Just moved into Lithia Springs (Dunwoody, Buckhead: sales, apartments, crime)

[kayrob]

Not too bad so far. Except we're moving into our 2nd apartment in a week. That's another story. And a long one at that. But I'm only here for a week before heading back to Jersey for a couple more weeks. But my wife started her job in the Perimeter Mall area Wednesday. What we did was we took a trial run to gauge her commute on Tuesday. It wasn't that bad. I-20 East to the Holmes station, The Marta to 5 points with a connection North to the Dunwoody station and from there she can catch a free shuttle to her building. Now on her first day yesterday we left about 7:05 dropped off the baby at the sitter and then took some back roads from there to 20 and arrived at Holmes by 7:40. She was at work at 8:31. So all in alll not bad for her so far in spite of the horror stories. I'm sure there will be days though. But it's doable for sure. And with a minimal of driving as opposed to transit which is a good thing.

[lastminutemom]

I am sorry but that commute sounds horrible -- that is nearly 3 hours of commuting time a day if it takes her the same time to get home.

Just curious there are 1000s of apartments close to Perimeter Center -- with a huge price range. Why did you pick Lithia Springs?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by kayrob

What we did was we took a trial run to gauge her commute on Tuesday. It wasn't that bad. I-20 East to the Holmes station, The Marta to 5 points with a connection North to the Dunwoody station and from there she can catch a free shuttle to her building. .

I'd be more interested in hearing about her experiences riding the West wing of MARTA over time as opposed to time.

I'm a supporter of public transit, but MARTA has been catching some flack lately due to certain increases in crime on the system, and for years, a real lack of visible uniformed officers on the trains and stations. They tend to focus more on the North/South line since the tourists ride that line much more, and focus the least on the West line since that's pretty much just where the very bad neighborhood are around those stations.

She should be fine riding during day hours (well, not sure about her car in that Holmes lot, though), but it would be nice to hear her observations a bit later on regarding what she sees going from the Holmes station to Five Points (such as visible security, rough riders, etc).

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I'd be more interested in hearing about her experiences riding the West wing of MARTA over time as opposed to time.

I'm a supporter of public transit, but MARTA has been catching some flack lately due to certain increases in crime on the system, and for years, a real lack of visible uniformed officers on the trains and stations. They tend to focus more on the North/South line since the tourists ride that line much more, and focus the least on the West line since that's pretty much just where the very bad neighborhood are around those stations.

She should be fine riding during day hours (well, not sure about her car in that Holmes lot, though), but it would be nice to hear her observations a bit later on regarding what she sees going from the Holmes station to Five Points (such as visible security, rough riders, etc).

Iwill keep you posted. only been three days so far. I did a test run with her last Tuesday and it seemed fine. Trains were still pretty clean and quiet with no audible music allowed. And every evening that i picked her up in the evening the Holmes lot was quiet also. Also noticed a patrol car circling the lot each day. I really don't get why the West line is by far the shortest.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

I am sorry but that commute sounds horrible -- that is nearly 3 hours of commuting time a day if it takes her the same time to get home.

Just curious there are 1000s of apartments close to Perimeter Center -- with a huge price range. Why did you pick Lithia Springs?

Why?? Very simple. You get more for your money farther West. And that's a main incentive for so many of us leaving our home state to relocate to the area in the first place. Also her job will be moving on April 30th to either Buckhead or what she called the Piedmont center area. Where we live is adjacent to a day care facility( we have an 8 month old) medical buildings including pediatricians and close to about everything in shopping we might need. We can walk to a Home Depot and drive 3 blocks in opposite directions to a Walmart and Kroger right on Thornton Rd. And besides it's not like she can't switch jobs down the line if she chooses to work a bit closer to home. Today on the way to the airport we noticed a huge office park on Campus Creek Pkwy.

