[Speed Gibson,
Saturday June 10, 2006 at 5:18pm]
Atlanta's Light Rail
Light rail works here. I almost think we shouldn't have rented a car. We didn't plan on this, but our hotel is one block from a MARTA station. It's convenient, and given Atlanta's traffic, fast.
There are a couple of big differences as compared to our present Hiawatha and future Corridor lines. First, Atlanta's system does not have street level intersections with traffic. It goes above or below. Second, given the climate, MARTA's open air stations are simple and efficient.
Actually, there's a third difference. Unlike Minneapolis or Denver (per my uncle there), this Light Rail takes people where they really want to go. There isn't a lot of it, just a North-South and and East-West line, with a couple of spurs further out. But criss-crossing the city gets you in and out quickly. Working with the buses, again workable because of climate, you can get around very nicely here, for $1.75 a ride. Ridership is obviously substantial.
Our light rail will never measure up to this, and may utlimately prove very destructive to the neighborhoods it cuts in half, the neighborhoods it is supposed to help develop. I saw no such development along MARTA (North-South).
There are a couple of big differences as compared to our present Hiawatha and future Corridor lines. First, Atlanta's system does not have street level intersections with traffic. It goes above or below. Second, given the climate, MARTA's open air stations are simple and efficient.
Actually, there's a third difference. Unlike Minneapolis or Denver (per my uncle there), this Light Rail takes people where they really want to go. There isn't a lot of it, just a North-South and and East-West line, with a couple of spurs further out. But criss-crossing the city gets you in and out quickly. Working with the buses, again workable because of climate, you can get around very nicely here, for $1.75 a ride. Ridership is obviously substantial.
Our light rail will never measure up to this, and may utlimately prove very destructive to the neighborhoods it cuts in half, the neighborhoods it is supposed to help develop. I saw no such development along MARTA (North-South).
When I rode MARTA in Atlanta, I thought that there could be a good market for art supply stores along the lines, given the amount of graffiti I saw...