we wouldn't have a bill sitting on Perdue's desk to allow permit carriers to carry in parks, restaurants, parks, etc.

I'm not making the connection between these two issues. Did you just throw up and these words spilled out, or am I missing something?

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

The transplants (few at that time) had questions about how the taxing would work - the natives only cared about who might come out on the train to their neck of the woods.

LOL I remember those meetings, too...they could get ugly, and the remarks about 'intown trash' were innocuous compared to some of the baser comments.
What I don't remember is the lines being clearly drawn as far as the attitudes of transplant and native...I recall plenty of hysteria being generated by transplants as well.

[RainyRainyDay]

It seems like a non-brainer to me to at least extend the MARTA north line up to the North Point mall area, particularly with the new ampitheatre going in there.

Whatever the history of the unfortunate lack of a transit system like DC has, I'd like to see metro Atlanta just get on with doing something about transit NOW. But apparently Gov. Perdue is not into on board.

[Atlantasfinest]

Like Willrusso said I'm all for Marta expanding "WHERE" they can expand to now. And that's within FULTON & DEKALB counties. These are the counties that have suppported the initiatives of Marta since their inception so MARTA would be better served to 1st extending the NORTH line to Alpharetta, 2nd - spur from the decatur line to Emory, Druid Hills, Tucker, 3rd - Bankhead line (NW) to the Cumberland Mall so CCT and people in that vicinity can ride from that station into town. These lines seem to make the most since for Marta to continue their growth. Have Cobb & Gwinnett county come up with their own solutions to link up with Marta on the outlying transportation nodes where the counties border.