27 replies to this topic

[teshadoh]

^  Very true, especially in Grant Park.  My house is less than 10 feet away from the sidewalk, but the yard is in total a respectable .1 acre.  This is the big difference between the pre war & post war Wright influenced ranch style yards where the house typically sits over half the distance in the yard.  Not to mention the zoning codes dictated in most cases 30' + distance setback.

[markusparkus]

Pillsbury, on Dec 22 2006, 09:57 AM, said:

I don't know Andrea.  My girlfriend's family lives up there and you would think Atlanta proper was in another state the way they talk about things.  I mean just getting to 400 from their house is a nightmare, and they don't live more than 5-6 miles away from the exit.    Seriously, it takes me longer to get across Alpharetta than it does to drive across Augusta.  I'm not kidding.   The northern suburbs of Atlanta are beautiful with the natural scenery and I see why people are attracted to those areas, but the traffic is a nightmare.

Everyone always blames GA400 and with good reason. The highway is YEARS BEHIND in capacity and proper upgrades. They're just now widening it when it truly needed it about 8+ years ago, haha.

However, regardless of 400's troubles, the Atlanta area's biggest mistake has always been not supporting better and MORE transit options. I would hop on a train or a bus in a minute if it were near me or took me where I needed to go.

[ryanmckibben]

markusparkus, on Jan 5 2007, 02:42 PM, said:

Everyone always blames GA400 and with good reason. The highway is YEARS BEHIND in capacity and proper upgrades. They're just now widening it when it truly needed it about 8+ years ago, haha.

However, regardless of 400's troubles, the Atlanta area's biggest mistake has always been not supporting better and MORE transit options. I would hop on a train or a bus in a minute if it were near me or took me where I needed to go.

The only thing that widening GA400 "8+" years ago would have acomplished is the acceleration of development in N Fulton. Study after study has conclusivly demonstrated that increased road capacity does nothing more then induce higher demand. No city on earth has ever been able to pave it's way out of congestion. Reducing demand is the only responsible way to alleviate congestion and the resulting pollution.

[Spartan]

ryanmckibben, on Jan 5 2007, 03:41 PM, said:

The only thing that widening GA400 "8+" years ago would have acomplished is the acceleration of development in N Fulton. Study after study has conclusivly demonstrated that increased road capacity does nothing more then induce higher demand. No city on earth has ever been able to pave it's way out of congestion. Reducing demand is the only responsible way to alleviate congestion and the resulting pollution.

Exactly! If only everyone in Atlanta thought like this.

Have you heard this report on Paris? They are in the process of narrowing streets, widening sidewalks, and providing more transit lanes. They just opened their first new streetcar line in some time. And on top of all of that, air quality has gotten better. Naturally this has pissed off a lot of people. Still interesting though. It takes a minute to load up, and lasts about 4-5 minutes. Its well worth it though.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

atlrvr, on Dec 21 2006, 05:34 PM, said:

While transit is an admirable goal, I'm not sure there is an effective way to add dedicated ROW transit to the area.

I'm not usually a proponent of roads, but the simple truth is the area has WAY too few roads to support the amount of development. There is almost as much office space there as downtown Charlotte, which is on a full grid, with 1 interstate, 2 non-interstate expressways, about 10 major thoroughfares, and plenty of smaller streets. In buckhead, there is 1 expressway, and 4 thoroughfares, and that's it. Considering most of the people who work in Buckhead don't live anywhere near there, it is a huge challenge to move those people.

No offense Andrea, but I think the single-family homes around the mall need to be bought up, and the area redeveloped with grid-like connections.....looking at an aerial, its easy to see all the mixed connection opportunities, or road that don't connect because its obvious the neighborhoods opposed it.

Why didn't MARTA build a subway line all the way from the 5-points hub all the way up Peachtree to Brookhaven, just north of the city limits?????????????????

[Hybrid0NE]

kennethdisraili, on May 9 2007, 04:39 PM, said:

Why didn't MARTA build a subway line all the way from the 5-points hub all the way up Peachtree to Brookhaven, just north of the city limits?????????????????

I'm sure a lot of the residents in those areas probably shot down a Peachtree subway line north of Midtown. If it had been offered, guess no one expected Buckhead to blossom into a semi-vertical neighborhood along the Peach?

[adelosky]

kennethdisraili, on May 9 2007, 03:39 PM, said:

Why didn't MARTA build a subway line all the way from the 5-points hub all the way up Peachtree to Brookhaven, just north of the city limits?????????????????

I don't think the North/South line is the problem.  It's the connection to it.  If I want to get to work across the street from Lenox Mall from the Stone Mountain area, I can either get in my car and drive or drive to Indian Creek MARTA, get on a train, get off at 5 points, make sure I get on the correct NB train or get off at Lindbergh to get on the correct NB train, get off at the Buckhead MARTA station, and then walk a few blocks to work.

There is no connectivity of MARTA to any suburb 5 miles off of the rail line.  If you had a diamond shaped rail line mixed with the + shaped rail line, I guarantee you the majority of the traffic in the area on any given work day would be reduced by at least 25%.  I'm one of those people riding in my truck alone that would choose to take public transportation instead if it were actually quicker and easier to get to work.

Now I understand that public transportation isn't always easy or saves a ton of time, but by the time I actually make it to a train station, I'm half way to work.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

adelosky, on May 9 2007, 05:31 PM, said:

I don't think the North/South line is the problem. It's the connection to it. If I want to get to work across the street from Lenox Mall from the Stone Mountain area, I can either get in my car and drive or drive to Indian Creek MARTA, get on a train, get off at 5 points, make sure I get on the correct NB train or get off at Lindbergh to get on the correct NB train, get off at the Buckhead MARTA station, and then walk a few blocks to work.

There is no connectivity of MARTA to any suburb 5 miles off of the rail line. If you had a diamond shaped rail line mixed with the + shaped rail line, I guarantee you the majority of the traffic in the area on any given work day would be reduced by at least 25%. I'm one of those people riding in my truck alone that would choose to take public transportation instead if it were actually quicker and easier to get to work.

Now I understand that public transportation isn't always easy or saves a ton of time, but by the time I actually make it to a train station, I'm half way to work.

I still say Peachtree as the linier area it is becoming, would be well served by a Peachtree subway line, with at least 15 stops. But on the other hand, the diamond shaped proposal is very intriging!!! Well thought out !!