With all its flaws, regional T-SPLOST still needed
The Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club released its assessment of the proposed regional transportation sales tax this week. It was harsh, damning and unfortunately all too accurate.
In brief, the report explains:
– The $7.2 billion metro Atlanta project list is weighted too heavily to highway construction, with too little investment in transit. Furthermore, the state has provided no mechanism for maintaining and operating transit assets once the 10-year special sales tax expires.
– State leaders have refused to give the metro region control of its transit future, yet still balk at providing that leadership themselves. Without a governing mechanism, a regional system is a pipedream. And commuter rail, one of the most promising options available to both ease congestion and reorient development patterns, is ignored in the plan.
– MARTA is treated with disdain and contempt, when it should be embraced as the core of a regional transit system. As the report notes, “MARTA is the sole target of an egregious provision that forbids any T-SPLOST revenues from being spent on MARTA’s operations, the agency’s most pressing financial need. No other transportation provider is singled out in such a manner.”
Most of the indictment is correct; I agree with it. And yet, when the time comes in July, I plan to vote in favor of the proposal anyway. Why?
Well, because politics is the art of the possible.
The harsh truth is that it is impossible to correct a lot of the problems identified by the Sierra Club, at least in an acceptable time frame. They are part of a larger, more fundamental debate that has still to be won. Consider the funding imbalance between transit and highways. Even if voters reject the T-SPLOST in July, and even if some other transportation-funding mechanism is created to replace it, the notion that transit would be given greater prominence in a new plan is fantasy.
While public attitudes toward transit are changing in the metro region, we’re probably still a decade away from a political climate in which transit can be funded at the levels that the Sierra Club would find acceptable.
I don’t think we can wait those 10 years. It’s time to take what we can now, and build upon it.
It’s also important to think through what’s possible and not possible should voters reject the July ballot question. In its analysis, the Sierra Club argues that “lower-than-expected support for the T-SPLOST in Fulton and DeKalb — where proponents are counting on their strongest support — would send a message to state and regional leaders that continued political gamesmanship on MARTA and related issues will not be tolerated.”
That’s one potential outcome of a July defeat, but it assumes a level of analysis by state leaders that history says is unlikely. In addition, I just don’t think that those with the power to make such decisions under the Gold Dome are all that concerned about what pro-MARTA voters in Fulton and DeKalb will or will not tolerate.
More likely, state legislators will draw the conclusion that is easiest on themselves. They’ll note that voters rejected a tax increase for transportation and rejected investment in regional transit, and they’ll use that as an excuse for several more years of dithering.
Again, I don’t think we can wait.
So what is possible? Well, some of the problems identified in the club’s analysis can still be addressed and resolved. Gov. Nathan Deal and House Speaker David Ralston understand that some form of regional transit governance will be essential if the sales tax is approved, even if they don’t yet know how to build enough political support to create it. The system is unworkable without it; necessity will force its creation.
Admittedly, things shouldn’t be so difficult. The evidence is overwhelming that metro Atlanta’s transportation infrastructure, its governance and the vision behind it have become outdated. But changing that course will require changing minds and ideas, and that’s going to be a slow, lurching process.
In the meantime, an opportunity for progress should be embraced rather than rejected.
– Jay Bookman
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648 comments Add your comment
Aquagirl
May 2nd, 2012
7:28 am
But….but….MARTA!
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 2nd, 2012
7:28 am
Could it be that those in charge are turning a blind eye to Atlanta’s transportation infrastructure, and shouting with all their might “NO NEW TAXES”?
ByteMe - Political thug
May 2nd, 2012
7:30 am
While I agree with your underlying analysis, Jay, I came to the conclusion that my vote would be “No”.
I’m not waiting for the state to fund transit the same way it funds highways.
I’m waiting for the state legislators to stop using MARTA as a political football and instead set up a regional transportation agency with the power to run the assets (including MARTA) at a regional level and to set up its own T-SPLOST if the voters approve of it (just like local counties can have their own SPLOST). Without one single regional coordinating agency to manage funds and assets, it’s just a band-aid on the wound instead of a solution to the problem.
