Oxendine confuses vision with delusion
To ease congestion on the Downtown Connector, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine proposes construction of what he calls a “parallel connector.”
That multilane highway, presumably built to interstate standards, would run about two miles east of the existing connector. It would start at the intersection of Ga. 400 and I-85 and travel south to connect with I-20 and then I-285, a 15-mile route.
In a video released by his campaign for governor, Oxendine acknowledges that versions of the plan have been around for decades, but it’s never been implemented “because no one’s really had the vision.”
While “vision” is an interesting term, the more accurate term may be “delusion.”
For example, it’s delusional to think that in this day and age you could build an interstate by leveling swaths of densely populated urban areas such as Virginia-Highland, Candler Park, Inman Park and East Atlanta. Oxendine claims the road would speed travel from Gwinnett County and north Fulton to Hartsfield-Jackson airport, and it may. But it would do so by destroying the homes of some 10,000 people, most of which would have to be taken through eminent domain.
To minimize that damage, Oxendine suggests that some portion of the road could be built as a tunnel, but that too is delusional. For purposes of comparison, Boston’s “Big Dig” project put five miles of urban highway underground at a cost of $15 billion. That’s about every penny collected by the state gasoline tax for the last 15 to 20 years
.
Like others who back the concept, Oxendine has floated the possibility of financing the project privately, with investors being repaid through tolls. That too is more delusional than visionary. No studies have been done, but it’s hard to imagine that traffic counts on a parallel connector could possibly repay such a heavy investment.
In fact, the whole prerecession fad of financing public transportation infrastructure through private investment may prove to have been a bubble. It was an artifact of an economy in which too much private investment capital was chasing too few legitimate investment opportunities, and those days are over.
The ultimate financial partner would of course be Uncle Sam, and that too is a pipe dream. A parallel connector would have to be approved by the Atlanta Regional Commission before federal dollars began to flow, and that isn’t going to happen. The ARC long ago came to the conclusion that major road projects are no longer a feasible solution to the metro region’s problems.
Even the chairman of the state Transportation Board, Bill Kuhlke, has acknowledged that the era of major road-building is over in the metro area.
“Transit is going to be the biggest part of the answer for this particular region, “ Kuhlke said earlier this year.
Unfortunately, that realization is not widely held among the state’s elected political leadership.
Far more common is Oxendine’s claim that “we got to build a lot of roads around metro Atlanta,” a mind-set that blinds people to other possibilities.
For example, the so-called “Brain Train” — a proposed commuter rail line linking Athens, Gwinnett County and a downtown Atlanta multimodal station — would provide a more efficient and less destructive means of moving passengers from the northeast suburbs to the airport than the parallel connector, and at a fraction of the cost. But that kind of solution just can’t get a serious hearing from the state’s current leadership.
Given that reality, one of three things has to happen to address metro Atlanta’s transportation crisis:
We have to change the mind-set of state leaders; failing that, we have to change state leadership, period; and failing that, the region has to demand the authority to plan and finance its own transportation solution.
In other words, instead of a parallel connector, we need a parallel universe.
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223 comments Add your comment
Normal
September 15th, 2009
7:47 am
The only realistic way his plan would work was if the connector was built as a bridge over the areas in question, with exits at certain key areas. I have always liked the train idea better though…
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
7:49 am
yay!!! just what greater atlanta needs … more roads!!! because the haze over the city isn’t quite brown enough …
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
7:49 am
Who would miss Moreland Avenue when it is gone?
And what about the “brain train,” a few pinkos hurtling past the great unwashed masses, stuck in mindless 316 backups, without ever lifting their elite heads from the morning’s edition of the Urinal.
stands for decibels
September 15th, 2009
7:55 am
For rational people reading this, obviously one day metro Atlanta will purge itself of the reactionary elements that prevent it from properly expanding a perfectly good commuter rail system, and who continue to propose imbecilic new highway construction through the heart of established neighborhoods. Until then, though, we’ll have to watch other metro areas snicker at us, I guess.
And for Andy? If you ever decide to get into the parody troll business, I think you’d be pretty good at it. Your 7.49 is the sort of thing Atrios gets paid big bucks to write.
