Kasim Reed goes ham on Selig (UGA power brooker)

[RLR]

Kasim comes in around minute 55. http://ec4.cc/gfc278ff

The incredible thing is how frequently and for how long this behavior has gone on. It's not hard to spot. It just never got traction in the local news.

This may not seem big, but the war between ATL & OTP and GT/Emory & UGA is heating up. Major issues are about to be decided, namely transit.

Will the state of GA bail out Cobb County on its Braves Stadium fiasco OR could we maybe. . . maybe, get some . . . ANY. . . funding for public transit?

Light rail connecting Emory & GT is possible. As is the beltline on the westside. Both developments would put GT on the next level. see for yourself: http://www.martamenu.com/

 

[JacketFromUGA]

Kasim comes in around minute 55. http://ec4.cc/gfc278ff

The incredible thing is how frequently and for how long this behavior has gone on. It's not hard to spot. It just never got traction in the local news.

This may not seem big, but the war between ATL & OTP and GT/Emory & UGA is heating up. Major issues are about to be decided, namely transit.

Will the state of GA bail out Cobb County on its Braves Stadium fiasco OR could we maybe. . . maybe, get some . . . ANY. . . funding for public transit?

Light rail connecting Emory & GT is possible. As is the beltline on the westside. Both developments would put GT on the next level. see for yourself: http://www.martamenu.com/

Mass Transit = poor people.


We don't like poor people.

 

[jwsavhGT]

For those of us in the gnat zone, what is all this about? Brief summary please. Thanks.

 

[BuzzStone]

Mass Transit = poor people.


We don't like poor people.

Mass transit does not equate to poor people everywhere. When mass transit is done correctly it can mean a great quality of life improvement for a large metro area. It has baffled me for quite some time why the city of atlanta has not planned far enough ahead to see that public transport will be the way a majority of people will need to get around and plan it properly. This doesn't really matter to me anymore since i am no longer a resident there but I have traveled to many different places with good public transport systems in place and it makes life so much easier.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

Mass transit does not equate to poor people everywhere. When mass transit is done correctly it can mean a great quality of life improvement for a large metro area. It has baffled me for quite some time why the city of atlanta has not planned far enough ahead to see that public transport will be the way a majority of people will need to get around and plan it properly. This doesn't really matter to me anymore since i am no longer a resident there but I have traveled to many different places with good public transport systems in place and it makes life so much easier.

Oh I 100% agree and enjoy my metro in DC. I'm just quoting Cobb County

 

[BuzzStone]

Oh I 100% agree and enjoy my metro in DC. I'm just quoting Cobb County

That is a great example, even as poorly planed as the transit in DC was it is so easy to travel there. I was there last year and traveled all over never needing a car or even an uber. Very well done there.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

That is a great example, even as poorly planed as the transit in DC was it is so easy to travel there. I was there last year and traveled all over never needing a car or even an uber. Very well done there.

But the point is, they actually started planning it in the 60s and got really serious about it in the 70s and have continued to work on it since. Atlanta has managed to stay several decades behind in each phase of planning and implementation, beginning with those people to the northwest of the city who said "we don't want undesirable people being able to get into our neighborhoods."

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Most of the infrastructure of Atlanta has been poorly planned and or maintained. The mass transit portion is almost laughable compared to other cities. There might be some minor negatives, small uptick in some crimes like shoplifting and such but that's arguable (perps have cars too), if rail gets expanded. There are some positives and negatives associated with most any issue. But the positives of expanding rail should outweigh the negatives by a good bit most likely. If I'm wrong folks can always just move further out and away from rail

 

[JacketFromUGA]

Most of the infrastructure of Atlanta has been poorly planned and or maintained. The mass transit portion is almost laughable compared to other cities. There might be some minor negatives, small uptick in some crimes like shoplifting and such but that's arguable (perps have cars too), if rail gets expanded. There are some positives and negatives associated with most any issue. But the positives of expanding rail should outweigh the negatives by a good bit most likely. If I'm wrong folks can always just move further out and away from rail

ALMOST?

 

[jacket71]

Atlanta's lagging other cities has a single root cause in my mind....lack of leadership.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Atlanta's lagging other cities has a single root cause in my mind....lack of leadership.

I have only recently returned to Georgia after being out of the region for several years so I do not know what the political leadership is now but I certainly remember it from years ago. There was an Atlanta Regional Planning Commission which I had a very small part in dealing with years ago. The problem, in my opinion, always came down to people who saw the big picture never being able to get past local obstructionism. I want to be clear that sometimes there are good reasons for local people to obstruct bigger government projects but Georgia carried this to soaring heights of absurdity. I remember being in a meeting years ago when they brought in the major of Portland, Oregon to talk about mass transit and alternatives to building more highways. He first had to prove he was a Republican, which he was. He then had to prove that he was a conservative, which he was. But any time he talked about coordinating how regions need to pass ordinances to slow down private sector development that contributed to grid lock he was called a socialist. He finally said something like, "You have got to understand that when someone pisses in the swimming pool we are all swimming in it."

 

[ATL1]

The racial and class undertones always exist when it comes to mass transit in the Atlanta Metro. I think some of the hysteria has died down but then situations bring the hysteria back again.

The TSPLOST was so bloated and poorly executed it was bound to fail. The people of South DeKalb and S Fulton (where the votes would actually come from) been wanting more options for 40 years and all they ever hear about is what they want to do in the Northern Metro so why bother. The folks in Cobb talk about taxes and the "potential crime". Meanwhile N Fulton and N DeKalb get more congested with no potential relief cause the state won't help, dispite the Atlanta Metro being the economic engine that keeps GA from being Mississippi. It's an embarrassing disgrace.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Mass transit does not equate to poor people everywhere. When mass transit is done correctly it can mean a great quality of life improvement for a large metro area......

Look at Europe for great mass transit. Even southern South America (Argentina and Chile) have mass transit that puts ours to shame and connects all areas.

It's the American mindset that partly holds us back. People in the small town I live in fought bus routes and even sidewalks since it would make it easier for undesirables to come in and have access.

 

[WrexRacer]

If ATL is to get functioning mass transit, marta will have to be restructured. It is a bloated bureaucratic mess.

Change the structure to allow representation by funding and not population. Then maybe you get buy in from Cobb. Otherwise, they are just going to be funding projects elsewhere.