And it ties into Deal’s political man being in charge of planning for state DOT. If they’re still using politics to define policy then they don’t get to ask for more money.
Aquagirl
May 2nd, 2012
7:36 am
I’m voting no….People won’t address a problem until it reaches an absolute crisis. The only way sprawl-addicted ‘Burbanites will get out of their cars is when they literally can’t get where they’re going. Until then, I’m not funding their addiction. It only prolongs the suffering.
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
7:38 am
Jay
I’m still a “No” vote. I know this area needs substantial funding for transit. This package is pure, unadulterated bullsh*t and does nothing to address the needs of the metro area. Add the fact that Deal put his crony in a position that will weigh heavily on this issue, and I can’t see myself voting for this crap. What we need instead is a legislature that has the testicular fortitude to do their damn job and legislate a sensible transit plan to help the metro area attract jobs and businesses.
Havocmaker
May 2nd, 2012
7:41 am
Can someone explain to me what MARTA has done to hack so many people off? Why are they being excluded?
Have a great day!
HM
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
7:43 am
Can someone explain to me what MARTA has done to hack so many people off?
Simply exist.
Infrastructure Fan
May 2nd, 2012
7:44 am
Obama is a bad President. He doesn’t want to raise the gas tax which was last increased during the Clinton administration and has only half the purchasing power now.
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am...
May 2nd, 2012
7:45 am
JAY,
Good column today. Why don’t we attempt to do a blend of each alternative? Kinda like we should be doing with energy policy. I don’t think MARTA is best near term oppty but not investing at all is ridiculous…of course so is the Sierra club..
Infrastructure Fan
May 2nd, 2012
7:48 am
I’m a member of the Sierra Club. That report is whack and idealistically driven. Not based on reason.
arnold
May 2nd, 2012
7:53 am
Will our wonderful government, with the proceeds, be able to sneak in the super perimeter? Just wondering.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
7:57 am
I’m a member of the Sierra Club.
Sure.
Maybe the Heartland Institute.
The 114 year old Sierra Club is the very antithesis of everything that the post-Nixon Republican Party stands for…
GT
May 2nd, 2012
7:57 am
Damage is being done to the city that once held the Olympics. I don’t hear the curiosity from around the country about my hometown like I use to. I see young people moving away a lot more now days,a talent drain. As I read the back of alumni magazines where alumni write in; more and more young people with talent are choosing other places to call home. What stays here fits the theme of this city and feel comfortable in the conservative south.
I use to be proud that we were not a Birmingham. We had exceptional leadership in our early days that could see the playing field, had vision, loved their city and state. Ivan Allen, Jr, William B. Hartsfield., Ted Turner, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Woodruff’, Roberto Goizueta, to name a few no longer guide this city with their vision. Now we are the valley of lull with blind men leading the way out. Good luck, this is not your father’s Atlanta anymore.
stands for decibels
May 2nd, 2012
7:59 am
Jay, that was pretty much my take as well when I heard about the Sierra Club’s issues with the T-SPLOST.
I’ll support it for the same reason I supported the Affordable Care Act.
(And if anyone needs to know why I supported the ACA, I’ll let Nate Silver do the ’splaining.)
Georgia on my mind..
May 2nd, 2012
8:01 am
As long as the Georgia Legislature can ignore the fact that “Ethics Counts”, I am voting NO. How can the citizens be sure that our tax dollars will not be wasted? Where is the accountability? We do have a transportation problem, but this state has a bigger ethics problem. Where is the ethics committee?
Road Scholar
May 2nd, 2012
8:04 am
Jay, I agree. Half a loaf is better than no loaf at all!
Normal: No, but they don’t have the balls to raise the state gas tax rate or adjust it to inflation!
Byte: I share your thoughts, esp about the new guy Deal has appointed. No planning credentials. Maybe he spent a night in a Holiday Inn Express! Todd Long was a planner.
Aqua: If it reaches “a crisis” there better be a better system already “under construction”. This would get us past standing still on regional transit.
