- Decatur superintendent speaks out on Kindergarten eligibility bill [Decaturish]
- Medlock survey shows support for Atlanta annexation [MANA]
- Decatur sued over Midway Woods annexation [Decaturish]
- Deal and other state leaders want to see long term solution on transportation [WABE]
- Cool, interactive chart of MARTA parking revenues [AJC]
- Zoning complaint shuts down “Little Free Library” [New Orleans Advocate]
- London green-lights segregated bike lanes [The Guardian]
Rendering courtesy of The Guardian
if HB 170 is any indication, leadership wants to redirect local sales taxes and the 4th penny (per dollar) from gasoline sales into the constitutional lock-box for “roads and bridges” and declare the session a success with the claim that this was the only reasonable action
talk about tying our hands… to the steering wheel
Not so sure it’s that bad of a deal for DeKalb cities.
Sales taxes in DeKalb are collected by the county and then divvied up. This bill would allow local communities to collect extra sales tax on gas that won’t go to the county and can be used on local roads. DeKalb does not have a SPLOST to use for capital projects (E-SPLOST is school only), which is one reason why we have to rely more heavily on GDOT funding to get the same road projects that Cobb and Gwinnett have supplemented with their SPLOST campaigns for years.
DeKalb is pursuing a SPLOST during this legislative session.
This seems to have been the thought process: “we (state leaders) tried to pass the buck on raising taxes to the voters, but they wouldn’t go for TSPLOST. So this time we’ll essentially force them to vote for tax increases for schools, to make up for that 4th penny we’re moving to transportation.”
You will recall that the changeover from the “birthday” ad valorem tax on cars to the upfront tax also affected local governments. The state promised to make it up to the them and I’m sure they did.
Interesting MARTA long-term parking chart. I have to say I was pretty surprised about the huge difference in revenue between North Springs and Doraville (both terminal stations). I’ve never been to the N.Springs station, so I don’t know how it compares in size, but Doraville has a large deck that is consistently full, mostly with cars sporting Gwinnett tags. So clearly far more of the people parking at Doraville are daily commuters versus long-term (airport) parkers at N. Springs. I think this probably indicates how much the demographics have changed in Gwinnett.
One of the Doraville decks was built by, and is for the use of, Bellsouth/AT&T employees.
Yes, I’m aware of that, but does it explain the difference in long-term parking? Even a non-terminal station, Sandy Springs, had more long-term revenue than Doraville. If the issue is insufficient long-term parking at Doraville, then maybe they should consider adding long-term space at Chamblee, which doesn’t have any but has a fairly large lot.
MARTA gets practically no parking revenue from its East West line lots. Do they even bother trying to charge people? No wonder they want to turn them into mixed use.
MARTA only charges for parking longer than 24 hours (think airport travel) and the only east line station with long term parking is Kensington. The demographic for that station would not include many airport travelers compared to the north side.
This prompts me to mention that I fly pretty frequently, and decided to try taking Marta to the airport this week rather than drive as usual. It took an hour and 20 minutes and I will never do it again. This goes on the pile of all of the other miserable experiences I’ve had on Marta.
I’d consider myself progressive on urban design issues, and I live in Decatur because I’ve rejected the post WWII suburban paradigm. Both my house and office are within short walking distance of Marta stations. And Marta has not won my business. It is an inefficient, maddening service that overly complicates my life when I use it. So I don’t use it, I drive, or I take Uber.
By the way, Uber and driverless cars are going to be another headwind for Marta in this town.
MARTA to and from the airport is absolutely, 100 percent terrible.
Someone will say “it needs more funding” in 3, 2, 1 . . .
I agree with you on this. I took Marta downtown last weekend and it was miserable. We had a dude perform a stripper-like dance routine all the way from East Lake to 5 points. He was one of about 3 people who eschewed headphones in favor of treating us all to his choice of internet radio stations. Add to that the mom who took her visibly sick 5 year old on the train. As he walked by, he coughed about 1.5 feet from my face. His mom yelled “cover your mouth!” Thanks mom, but too late. All in all, I saved a buck or two, no time, and breathed in some flu virus. Just about every time I take Marta it reminds me of why I don’t take it more often.
“Someone will say “it needs more funding” in 3, 2, 1 . . .”
More funding wouldn’t correct what seems to be a lack of tolerance for the hoi polloi.
We can’t all be a man of the people like you, I suppose. Funny how such breaches of etiquette are the subject of much exasperation on this site, but if they happen on Marta, it’s a simple matter of the reporter’s intolerance.
That’s the nature of public transit. The public isn’t always pretty. At least on MARTA they are merely annoying; behind the wheel on a public road they can be life-threatening.
“Funny how such breaches of etiquette are the subject of much exasperation on this site, but if they happen on Marta,”
I assume you are mainly referring to people complaining about kids in restaurants. I’m pretty sure most of those complaints were about fairly expensive restaurants. If they were about McDonalds or Waffle House, I’d get the comparison, but I’d also consider such complaints about McD’s or Waffle House as disconnected from reality.
Yeah, people suck.
During the 5 years that I took MARTA to work 4 days a week, I loved it. Got exercise every day, did tons of reading and even some knitting. But I’m a veteran of the NYC subway when it still had tons of graffiti, only sporadic A/C, and broken windows. MARTA is nostalgic for me.
My wife is from a small town and had barely taken any public transit at all until about ten years ago. At first, when we lived near spaghetti junction and she took 85 to midtown every day, it took some convincing to get her to try the train from Doraville to Arts Center station. It didn’t take long for her to say she’d never go back to fighting that traffic again. She loves riding the train, even with the now slightly greater degree of difficulty in going from Decatur to Peachtree Center, for some of the same reasons you mention. She’s made several “MARTA buddies”, as she calls them.
I must be the flip side of the coin. I take MARTA just about every time I fly out. Since 1993 (hundreds of trips – work and pleasure) I have had one bad experience. It was a Sunday and they were single tracking on both lines. Normal. 30-40 minute trip took 90. I find driving much more stressful because of uncertainty of traffic and parking. DEM will love this part – I work for the govt so my expense report has only two MARTA fares – no parking, mileage, taxi or whatever. Saves $$$ big time.
Sorry you had a bad experience, but I’ve used it for 35 years and found it far preferable to driving. Yes, one has to deal with the public and all that entails in a big city, but I could count on one hand the times I’ve actually felt unsafe. Reliability is much improved in recent years, and barring some catastrophe (which can happen with any mode of transport), I get to Peachtree Center in 35 minutes door to door. Obviously it doesn’t work for folks who don’t live and work convenient to its limited routes, but for the Decatur to downtown commute I’ve found it the best option. Just wish it went more places.
The stations on the east line are not great for the airport because of the need to change trains. Still, I go to the airport from Decatur station 6-8 times a year, and I’d estimate the average time is around an hour. More time than driving but without the hassle of parking (and you could have just easily been hung up in a traffic jam that took over an hour too). I agree, though, that driverless Uber (or whatever company) is going to pose challenges for MARTA and other transit systems.
I like MARTA but then I also miss the mariachi bands on the 7 train in Queens, so … our mileage may vary.
I love taking Marta to airport or any of the few places it goes. Wish it would go more places. I used to read, write poetry, and people watch on the T in Boston. I have loved using public transportation in DC, NYC and in Europe. In Atlanta it just doesn’t have enough reach.
Amen to that.