re: Thoughts on the MARTA expansion plans?

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The engineers claim that expanding existing roads and building more won't alleviate traffic issues.

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Yea - our biggest issue is that to really build a road system that alleviates things we'd have to knock down multiple entire neighborhoods and tree canopies that would (a) be impossible and (b) cost such a large amount of money it wouldn't make any sense. And, quite frankly, I'd rather sit in traffic a bit than do that anyway I think.

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All that said, expansion of marta may be needed not for reduction in traffic, but rather due to increasing density in parts of Atlanta. In other words, not just to improve commutes, but to make it possible for people who may end up living without cars (due to decreasing parking availability) to commute at all. So in that way, it might be a solution to a new problem, rather than yet another attempt to solve an old one.

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Agree. Their biggest issues are connecting the dense nodes, IMHO. I live in Brookhaven. I work at the Galleria. I'd sacrafice 10-15 commute time to ride a train there if possible, even if it wasn't the most direct perfect route so that I could decompress/read/listen to a podcast without driving. That just isn't an option for me now. I know a lot of other people are in similar situations. Add Galleria/Cumberland to the system and see what you can do with commuter trains from Gwinnett/Cobb (3-4 stops each, including KSU/Town Center/Dobbins in Cobb and Mall of GA/Norcross in Gwinnett before connecting to MARTA at Galleria/Doraville).

I really think there would be quite a jump in usership at that point. It just has to go within walking distance of where large chunks of people work. I make my decisions on taking the train to clients based on whether I can walk from the station to the client. If I can, I almost always do it (unless it's just totally not feasible). If I can't, I don't. Connect the most dense work areas in the Metro and I think there'd be dividends reaped.

I also 100% agree with you re: buses. Nobody, except those who have to, are going to ride those. Ever.

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Walking from their houses to a Marta station

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I drive from my house to MARTA and it's only about 1 mile, unless I'm going to the airport and then I Uber.

Now, getting off is the bigger issue, and what I addressed above.

Money should be spent on some forward thinking solutions. Invest in the autonomous area. By the time any of this would come to completion many traffic woes will be reduced by automated vehicles. Be on the forefront of that technology, not old tech.

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By the time any of this would come to completion many traffic woes will be reduced by automated vehicles.

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So wait a century. Great idea.

This is going to sound shallow but I think real consideration should be given to renovating the inside of MARTA trains and branding in general.

They just feel gross even if they're relatively clean with that nasty beige color scheme.

Those types of improvements matter when it comes to upping ridership.

ETA: Or have they already begun that process?

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This is going to sound shallow but I think real consideration should be given to renovating the inside of MARTA trains and branding in general.

Or have they already begun that process?

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The oldest trains (which were rehabbed in the mid-2000s) are due to be replaced in the next few years.

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This is going to sound shallow but I think real consideration should be given to renovating the inside of MARTA trains and branding in general.

They just feel gross even if they're relatively clean with that nasty beige color scheme.

Those types of improvements matter when it comes to upping ridership.

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You know I have never felt that way. MARTA trains seem towards the middle to top when it comes to that comparatively across the country

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Yeah, same. I've been on mass transit vehicles all over this country and MARTA trains are no different. You aren't going to eat your dinner off of the seats or anything, but they are perfectly fine to sit your dirty arse cheeks on for a few minutes.

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I have lived in ATL, NYC and currently in CHI. There is nothing inherently wrong with the trains or stations compared to other cities.

IMO the biggest issue with mass transportation in ATL is the walking distance from the stations to the surrounding buildings/developments. ATL is extremely unwalkable compared to CHI/NYC, you really have to add stations or free buses that are directly next to some of the major work/play hubs if people are ever going to use it. 0.5 miles in ATL is not the same as 0.5 miles in CHI. I wouldn't think twice about walking 0.5 in CHI but in ATL there are very few areas where that would make sense. Add in the brutal summer weather and no one will ever walk that.

Some dedicated bus lanes could certainly be helpful in ATL but other than Peachtree I'm not sure what roads you could even put them on where they would be used/make sense.

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Which part (s) of Chicago are you talking about?

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I'd assume (and we know what that does to me and you) that he means walking 0.5 miles in a dense city area built for pedestrians is much different than walking across two 4-lane highways and then walking with no sidewalks.