Infra: This concerns the STATE gas tax…not the Federal tax. President Obama has nothing to do with this. As to the Fed tax, I believe the Repubs won’t allow an increase in the Fed tax, or adjust it to inflation. As an alternative, transfer to the states 95% of the tax and get the feds out off day to day projects…only oversight of the Interstates and Nat’l defense hwy system!!!!
carlosgvv
May 2nd, 2012
8:12 am
The harsh truth is we have Georgia politicians who won’t hesitate to help themselves to the financial gravy train any way they can. Any addtional revenues coming within reach of their hands will be pilfered accordingly. And Jay, please don’t tell me there are safeguards for these funds as that is like saying the foxes are guarding the henhouse.
independent thinker
May 2nd, 2012
8:12 am
Great job Jay- waving the Sierra Club’s findings in front of a bunch of redneck conservative hacks is a great way to make sure Atlanta’ s transportation needs do not get resolved. They do not give a rat’s behind about anything the Sierra Club has to offer.
Mick
May 2nd, 2012
8:23 am
Sorry, off topic but stephan king tears all the wealth envy garbage to shreds-
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/01-3
barking frog
May 2nd, 2012
8:24 am
how about a clunker trade
program for itty bitty
smart cars?
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
8:26 am
On this, I’m afraid I’ll be in the majority voting “no.” I realize that we need something, but this isn’t it. Jay is saying the politicians are going to look at it and say “well, they voted no, so they obviously don’t care about transit.” I’m thinking they’ve set this up so that no matter what, that is going to be what they can tell themselves. The amount of highway and road projects in the project list give them the opportunity to think we only want that type of solutions in Atlanta. So, for the simple reason that I don’t like the idea of throwing good money after bad, I’ll be voting no.
stands for decibels
May 2nd, 2012
8:29 am
I can only hope that a modest majority of referendum voters are oh-so-tragically-hip-’n-jaded as all-a-yuz.
(That’s how we say “all y’all” back in my old neighborhood.)
James Thomas
May 2nd, 2012
8:29 am
Typical liberal mentality….the plan is flawed and will not be effective. It will lead to fraud waste and abuse. But let’s do it anyway. I’ll feel better about myself as long as we are spending lots and lots of money.
stands for decibels
May 2nd, 2012
8:29 am
dang, I meant AREN’T so jaded.
(I’m a friggin’ idiot without coffee. No great shakes with it, either, I realize…)
HDB
May 2nd, 2012
8:30 am
History in this town has proven that those with vision are ridiculed by those without!! MARTA, in its initial design, was contemplated as a regional system…but those in the ‘burbs, in their expressed desire to keep the “other people” contained, have fought against the regional concept and persistently used MARTA as a punching bag while gaining the benefits!! Unless the T-SPLOST addresses the tax inequalities that Fulton and DeKalb have paid over 42 years with an increased MARTA tax in the ‘burbs, makes the ‘burbs cough up a more proportionate share of the tax revenue….and incorporate MARTA into a regional transportational system with both infrastructural and technological improvements, you can count me as a solid “NO”!!!
stands for decibels
May 2nd, 2012
8:32 am
the plan is flawed and will not be effective.
that’s not being argued. The argument is it won’t be effective ENOUGH.
It won’t slice and dice, prevent waxy build-up AND keep the heartbreak of psoriasis at bay.
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 2nd, 2012
8:32 am
Mick,
That was a great read.
Ennis
May 2nd, 2012
8:32 am
Someone asked why was MARTA slammed so?? I don’t want to bring up this old racist bit, but a lot of “white” suburbs don’t want a easy way for the “N” people getting into “their” neighborhoods. Say what you will, but there is still a lot of “underground” prejudice in metro atlanta. I agree whole heartily that a well funded Regional transportation system is the only way to get us out of gridlock
The Truth
May 2nd, 2012
8:36 am
Ennis
May 2nd, 2012
8:32 am
Say what you will, but there is still a lot of “underground” prejudice in metro atlanta.
______________
That same prejudice can be heard from bloggers on this blog EVERYDAY!!
godless heathen
May 2nd, 2012
8:36 am
Sierra Club is going to oppose any transportation plan doesn’t consist solely of bicycles and Birkenstocks.
