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20% poverty rate. For sure, many do. By choice? I’d bet not many.
I will disagree here.
While ATL does have a noticeable poverty rate and transit does serve the needs of these folks (very adequately I might add - and being realistic there aren't many major cities in the U.S. where transit does not serve this function), there are ALSO plenty of Millennials seeking places such as Midtown, Buckhead, Downtown Decatur as well as the gentrifying western intown areas whom are seeking to be near transit. Some of those folks come from transit orientated cities (Chicago, NYC, Boston, D.C., ect) and do not want to make a commitment to a car as it is a major lifestyle change. MARTA does a great job a providing seamless connectivity between residential nodes and business districts along its corridors in the areas that it does serve (pretty much all of ITP ATL) where one does not necessarily need a vehicle if they live / work along its path.
There are very few places that can match MARTA's direct connectivity into HJIA where someone living along MARTA does not have to drive / pay for parking to catch a flight. Add onto the fact that MARTA rail hits every major business hub in Atlanta outside of Alpharetta and one can see why people will prefer it over sitting in ATL traffic given the chance.
If you live/work ITP/Perimeter area, MARTA is entirely workable. The main issue with MARTA is the constant stereotyping and frequent pushback against expanding it into outlying areas to improve their connectivity into the city proper to give people an alternative to driving. There's plenty of people whom by choice would choose to take transit to bypass congested corridors such as I-75, I-85, GA-400 if it were faster than driving and they had the opportunity to. The interregional commuter rail systems ranging between D.C. and Boston give us a very generic example of how willing people will be to use transit if it effectively serves their goals..
..so to reiterate, transit in America has been largely discriminated into 'social classes' (a whole 'nother animal which I won't dwelve into in this topic) where in truth.. ..the real math to the equation is, which method of transit gets me there faster or more reliably... ...when rail does that or even comes close to it considering the added expenses of car ownership and maintenance, people are more than willing to use it over driving. There are plenty of instances where MARTA rail especially does achieve this.
Last edited by Need4Camaro; 01-02-2022 at 07:42 AM..
12 years later...Hell no. The best transit system outside of the northeast and Chicago is SF. Back in 2009, I would say MARTA would be second to SF, but now even LA's Metro system has surpassed it. At this point, Seattle is investing so much into its transit network it will probably surpass it too. MARTA hasn't added a new station in over 2 decades despite booming population.
By the end of this decade Seattle will surpass Atlanta for sure, and maybe San Diego just did with the opening of the Mid Coast/Blue Line extension last year. Also Dallas and Denver aren't too far behind, and Miami at least for intercity with the Brightline's opening. Meanwhile the cancellation of the Clayton commuter rail line (the one thing that seemed almost certain of happening) is a huge blow for the future of commuter rail to any of Atlanta's suburbs. We'll probably just use BRT at best. The only rail expansion that MIGHT happen this decade if not next is the streetcar extension to the Beltline.
It's a good thing that transit is no longer a priority in my life, especially since the pandemic. It's just a matter of principle however knowing that other cities are kicking our butts and making it look so easy while Atlanta makes it look so difficult or impossible. At least the lack of transit doesn't deter the growth of Atlanta, even though it makes the traffic worse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mezter
I’m surprised Atlanta is winning. I do think it would be near the top out of the options listed. Wish it went farther out though.
The OP wanted to exclude The Bay Area. Think it would be too obvious.
This thread (and most of the votes) are from 2009. If I were to vote today it would be LA. Maybe the title of the thread should have been "outside the Northeast, Chicago, and SF" or the 2021 edition to be outside the Northeast, Chicago, and California.
It's just the layout and the lack of walkability would be an issue for me. I have lived in Minneapolis without a car with worse public transportation but because the city is walkable, it's very doable. I couldn't imagine doing that in ATL even with its better rail system.
By the end of this decade Seattle will surpass Atlanta for sure, and maybe San Diego just did with the opening of the Mid Coast/Blue Line extension last year. Also Dallas and Denver aren't too far behind, and Miami at least for intercity with the Brightline's opening. Meanwhile the cancellation of the Clayton commuter rail line (the one thing that seemed almost certain of happening) is a huge blow for the future of commuter rail to any of Atlanta's suburbs. We'll probably just use BRT at best. The only rail expansion that MIGHT happen this decade if not next is the streetcar extension to the Beltline.
It's a good thing that transit is no longer a priority in my life, especially since the pandemic. It's just a matter of principle however knowing that other cities are kicking our butts and making it look so easy while Atlanta makes it look so difficult or impossible. At least the lack of transit doesn't deter the growth of Atlanta, even though it makes the traffic worse.
This thread (and most of the votes) are from 2009. If I were to vote today it would be LA. Maybe the title of the thread should have been "outside the Northeast, Chicago, and SF" or the 2021 edition to be outside the Northeast, Chicago, and California.
I haven't been keeping up with LA's improvements. I know they have made alot of light rail, but have they also improved heavy rail coverage?
It's just the layout and the lack of walkability would be an issue for me. I have lived in Minneapolis without a car with worse public transportation but because the city is walkable, it's very doable. I couldn't imagine doing that in ATL even with its better rail system.
That makes alittle more sense, you're more concerned about last mile connectivity than transit efficiency / coverage. Yes Minneapolis is more walkable. Atlanta is improving here as well though. Most of the transit stations let you off in very walkable neighborhoods, yeah I will agree if you stray too far from them they start to become car-centric, but as more infill comes, more hoods will continue to increase in walkability.
I haven't been keeping up with LA's improvements. I know they have made alot of light rail, but have they also improved heavy rail coverage?
In LA the D line (formerly purple line) is currently being extended 7 stations west to UCLA/Westwood and will open in phases over the next 2-5 years. A new B/D line extension one station south of Union Station to the Arts District is funded, but hasn't yet started construction. It's in the train yard, so the tracks are already there. They just need to build a platform and public access.
MARTA just needs to integrate other types of rail into the system to connect more neighborhoods and suburbs to the heavy rail spine that runs through the heart of the city. If that ever happens, it will be a great rail system. As it stands now, there's a low number of stations and rail connectivity even though there's a pretty decent number of ridership. If I'm riding transit, I'm more concerned about where it can take me rather than how many people have ridden it that year.
There is "rail", and there is transit; they are two distinctly different modes; transit for passengers and rail for freight, though there was some cross-over between the two, mostly in earier times. Los Angeles once had a sprawiing transit network (Pacific Electric -- susbsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad, since merged into Union Pacific), which also carried relatively small amounts of freight; but every mile of it was gone by 1960, due to the dispersed population, and the convenience offered by the automobile and the freeway system. Since the early Seventies, the pendulum has swung back in the opposiie direction, but the changing nature of freight-transport needs makes a revival of the "freight motor" (see the link below) highly unlikely.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 01-02-2022 at 02:16 PM..
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