Later, all.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
7:57 am
There’s nothing reactionary about wanting to keep the area you live in safe and crime free. After seeing the great job MARTA did on Dekalb county, I think I’ll pass on the idea of a train that connects the area I live in to areas that contain nothing but Obama voters.
TaxPayer
September 15th, 2009
7:58 am
I’m surprised that he and other Republicans are not supporting the no tax version of reduced traffic — recession. Taxes and traffic are both reduced. That’s two birds with one stone.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
7:58 am
“And for Andy? If you ever decide to get into the parody troll business”
you mean, he’s not already?
Jen
September 15th, 2009
7:58 am
Whiner, you must be crazy if you think the affluent people in those neighborhoods would allow this to happen.
And eminent domain? Think the state could afford to pay for all these properties? Million dollar homes? The cheapest homes cost >$300K.
And, yes, I think people would miss Little 5 Points.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
7:59 am
yay!!! just what greater atlanta needs … more roads!!! because the haze over the city isn’t quite brown enough
———————————————————————
Racist!
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
7:59 am
“After seeing the great job MARTA did on Dekalb county, I think I’ll pass on the idea of a train that connects the area I live in to areas that contain nothing but Obama voters.”
yep. ask the fine folks in Cobb how crime-free they are …
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:00 am
Jen –
“And, yes, I think people would miss Little 5 Points”
ha. they’d miss Manuels. the pols would NEVER allow that to be shut down.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:00 am
The Big Dig was run by the liberals in Taxachussetts, is it any wonder it over ran it’s original budget by 5 Billion dollars?
This thing could be mined, cut and covered or run elevated for around a billion, the very idea of the “stimulus” infrastructure project.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:01 am
NRBee? “I think I’ll pass on the idea of a train that connects the area I live in to areas that contain nothing but Obama voters.”
Really?
Man, those Candler Park and Inman Park residents are SCARY. I don’t blame you. Stay away. Don’t come here. It’s dangerous.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:02 am
USinUK -
Manuels…yes. Cannot get rid of that place. I had dinner there Friday. And some good beer.
TaxPayer
September 15th, 2009
8:03 am
This thing could be mined, cut and covered or run elevated for around a billion, the very idea of the “stimulus” infrastructure project.
Put in your bid. I’m sure you’ll win it.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:06 am
Jen, I lived in Inman park for 3 years. I was the victim of TWO car break ins and one time someone attempted to kick in the door of my apartment at night over there on Highland Walk.
Not to mention the high profile shootings and violent robberies that have been taking place there for a couple of years now?
Pull thee liberal head out of thee liberal arse.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:07 am
Jen –
don’t forget the folks in Va Highlands and Morningside …
Corey
September 15th, 2009
8:07 am
NRBee, you are a one pitiful critter.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:08 am
and Jen … I’m soooo jealous! I used to la-la-LOVE Manuels when I lived in morningside…
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:08 am
Aahhh, yes, the US Congress has become a vast right wing conspiracy, welcome aboard, wingnuts-
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Monday to block the Housing and Urban Development Department from giving grants to ACORN, a community organization under fire in several voter registration fraud cases.
The 83-7 vote would deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.-Urinal
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:09 am
Well that’s fine Corey.
But areas with MARTA have higher crime than areas without. And all your whining won’t disprove that.
Jay
September 15th, 2009
8:13 am
“But areas with MARTA have higher crime than areas without. And all your whining won’t disprove that.”
Really, NRB? Care to provide proof or source for your contention?
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:13 am
One day, when Manuels comes up for sale, I’m going to buy it and turn it into a paid parking lot.
Don’t worry, I’ll take all the memorabilia and give it away to the Salvation Army, so that the victims of liberalism can enjoy some irony.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:14 am
Really, NRB? Care to provide proof or source for your contention?
——————————————————————————–
Besides common sense? I don’t know Jay…why don’t you use some statistics you have compiled in your AJC supercomputer and prove me wrong.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:15 am
NRB –
“Besides common sense? I don’t know Jay…why don’t you use some statistics you have compiled in your AJC supercomputer and prove me wrong.”
wow. I bet you were the captain of your debating team with those wizard rhetorical skillz.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
September 15th, 2009
8:16 am
Well, I see the ragheads over in Iraq let that guy go that throwed the shoes at My President and he didn’t even serve his full term. The raghead never served his full term, I mean, not My President. He served two terms. They ought to of give him the Death Penalty for trying to hurt the best President this country ever had and a guy that worked his way up from his bootstraps and done work in the military so secret they can’t even locate his service records.