F. Sinkwich
May 2nd, 2012
8:37 am
Not nearly enough highway construction.
No vote here.
ty webb
May 2nd, 2012
8:37 am
Yes virginia, everything is “racist”.
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
8:38 am
dB
I’m so jaded, I look like the Incredible Hulk. I just don’t see a positive for the metro area coming out of this. If it passes, more roads get built. More roads = more congestion which does nothing to alleviate the problem. Also, if it passes, Deal’s guy has his hands all over the money. I don’t like the sounds of that at all as most Republicans appear allergic to addressing transit issues directly with effective responses.
If it doesn’t pass, the Ga Assembly will have an excuse to say why they didn’t do anything about it since the “taxpayers” don’t want it either. I would much rather see the state legislature do the job they’re getting wined and dined to do and legislate a transit plan that will help bring businesses and jobs to the area.
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
8:42 am
Ennis – While you may be right, or more correctly may have been right at one point in time, I would challenge you to find a neighborhood that is completely white today. They no longer exist, at least not in great numbers. That is my opinion at least.
Angus
May 2nd, 2012
8:42 am
Vote no.
We’ll be better off in 15-20 years if we can vote this down and take a couple of years to develop Plan B. Approving this referendum puts us down the wrong path for decades. Our obtuse legislature knows it can no longer ignore transportation infrastructure – it will have to work on Plan B.
kayaker 71
May 2nd, 2012
8:43 am
amVet, 7:57,
What the Republican party stands for? That’s a joke. In 2011, the official political action committee for the Sierra Club had $l5,867 to donate to political candidates. It all went to Democrats. In 2012, the total has increased to nearly double, at about $29,000. It also all went to Democrats, the largest recipient being Debbie Wasserman Shultz at $4,000 of Sierra PAC money. AmVet, why do you post this stuff?
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
8:43 am
Say what you will, but there is still a lot of “underground” prejudice in metro atlanta.
Hate to spoil your post, but that sh*t ain’t underground…
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 2nd, 2012
8:44 am
Hell, I’m gonna vote yes just because all y’all are votin’ no. That’s just the way i am…so there!
stands for decibels
May 2nd, 2012
8:45 am
the Sierra Club had $l5,867 to donate to political candidates.
[...]
the total has increased to nearly double, at about $29,000.
wowie zowie. That’s some serious influence, man!
Cosby
May 2nd, 2012
8:46 am
The point is..how much more money does the State and local Governments need. It is time for a true accounting of where the current funds are spent, then and only then consider more taxes to provide funds to the State and local Governments. Contempt for MARTA…sorry, the way it is run, contempt is a mild word. Time to hold the idiots running MARTA accountable…but then accounting for stupidity is hard to do. No to any more taxes to any form of Government until they prove they can handle finances and run a business.
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
8:47 am
Normal
You just ain’t normal…
—————————-
dB
$29,000 would get you a trip to Europe to study trains with about $12k to buy somebody else off in GA. I’d agree with you about some serious influence…
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 2nd, 2012
8:49 am
Bro’
Normal Free…that’s me!
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
8:50 am
Cosby
When MARTA is allowed to run itself without handcuffs, then they should be held responsible. As it is now, they’re handicapped by the Ga Assembly on how effective they can run. If the Ga Assembly wants to dictate how MARTA is run, then they need to pay for it. Otherwise, MARTA should not have to jump through hoops set ablaze by the state.
larry
May 2nd, 2012
8:50 am
I am going to vote yes, but i agree with Jay that this bill does not do enough for transit. Its about time this state goes into the 21st century . What i can not understand is why the state has the power that it does over MARTA, when the state does not fund MARTA at all? I dont see how they can tell them how to spend their money when none of that money comes from the state.
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
8:51 am
MARTA will never remove the stigma that exemplifies the stupidity of their Board of electing the welfare Queen as Chairperson to “prove” a political point.
godless heathen
May 2nd, 2012
8:51 am
If we slapped a 50% income tax on Stephen King he’d haul his arse to some low tax country so fast it would make your head spin.