[xxman777]

I'm sorry but I'm going to have to agree with lastminutemom. Three hours each day in my car would drive me crazy (no pun intended). My current commute is 30 minutes and I think that is too long. Sure you can get more for your money west of town, but if you spend all your time in your car you don't have time to enjoy your house. A move to Buckhead or Piedmont Center (which is an office complex in Buckhead) would save a little time but no more then 10 minutes. You're still looking at 2.5 hours of commute time a day. Different strokes for different folks but that would drive me insane. It just depends on where your priorities are. Some people value a larger home over a short commute.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by kayrob

And every evening that i picked her up in the evening the Holmes lot was quiet also. Also noticed a patrol car circling the lot each day. I really don't get why the West line is by far the shortest.

Well, there's a reason for that at the parking lot. I haven't seen any stats for about 3 years published, but at one time, the Holmes parking lot had the highest number of car thefts on the MARTA line (where parking is offered). Many people avoid parking there, which is why some people have said it never seems that busy in the lot. At least with a patrol around the lot it sounds like they're doing better than they used to in that area at least.

The West line is the shortest for a couple of reasons. First, way back when MARTA was being built, each county that wanted it had to approve a 1% sales tax to pay for it. Cobb County refused, so it can only go so far Westbound before hitting the Cobb line. Second, most of the neighborhoods on the West side are shall we say, "debatable" (higher crime, housing projects, etc). There are very few touristy attractions or large employers on that line, so MARTA doesn't really see it as a profitable line to expand compared to the North/South line where most of the employment and retail/tourst destinations are.

Most plans I've seen that show where they want to grow show new spurs that branch off from the North line, or a continuation of the North line into the Northern burbs. The Georgia Regional Transit agency does offer some express bus routes that go into Western burbs, though. Their home page is: http://www.grta.org/

Our last governor created the GRTA to expand transit much more than it is now, but the current governor (Purdue - just re-elected) has plainly stated that public transit is not a priority to him, and his newest budget includes pretty much no new money for transit expansion at all - you can do some searches on here to find links to the news article on that.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by xxman777

I'm sorry but I'm going to have to agree with lastminutemom. Three hours each day in my car would drive me crazy (no pun intended). My current commute is 30 minutes and I think that is too long. Sure you can get more for your money west of town, but if you spend all your time in your car you don't have time to enjoy your house. A move to Buckhead or Piedmont Center (which is an office complex in Buckhead) would save a little time but no more then 10 minutes. You're still looking at 2.5 hours of commute time a day. Different strokes for different folks but that would drive me insane. It just depends on where your priorities are. Some people value a larger home over a short commute.

i thought I mentioned that she was largely taking mass transit. The only time in the car was the drive from the sitter's house to the Holmes station. We were getting back home about 6:30 in the evening on average so I really don't think that is in any way out of line with the norm. Certainly not based on what I've read on here in the last few weeks. On the train she can read, nap or just sit back and relax. All things she couldn't do if she were driving back and forth. And when I finish at my job in Jersey on 3/2 i'll be going back down shortly thereafter and will then do the sitter drop and pickup to allow her to get in even earlier. Once I find a job then will figure out who does what. But by then our son may be transferred to the day care center adjacent to where we live to ease things even more.

[xxman777]

I'm sorry you did mention she was largely taking mass transit. I misspoke when I said three hours each day in my car would drive me crazy. I'll restate that by saying that three hours a day commuting (via any mode) would drive me crazy. I understand you are okay with this and I'm sure that many others are. Personally I couldn't do it and don't understand why anybody would want to. Coming from the northeast you are probably more accustomed to long commutes like this, I come from Denver where you would be insane to attempt that sort of commute.

[sharirobinson]

I live on the west side - Douglsville - next to Lithia Springs. The commute the HE Holmes is only about 10 or so mins. I used to ride the Marta in, and I parked my Mercedes there everyday. I never had a problem. They've also go th XpressGA that comes out here. It's a commuter line that doesn't stop in between here and the city - and it's an extremely nice line. xpressga.com,I believe. In cobb they also have the CCT. All lines link to Marta, if need be. I've also worked in the Perimeter. There are certain times of day when the pockets on 285 are heavy, but 20 has never caused me any trouble, except the occassional all-out wreck. you also learn some short cuts once you get used to it.