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MARTA actually has a pretty solid spine that runs through urban areas such as Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. The system has lots of potential but Atlanta doesn’t really capitalize on that, mainly because the state of Georgia is actively holding the city back when it comes to transit expansion. The streetcar extension to the beltline should have been done a while ago. Also adding an infill station along the beltline on the blue line (near Krog St Tunnel) would be worth a look as well. No transit to The Battery/Cobb Galleria is also problematic and newer urban areas like West Midtown (different from Midtown) have almost no transit connectivity other than a few extremely infrequent busses. TOD also hasn’t come as fast as it should. Atlanta residents approved a tax increase within the city to fund MARTA in 2016 and it’s absurd that nothing other than studies/plans has come from it. Atlanta wants transit but gets literally zero help from the state. Georgia is pathetic and is holding back Atlanta.
Can't blame everything on the state. Almost every MARTA station is surrounded by garbage land usage, has nothing to do with the state. You should not be getting off a transit station and be introduced to a sea of parking lots or a 6 lane stroad. Look at WMATA in DC, many of the stations there are surrounded by high density development and residential. I'm sure doing that in Atlanta would help with the pretty abysmal ridership for the system. Why can't they do TOD?
And MARTA expanded to Clayton county in 2013 with the promise of rail from voters and not a single thing has occurred. Nobody trusts MARTA anymore, they are the worst transit agency in America and are liars. I won't be shocked if Gwinnett and Cobb strike down joining the system even with the rapid demographic shifts that have occurred in such counties.
Could we include Arts Center, Midtown, and Peachtree Center as TOD's? Not so much Five Points anymore with Underground being closed down and over the next few years it will be only for transfers as they rebuild the station.
Another thing that could give MARTA points despite the limited areas they serve, is the quality of the trains and stations themselves, especially after they replace the stock of trains with the newer ones.
Could we include Arts Center, Midtown, and Peachtree Center as TOD's? Not so much Five Points anymore with Underground being closed down and over the next few years it will be only for transfers as they rebuild the station.
Another thing that could give MARTA points despite the limited areas they serve, is the quality of the trains and stations themselves, especially after they replace the stock of trains with the newer ones.
Even if those do count as TODs, I think that Seattle and especially LA have more stations with significant TOD but they probably surpass Dallas, Denver, and San Diego.
LA is also getting new trains (testing just started), so compared to LA that's not it either. Probably it will be to everyone else that's not SF or the NE (including DC).
To me Atlanta's biggest advantage currently over LA is having a complete heavy rail core system and airport access. Both of those go away in 1-2 years. But Atlanta transit is in a very special place and just needs more riders and convenient destinations. Adding 100,000 people to the city limits could help bring it up a tier.
oh and the buckhead station makes rider cross like a 6-7 lane stroad, its not designed for pedestrians/transit riders at all.
Um... What? There are pedestrian bridges to the entrance from both sides of the road, and then two more entrances to the station from Peachtree, again on each side of the road.
Could we include Arts Center, Midtown, and Peachtree Center as TOD's? Not so much Five Points anymore with Underground being closed down and over the next few years it will be only for transfers as they rebuild the station.
Another thing that could give MARTA points despite the limited areas they serve, is the quality of the trains and stations themselves, especially after they replace the stock of trains with the newer ones.
A traditional downtown isn't considered "TOD" because the transit lines in most cities are built to serve it — and it predates the construction of the transit system.
Five Points wouldn't be TOD even if Underground Atlanta were still open because it's the central intersection of downtown Atlanta, not to mention the station where Atlanta's spine lines cross.
Can't blame everything on the state. Almost every MARTA station is surrounded by garbage land usage, has nothing to do with the state. You should not be getting off a transit station and be introduced to a sea of parking lots or a 6 lane stroad. Look at WMATA in DC, many of the stations there are surrounded by high density development and residential. I'm sure doing that in Atlanta would help with the pretty abysmal ridership for the system. Why can't they do TOD?
And MARTA expanded to Clayton county in 2013 with the promise of rail from voters and not a single thing has occurred. Nobody trusts MARTA anymore, they are the worst transit agency in America and are liars. I won't be shocked if Gwinnett and Cobb strike down joining the system even with the rapid demographic shifts that have occurred in such counties.
In the past it was on the suburban voters especially for their reasons for voting against it, but Clayton Co got screwed with the commuter rail that was about to happen but didn't (pretty much like the Falcons in the Superbowl). Also the City of Atlanta has been getting shafted as well as they aren't nearly getting as much rail as promised when they voted for it in 2016. Now I don't blame Gwinnett and Cobb voting against it. I'll vote NO next year on the tax increase for billions on just an upgraded bus system with no rail. It's not to join MARTA but as CobbLink's own system. Gwinnett also marginally didn't pass the tax with just a one mile extension of MARTA rail and more buses.
Also the pandemic made things worse. They thought working remotely will become normal so there's no need to address the traffic problems, but now that most companies are forcing their employees to RTO, the traffic is worse now than it was pre-COVID.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarketStEl
A traditional downtown isn't considered "TOD" because the transit lines in most cities are built to serve it — and it predates the construction of the transit system.
Five Points wouldn't be TOD even if Underground Atlanta were still open because it's the central intersection of downtown Atlanta, not to mention the station where Atlanta's spine lines cross.
I see what you mean. An area that was already urban versus an area that was later built around a train station.
I can guess only ignorance has left Cleveland's RTA out of the conversation.
It has 50 heavy rail/light rail stations split among 4 different lines, including service to the airport covering 37 miles and ridership of 11K per day
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