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
8:55 am
Fred
MARTA IS the stigma. It’s never going away as long as MARTA exists. They could put Eric Cantor and Marco Rubio on the board, and that wouldn’t change a damn thing in the eyes of most Georgians.
GT
May 2nd, 2012
8:56 am
People like James Thomas lead or get the hell out of the way. Anybody can do nothing.
Ennis
May 2nd, 2012
8:56 am
What I would really like to see in a plan with that kind of money is a few bullet type of trains going and coming from atlanta to Augusta-Columbia Macon-Savannah Chattanooga-Nashville. Birmingham-Memphis. I know this is only my wildest fantacy, but wouldn’t that be a kick in the butt???
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
8:58 am
Bro – And why is that exactly? Years of incompetence? Unsafe conditions on the trains, buses and in the stations? What exactly made MARTA become the stigma that it is today with people my age that didn’t grow up with the prejudices you’ve spoken of?
Simple Truths
May 2nd, 2012
8:59 am
Jay supporting higher taxes. Say it isn’t so…
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
8:59 am
What the Republican party stands for?
Yep, 71, you know what it is – LOTS of poisoned land, water and air. All in the name of the ONLY green thing that you neocons give a flying ____ about – little pieces of paper with the pictures of dead men on them.
And you act confused as to why organizations charged with protecting our natural resources and eliminating industrial toxins that kill our men , women and children would not endorse you global cooling, science hating nitwits.
You anti-environmentalist nuts would pillory John Muir if he were alive today.
And you would in a NY minute undo all of his incredible work and gleefully sell off to highly polluting, industrial development every last acre of national park and refuge in this country.
Wake up.
The abysmal GOP track record on this matter is very long and irrefutable.
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:00 am
Ennis – I’m wondering what happened with the “Brain Train” they’ve been talking about building since I was at least a freshman. It was supposed to connect GA State (maybe CAU, Spellman and Morehouse, with GT, Emory, some schools in Gwinnett and UGA.
Doggone/GA
May 2nd, 2012
9:00 am
“If we slapped a 50% income tax on Stephen King he’d haul his arse to some low tax country so fast it would make your head spin”
Let’s try it and see!
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:01 am
JamVet – Thanks again for letting me know what I believe in. Anything else I should know about myself?
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
9:03 am
(ir)Rational
When you set a group up to do nothing but fail, they end up with the stigma of failure as their brand. Just as before the 1980’s, government was not seen “as” the problem. When you run something or set it up for failure, people will see it as nothing but a failure.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:03 am
Did I mention you (ir)? I must have missed that part.
Paranoia will destroy ya. (grin)
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:03 am
Doggone – Sounds like a good plan to me. Only book of his I ever liked was “The Green Mile.”
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
9:07 am
Brocephus: Amen, and they did it to themselves. It was “decided” or perceived early on that MARTA was a “black thing” as far as ridership AND jobs are concerned (whether it is TRUE or not). The Laura Lawton thing (wasn’t that her name) really cemented that idea in the eyes of those in the suburbs and surrounding Counties, the ones who HAVE to be on board for it to work.
But the truth be told, MARTA is dysfunctional. There is a stop less than a block from me, but the buses are so unreliable I don’t use it. Yet when I go to OTHER cities, I use THEIR mass transit without a care or concern. As does everyone else in those cities, but their mass transit runs on time and FOLLOWS an easily understandable schedule.
I’m stupid enough and “green” enough to ride MARTA if it were a viable option, it just isn’t though.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:07 am
Yes, that Stephen King article was fantastic, Mick.
Chris Christie may be fat, but he ain’t Santa Claus.
In fact, he seems unable to decide if he is New Jersey’s governor or its caporegime, and it may be a comment on the coarsening of American discourse that his brash rudeness is often taken for charm.
In February, while discussing New Jersey’s newly amended income-tax law, which allows the rich to pay less (proportionally) than the middle class, Christie was asked about Warren Buffett’s observation that he paid less federal income taxes than his personal secretary, and that wasn’t fair. “He should just write a check and shut up,” Christie responded, with his typical verve. “I’m tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he’s got the ability to write a check—go ahead and write it.”
