Guest Post: International City

From a former neighbor and Friend of TOD. Without further ado.

About ten years ago I went into semi-retirement and moved to Blue Ridge, GA. The "semi" part of retirement gives cause for infrequent travel, mostly out of Hartsfield. It's a haul and I usually park at North Springs and MARTA it the rest of the way as that is the most reliable way to get past the roadblock that is Atlanta. At least until yesterday.

I was coming back from the flaming hot mid-Atlantic to the cooler sunny South expecting to bypass rush hour traffic using MARTA and get home in time for an adult libation and at least Final Jeopardy. But there were clues this was not to be. I got on the train at Hartsfield on the side usually reserved for the Red Line noticing the sign was (still?) set to "Airport" which I dismissed as typical MARTA. Don't sweat the little things, right? Train pulls out, still indicating it is an "Airport Train" though it is clearly headed in the opposite direction and other than that everything seems normal. Until Five Points. At this point confusion reigns and it basically becomes clear that this train is going no further. I get out and see MARTA employees directing all riders up and out. It was at this point, and only because I asked, that I learned there had been a fire at the Peachtree Center station and there was a "bus bridge" from Five Points to North Avenue. Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot? NOW you tell me?

It gets better. After about over an hour waiting for, getting on and stand-riding to North Avenue I find myself standing with a lot of hot peeved folks waiting for the next northbound to Lindberg. That's right. There would be no Red Line at North Avenue, I would have to disembark at Lindberg and wait, again, for a Red Line train. It was at Lindberg where MARTA decided to rub salt in a now very raw wound.

A MARTA employee, with no need of a megaphone, basically told everyone to "get off the phone, be quiet and listen" and then proceeded to inform all southbound commuters what lay ahead. The fire. The bus bridge. The delays. All that. She even recommended that riders that need to make a flight might consider "alternative transportation" explicitly calling out Uber and Lyft. Wow! And just why was there not a similar, informative presentation at the Airport Station where there often are, and in this case were, people not even from this country who were completely confused by this dysfunctional goat rodeo. Was it because the City runs the airport and they're more beholding to medallion wielding cabbies than Uber or Lyft? Who knows. But if Atlanta fancies itself an International City, it must brace itself for the hard reality that this means its peer-cities are all in Third World countries.

This dark cloud came with a silver lining. I used the extra couple of hours to do some internet research. I already knew I was a 90 mile drive to the MARTA ride to Hartsfield, but what were the other options? Well, I'm only an 80 mile drive, through some of the most beautiful scenery in America, to the Chattanooga airport, conveniently located on MY side of their fair city. It's under 100 miles to the Knoxville airport, again on MY side of the city, only sightly further than my drive to MARTA. I'll never fight my way through Atlanta, MARTA or not, to get to Hartsfield. I know I will pay more, in cash anyway, and that I will be at that airport sometime in the future, but only to change planes. And if I ever visit another "International City" it will be in another country. 

Neat Freak

Would someone PLEASE take out the garbage?

Hard to imagine why anyone would oppose MARTA in their neighbor hood. They make such good neighbors, don't they?

Trains, Teams And Automobiles

[...]
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.

Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,
And I'm wondering what it is I should do,
It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
[...]

It is silly season and folks blessed with an eye, half a brain and the sense god gave a pigeon to sit on a statue are being twirled around by traffic related nonsense like a lawn chair in a tornado.

The first bucket of nonsense comes from the Clowns To The Left Of Us and is all about trains. Or lack thereof. In particular is the concern from the ITP-er's who pontificate that while god is good them there trains is great. They're attempting to leverage the Braves move to Snob County to push for a train from Arts Center to 75/285. Not just any train--a MARTA train. Their rather twisted logic seems to be "if you get the Braves then you must become MARTA-fied." Something is going to break when we straighten out that little pretzel of logic.

See these same train-vangelists had not a care in the world that there was no train service to Turner Field. No more than they cared that Turner Field was located in a crime-ridden armpit of the City. But now that the nasty ole ballpark is moving they are all excited about another live/work/play ground just like Atlantic Station. And if you've been paying attention to the crime around Atlantic Station you can be pretty sure they have everything they need to pull it off.

The other tidbit otherwise known as fact is just where the folks buying Braves tickets live, work and consequently will be coming from. What they prefer to ignore and wish you would as well is the inconvenient truth that based on ticket sales these have never been the Atlanta Braves they've always been the suburb's Braves. So a MARTA train to the new stadium would just be a train from nowhere unused by the Cracker Jackin' crowd. What it would do is maintain job access for current stadium workers as all things ITP are about jobs programs for protected connected minorities.

They also ignore the fact that the Braves want a major upgrade in employees as well as environment. And Braves fan base are dropping a pretty penny taking the family to see the game and they just might make a day of it. When you're going to drop a couple hundred on the game why not take the day off and have a mini staycation? Because that's not what MARTA's for?

But we're also sandwiched between the Jokers On The Right who control state government and have been quite pissy of late because the electorate held them to their word forcing them to end the 400 toll and quit raiding the funds for their pet projects.

We've heard these Chicken Littles lament the loss of jobs though in fact all they really care about is the loss of money they can spend. Politicians and bureaucrats. Predictable. Pathetic.

They've co-opted the media who have given free ink to all things disastrous on the newly liberated section of road. We're told there will suddenly be twenty to thirty percent more cars on that slice of paved paradise than a mere week ago--as if by magic.

And magic it is.

We're not told where these cars come from. Do they think that Bubba and Essie up in Alpharetta will start thinking they should be partying in Butthead because it doesn't even cost that gosh darned dollar to get there anymore? Really Bert? REALLY?