Anyhow, I think this Oxendine got a fine idea. It would be worth a few billion to root out a bunch of Obama supporters in Atlanta and make them move out to live and get outvoted by the rednecks. Matter of fact, I look forward to the day when a good old boy by the name of Billy Ed Crookshanks gets elected mayor of that rotten city and starts cleaning the rest of it out.
Anyhow, it looks to me like this Oxendine done clinched getting to be guvner of GA with this move. All the godly Republicans in Gwinnett will vote for him in hordes now that they see he can keep them from having to get within three miles of Atlanta libruls on the way to the airport. But he needs to be sure and mention the lanes for that new highway will be extra wide so they can drive their SUVs and big pickups on them without feeling crowded.
Have a good day everybody.
Jay
September 15th, 2009
8:17 am
Thanks for confirming my suspicion, NRB. But in the future, you should know that “common sense” is not another term for “stuff I made up out of thin air.”
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:18 am
Mallard said Georgia Power hopes to increase the number of customers participating in its green energy and renewables program.-Urinal
Yay, we’re going “green!”
Although some states advocate the future of wind power, for example, Harper said Georgia has little such capability. Solar, he added, isn’t as cost-effiective an alternative here as in the desert Southwest, although he said federal and state investment tax credits and federal stimulus dollars will help solar’s development.
Uh, ok, so what is “green,” then?
Harper cited biomass as one alternative with promise in Georgia. He also touted nuclear energy.
Hahahaha, the libs absolutely hate nuklar energy, they foam and sputter at the very mention of it.
But now, they babbled and babbled about evil oil until they babbled themselves into a corner.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:19 am
NRBee…so you were the victim of PROPERTY crime and that scared you into the burbs? How you like it out there? How are your property values compared to Inman Park this past year?
My liberal head in my liberal butt are all located in Candler Park…STILL. With climbing property values even in this economy.
And your common sense doesn’t answer Jay’s question.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:19 am
Well Jay, MARTA services mostly Fulton and Dekalb, yes or no? So does Fulton and Dekalb have more or less crime than, say…North Fulton? Or Forsyth? Do I really need to compile reams of data to answer that question?
Gale
September 15th, 2009
8:22 am
The proposed path immediately made me think of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide. Expect the Vogon constructor ships any moment now.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:22 am
Yes, you do. Otherwise you have no cred.
Jay
September 15th, 2009
8:23 am
NRB, I hate to break it to you, but North Fulton also has MARTA service. There’s a whole North line that does nothing but serve North Fulton.
Common sense ain’t as common as it ought to be.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:23 am
Jen- It could go under little five points. I then would go elevated just south of Dekalb all the way past 20 to 675.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:24 am
huzzah!!! whiner has volunteered his house for waste storage from nuclear power plants.
mighty generous of ya, whiner. thanks!
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:24 am
Dekalb Avenue, that is.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:24 am
NRBee…so you were the victim of PROPERTY crime and that scared you into the burbs? How you like it out there? How are your property values compared to Inman Park this past year?
—————————————————————————————————————-
I don’t call someone kicking in my door at 2am a “property crime”. And I like how you ignore the shootings you guys enjoy over there.
As for property values mine have increased because I’m not in the price range that was hit hardest by the housing bust.
So I like it just fine.
I can walk around whenever I want without some aids ridden bum asking me for crack money. I leave my door unlocked during the day while I work from home. And still only minutes away from a nice, safe shopping mall with clean stores.
Don’t get me wrong…Inman park is a cool place to live. But until gentrification fully sets in, it’s a hell hole.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:25 am
Whiner – I’d go for a TRAIN that went under L5P…but no more roads.
I moved to the city so I could stop driving. After 4 years of a 3hr a day commute (1.5 each way down 85) I try not to have anything to do with cars. I lost 80lbs, too.
No more roads, please.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:26 am
USinDUhK- In France, they store it on the same site as the reactor. In a broom closet sized room.
Stop throwing your fever swamp talking points at me, please.
jt
September 15th, 2009
8:27 am
“The ultimate financial partner would of course be Uncle Sam, and that too is a pipe dream”
Another great example of the wonderful work our benevolent federal goverment does on behalf of its citizens.