Tough sh*t for you guys, because I’m not tired of talking about it. I’ve known rich people, and why not, since I’m one of them? The majority would rather douse their dicks with lighter fluid, strike a match, and dance around singing “Disco Inferno” than pay one more cent in taxes to Uncle Sugar.
Super-rich parasites getting called out by yet another man of conscience and moral courage.
Too funny that it drives the stump broke con sycophants so batshiite crazy…
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:07 am
JamVet – You, like just about everyone here at some point or another, have a habit of making broad brush statements that would include a lot of people you may or may not intend to include. Like that statement about the Republican party. While I don’t typically consider myself a republican, I do (I know, this will shock most of you
) typically vote for more republicans than democrats. So, your statement saying basically that all republicans, and by extension, I’m going to guess you meant all/most conservatives, believe in pollution and hate the environment (realizing I’m more paraphrasing than quoting there), did include me to a certain extent. I was just curious if there was anything else I didn’t know about myself that I might need to know before I get my day started. 
JohnnyReb
May 2nd, 2012
9:12 am
The project list sucks. I’m voting NO on this scheme to transfer wealth from South to North of I-20.
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:12 am
Bro – I’ll have to take your word for that, cause I wasn’t around then (before 1980). I’ll tell you my take on MARTA, and why I don’t ride it (much). When I’m going somewhere around town, I have to make the decision to ride the train/bus or drive (this is Atlanta, lets be serious, walking isn’t that much of an option). When making that decision, I think about cost (parking, gas, or tickets), where I’m going, how much time I have to devote to getting there, how long I’m going to be there, and what I’m going to be doing when I get there. I would say 99 times out of 100, my analysis would end up with me driving, and the other 1 time, it is a toss up. MARTA typically costs more than driving and parking, doesn’t go everywhere (read most places) I want to go, and takes much much longer to get me there. That is the stigma that I see, I was just curious what others said.
Ennis
May 2nd, 2012
9:13 am
I don’t know what happened to that Brain Train either. Just died of neglect I’m guessing. Yes neighborhoods aren’t exclusively “white” anymore, but there are still exclusive “Black” neighborhoods. Yes we have come a long way since the ’60’s. But as long as the thought that Cynthia McKenny can still run and get elected to any post in Georgia, we will have racial disharmony. It’s all over the US. Just look at the Martin thing in Florida. Yes. I agree, Marta is so ineptely run that it is a joke. But the majority of the people using the system won’t vote the rulers out. Just saying.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:13 am
…that would include a lot of people you may or may not intend to include.
If I INTEND to include you, or anyone else here I will name you, or them. Make no mistake about that.
Otherwise, you are just playing armchair psychic.
And this?
So, your statement saying basically that all republicans… is patently and logically fallacious.
Unless you can demonstrate where I said all Republicans.
Any other points you would like clarified? (grin)
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
9:13 am
Fred
I don’t have much of a chance to use MARTA since it’s very, very limited in where it operates. Like you, I’ll use transit whenever I can when in different cities, and I don’t hesitate at all to jump on a bus/train because I know where I’ll be and when I’ll get there. If I had anything to do with this whole T-SPLOST, I’d use it as a means to separate the bus and train operation from MARTA. I’d leave them with one to run and give the other to GRTA to operate. We should have trains running at least 10-20 miles outside the perimeter to help ease congestion. Buses could be used to tie people into the rail lines and move them to areas between. I can’t understand why a person visiting Atlanta can not get to every single tourist destination here without having to rent a vehicle or take a taxi. That’s what transit is supposed to do.
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 2nd, 2012
9:14 am
Hey! Isn’t today the day ol’ Newt is supposed to turn on, tune in, and….drop out?
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:15 am
Fred – I’m the same way, I have stops close to my house, but won’t use them because it takes so long to get anywhere. The only other place I’ve ever had a problem using mass transit was in Rome, but that was only their bus system, and probably had at least a little bit to do with the fact that I don’t speak Italian.