No. In fact these cars are going to come from surface streets and "alternative routes". You know the ones racing thru your neighborhood.

And even if there are twenty or thirty percent more vehicles then guess what? We can handle it. Want to know why? Because we don't have to stop at the damn toll booth that's why.

At the end of the day the Braves get new digs in much upgraded surroundings. The fans get something to do before and after the game other than scurry around in fear of their lives. MARTA gets a chance to get their act together swallowing what they've already bitten off before they try to choke down any more. Folks on 400 get a better cheaper commute having paid in full and then some for the road that gets them there. And taxpayers get a few more employees off the public payroll no matter how indirect that currently is.

Everyone wins except those who have been stealing from our wallets and those a bit overinfatuated with all things ITP.

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.

Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,
And I'm wondering what it is I should do,
It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Well you started out with nothing,
And you're proud that you're a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please.... Please.....

Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor,
'Cause I don't think that I can take anymore
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Well you started out with nothing,
And you're proud that you're a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please.... Please.....

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you.

Low Flying Billboards

That's what one City Councilman considers MARTA bus stop shelters that are plastered with adverts. Low flying billboards. And he has a good point. In many cases, like the corner of major intersections, these billboards suit the best interests of the advertising company and its customers whilst doing quite a disservice to MARTA patrons (they're patrons, not customers, and no, we don't know why) and any drivers who need to move around a stopped bus.

Don't believe it? Then explain the bus stops on Chamblee Dunwoody, one in front of Hickory House, the other at Dunkin Donuts. Strictly from a "best benefit for all concerned" wouldn't the public be better served by only one with that one being the one at the Hickory House? Unless you factor in the billboard aspect at which point you understand it isn't about the public, MARTA patrons or service to anyone other than the advertising company.

The problem is simple, not unique and much like the City's own grant grubbing: misplaced priorities. Whereas the City will seek a grant then propose a project, MARTA is selling billboard real estate and that is the determining factor for bus stop location. One can only wonder if this determines route selection as well since our many, often empty buses appear to be little more than rolling billboards.

The solution is either not simple or as is widely believed involves the expenditure of money without any benefit to City staffers, their friends, family or vendors. Otherwise it would be a slam dunk. As it is we're bound by an Inter-Governmental Agreement until the year 2022 so we best get used to this silliness as well.

Set My MARTA Free!

Here is a radical idea that has been floating around section 8 housing for a quite a few years now:

make MARTA train and bus services totally free to anyone. 

Turns out the idea has some merit if tackled properly.

Given we're about to engage in a TSPLOST Train Wreck that primarily serves a few already rich developers perhaps establishing a comprehensive region wide "No Fare" public transportation system may not be so silly after all. Is it really any sillier than the "Train to Lovejoy", a revival of the archaic concept of streetcars or the Atlanta beltline project?

This warrants some serious consideration.

Suppose travelers to Atlanta could get off a plane, pick up their bags and hop right on the train without buying a breeze card, without the "how do you swipe this card" delay, and without negotiating baggage through those goofy swinging gates. That would set Atlanta ahead and above all major passenger hubs in the world in both convenience and service.

To make this work several important things must happen.

The State must step up to the plate with a funding mechanism that leverages regional assets to build out a world class system. After all, this is the same region that is being lobbied to mindlessly vote for the TSPLOST for a patchwork of studies that will lead nowhere but to more taxes. Grow up--get real. It's time for the legislature to put some "big boy" pants on and state for the record that Atlanta regional transportation is important to the entire state. Just like the port at Savannah or an auto plant in west Georgia.

MARTA must go away. And GRTA. And the Cobb and the Gwinnett and the Clayton bus systems.

Expanding MARTA's role will not work as MARTA suffers from a well-deserved, region-wide negative brand image. When authorizing MARTA, the state wisely restricted the budget to a fifty-fifty split between operations and capital expenditures, suspecting that MARTA would become pretty much what it is today. Since then MARTA has played fast and loose with the rules (e.g., selling capital equipment and leasing it back) to divert funds to operations justifying the original wariness of the State.

It is also viewed, again with reasonable justification, as a jobs program for a particular demographic and we are not likely to see a top MARTA official that does not meet that profile.

This has had an expected and very tangible impact on service. While MARTA may attract the best available from an artificially small selection, they do not seek the best overall talent. This has created a sense of entitlement amongst the employees who, knowing they will not be fired, see no reason to make on-time service Job One. Or Job NONE for that matter. It has become so bad that it is no longer unusual for the first train leaving the North Springs station to leave late! And MARTA is not alone--over the years we have witnessed the (mis)management of the Atlanta Airport which operates under the same model. We won't even start with the school systems.

We must have a single, region wide agency responsible for all transportation in the area. There must be a single throat to choke, a single agency to manage, a single agency to be held accountable. And "all transportation"  includes the 800 lb gorilla, the Atlanta Airport, as well as other, often overlooked airports like PDK (which is the second busiest in the state). This agency must also be responsible for all surface transportation in the region. If there are to be tolls, if the existing tolls are to continue, it would be the responsibility of this agency to establish and maintain these systems. If "the gulch" is to ever be used as a multi-modal transportation hub, this agency will make it happen. If "Rubber Rail" with dedicated lanes comes to the area, it will be directly because of the efforts of this agency. 

Finally, this agency must represent and respect the needs of the entire region, not just one area and not just a select few. The balkanization that characterizes and paralyzes the Atlanta metro area must be torn down. Transparency and fiduciary responsibility must be foundational. Service must be paramount. There is no reason to believe that our transportation systems cannot be run as efficiently as those in Japan or Europe. There is no reason to accept less.