In 2008, the ARC had a 49,000,000 dollar budget. 49 MILIION dollars.
The ARC paved ZERO roads.
The ARC laid ZERO commuter train tracks.
The ARC laid ZERO pike paths.
They should did STUDY alot(like they have been doing for the past five years.) Also, they talk alot about diversity.
As you are stuck in traffic this afternoon, put that in your pipe and smoke it. 49 MILLION DOLLARS.
NRBee
September 15th, 2009
8:27 am
Jay I’m aware of that. I’ve seen the bus stop at Northpoint Mall.
But again, look at the level of MARTA service in Fulton and Dekalb…especially Decatur with MARTA stops every ten feet….and tell me with a straight face that the crime levels are a coincidence.
Jen
September 15th, 2009
8:29 am
NRBee…lookit…I didn’t mention the shootings because I don’t know what you’re talking about. According to the neighborhood crime reports there has not been any shootings in either of these neighborhoods.
The last one I know about was that guy murdered a couple years ago in a robbery outside the Yacht Club.
When was it that you lived out here in this “hell hole” that I am happily raising my kids in?
Paul
September 15th, 2009
8:29 am
Jay
Off topic: followup
Six days after drawing fire for not showing President Barack Obama’s speech to schoolchildren, the superintendent of the Arlington Independent School District announced Monday that he also will not be allowing 600 fifth-graders to attend a Super Bowl event next week featuring former President George W. Bush.
http://www.star-telegram.com/668/story/1613063.html
Sanity and turning back the tide -
Gale
September 15th, 2009
8:30 am
Good for you, Jen. Long commutes do tend to contribute to weight issues. The main problem, of course is the lost time you can not get back. Trains are better. At least you don’t need to pay attention while travelling.
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:31 am
whiner …
8:26
on this … as in all things … you are wrong. they process it, but, as yet, have not found a final geological storage facility.
“France reprocesses its own spent nuclear fuel. Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Japan also send, or have sent in the past, spent nuclear fuel to France for reprocessing. High-level reprocessed waste is vitrified (solidified) and stored at La Hague for several decades, where it awaits final geologic disposal.”
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0411.shtml
so, I’ll just tell the Yucca mountain folks not to worry, that you’ve volunteered your back yard.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator (-: You Whine )-:
September 15th, 2009
8:32 am
I moved to the city so I could stop driving. After 4 years of a 3hr a day commute (1.5 each way down 85) I try not to have anything to do with cars. I lost 80lbs, too.
Uh, Jen- Perhaps there aren’t enough roads?
If you want to get from the northside and the eastside to 75 or 85 south you can travel most of the way down 75, 400 or 85 without even tapping the brakes.
But when you get to the city proper, you and everybody else in Atlanta and the rest of the Earth, including Floridians, have one choice.
Everybody has to get on the downtown connector, see Jam, Traffic, all hours of the day.
I suppose you could park and ride through the city and pick your car back up next year when you go on vacation again.
What world do you live in, dearie?
USinUK
September 15th, 2009
8:32 am
“especially Decatur with MARTA stops every ten feet”
baaaaaaaaahahahahaha … this guy has never … and I mean NEVER … ridden Marta if he thinks that there are stops every 10 feet ANYwhere on its line …
Jay
September 15th, 2009
8:35 am
Yeah, I saw that Paul, and was actually a little disappointed. They should have allowed the Bush trip to continue. I understand the political reasons the decision was made — it’s kind of a makeup call — but there’s no reason those kids shouldn’t get to go see a former president. Two bad decisions don’t make one good one.
bob
September 15th, 2009
8:36 am
USinUK, Cobb county has alot less crime than most. Look at the story about the top ten areas for crime in metro Atlanta. The story is in todays AJC and no cities in Cobb made the top ten. Ox’s plan is not a good one but no reason bring in crime and Cobb to the discussion. I would rather live with the crime rate in Kennesaw than I would in east point but Marta has nothing to do with the crime rate of either city.
Gale
September 15th, 2009
8:36 am
If you want to get from the northside and the eastside to 75 or 85 south you can travel most of the way down 75, 400 or 85 without even tapping the brakes.
What time do you drive, Whiner? 2am?
It is school busses that stop every ten feet, not Marta.