Brosephus™
May 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
(ir)Rational
When I worked in Sandy Springs, I would have to go out of my way to take MARTA even though there was a train station almost right across the street from my job. The problem was that there was no easy access to a train station from my home on the South Side. I had to drive 30 minutes to East Point or College Park just to catch the train. Even for sporting events, I have to drive 30 minutes to catch a train downtown, and then I have to catch a shuttle for Braves games. It should not be that damned difficult to use transit in this area.
Jay
May 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
“You, like just about everyone here at some point or another, have a habit of making broad brush statements that would include a lot of people you may or may not intend to include.”
You have now been lucky enough to witness the rarely attempted broadbrush attack on broadbrushing.
Doggone/GA
May 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
“Sounds like a good plan to me. Only book of his I ever liked was “The Green Mile.””
and I’ve never read any, nor seen any movies made from them. Just not my taste in books AT ALL.
Don't Tread
May 2nd, 2012
9:18 am
Still voting no. Try again.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:18 am
Newt, another in a long list of horrific and ultra-embarrassing GOP candidates for POTUS in the past five years, becomes about the twentieth laughable footnote in the Uppity Muslims biography, brother Normal.
But in his own words he “ran a terrific campaign”.
By terrific, he meant horrendous.
Just another embarrassment for the Peach State, I’m afraid…
They BOTH suck
May 2nd, 2012
9:20 am
“You have now witnessed the rarely attempted broadbrush attack on broadbrushing.”
Forget the broad brush…….. He came through this blog with a paint sprayer……… Didn’t want to miss anyone
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 2nd, 2012
9:22 am
jay
go ride Marta and ask all the riders who ride everyday whether they WANT to ride Marta everyday or whether they would prefer to have a car to drive?
All the white liberals will love Marta and all the rest will prefer to have a car so they can control their lives
TaxPayer
May 2nd, 2012
9:23 am
But we has a lane on the spressway that lets you pay for the privlege of a easy ride. We dont need nothin else.
Let’s give the GOP what it wants — No New Taxes. Til they choke on it.
And if Georgia were such a great state to do business in, we wouldn’t have to bribe companies with hundreds of millions of dollars each in tax breaks just to move a few hundred jobs here.
Jay
May 2nd, 2012
9:23 am
I ride MARTA all the time, Sam. And I have a car.
And if all those people DID drive cars instead, traffic would be much much much worse.
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 2nd, 2012
9:24 am
next we are going to hear the virtues of carpooling but not the downside
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
9:25 am
Brocephus and (ir)Rational (and everyone else I suppose lol): It’s as if MARTA has deliberately made everything hard for riders. And to be truthful, they have. Here is the schedule for me to ride the bus from my house to the Kroger’s 2-3 miles down the road: http://www.itsmarta.com/126-w.aspx and it took me 20 minutes to find it. But that ALSO doesn’t include weekends, or holidays……… what time is coming and what time is going? I dunno, couldn’t figure it out.
Also speaking of the Braves shuttle, look what they did to THAT Bro. They “decided” to send it to Auburn Avenue or 5 points or someplace else stupid and force people to walk through to another shuttle so they would “shop” there. They do everything to inconvenience riders that they can. There are so many pay offs and rip offs involved it makes Nathan Deal and Balfour look like choir boys.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:25 am
And to Jay’s point, I have many sized paint brushes in my atelier.
Sometimes, I have a lot of canvas to cover. Other times, I can focus on very and small specific details.
And because I have the joyful proclivity to laugh at myself (And listen to killer music)…
Everybody says I’m a master of technique
But the style and the sentiment is weak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBKYMae5twI
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 2nd, 2012
9:26 am
so poor minorities who must ride Marta cannot be allowed to increase their income and get a car because they will make traffic worse
the new Democratic campaign slogan
Daedalus
May 2nd, 2012
9:26 am
Well said Byte-Me –
I’m willing to risk the lack of progress that voting this down might cause; if its approved, the legislature will say “our work here is done” and move on. There is zero reason to think that Ralston will care a hoot about MARTA or regional governance once the tax is passed.
And of course, nothing in the bill requires that the funds be spent as intended. There will be no political repercussions for a pol from Blue Ridge or Valdosta who votes to take money from metro Atlanta to use elsewhere. I’m sure Nathan Deal can find other uses for our sales tax money.
Of course, its easy for me not to care. I live close to my job, I take transit everyday and walk to the station and MARTA drops me off a half-block from the office. If I had to drive, I could and would. Its only a 10 minute drive.
Meanwhile, all you Road Warriors: enjoy your car. Get some books on tape or maybe learn spanish while you are sitting in traffic.
MiltonMan
May 2nd, 2012
9:26 am
I live in Fulton & I am voting No to this garbage. If you read the lists of targeted projects, there are many that are crappy but the one that sticks out to me is the $100 million for the Clayton Bus Service. This is the same bus service that went under because of low ridership.
Also, I am already paying a penny tax for the crappy MARTA system & the 400 tolls that the idiotic reps decided to keep collecting. More of my money given to the government = No thank you.
JamVet
May 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
And for those where the shoe fits, the truth shall set you free. (And any other cliches you can think of that apply!)
My words carry no more weight than you give them.
And with that I bid you all adieu to go be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender…
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:29 am
Bro – That was basically my point.
Jay – Everyone (even you), at some point in time or another, does make a statement that could be considered “broad brush.” Having said that, your point was well taken and somewhat humorous.
JamVet – Maybe I misread, but when you start talking about the republican party, it implies to me that you’re talking about republicans in general.
Doggone – Not my style either, and I watched “The Green Mile” before I knew it was his. Typically if a movie is based off a book, I like to read it either before or after so I can be disappointed in the movie.
MiltonMan
May 2nd, 2012
9:29 am
“The only way sprawl-addicted ‘Burbanites will get out of their cars is when they literally can’t get where they’re going. Until then, I’m not funding their addiction. It only prolongs the suffering.”
Maybe if you clowns ITP would clean up your schools & crime, some of us would want to move there. Until then, we will enjoy our good schools and low crime.
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
9:30 am
Jay: Do you have a pretty straight shot from a train station to your office? I would bet though that MARTA makes special efforts to make it easy for the AJC and it’s people.
But yeah, I would love to ride and not have to hassle with the damn crazy Yankee drivers who foul up our roadways OR finding a place to park. Heck, in Decatur they charge me to park so I can pay my water bill. What the heck is up with THAT? Maybe I’ll try an experiment next time I have to pay my water bill and take Marta. I get three transfers if I read that right (each way). I wonder if that’s enough to get me from my house to Decatur. I wonder how long it will take and how far out of the way I’ll go to get from “here to there.”
Doggone/GA
May 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
“go ride Marta and ask all the riders who ride everyday whether they WANT to ride Marta everyday or whether they would prefer to have a car to drive”
Personally, I loved it. The part I didn’t like was having to drive 30 minutes from Hall County to the MARTA station at Doraville. Then I could get on the train and it took me straight to work.
Drive into downtown Atlanta? Not on your life!
SBinF
May 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
I won’t be supporting the SPLOST.
Building more roads isn’t the solution.
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 2nd, 2012
9:26 am
so poor minorities who must ride Marta cannot be allowed to increase their income and get a car because they will make traffic worse
the new Democratic campaign slogan
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Just damn. Do you have anything INTELLIGENT to add to the discussion?
James Thomas
May 2nd, 2012
9:32 am
Leadership is not making poor decisions when you know they are poor. Throwing money at a problem does not solve it. If you want me to lead…then elect me to solve the problem. The problem is you wouldn’t elect me because of the D or R that follows my name regardless on whether or not I could fix the problem. The problem is the people we elect to address these issues. Its just sad how little we know about our local politicians and how little we care about what we do know. Nathan Deal got elected Governor for goodness sake.
come on GT…a little reason please.
Recon 0311 2533
May 2nd, 2012
9:33 am
Another disappointing jobs report. Last months job creation was 119,000 new jobs down from an expected 177,000. Factory orders fell by a minus 1.6%.
MiltonMan
May 2nd, 2012
9:34 am
“I use to be proud that we were not a Birmingham.”
And you still should be. Jefferson County/Birmingham is bankrupt.
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:34 am
MiltonMan – Being a recent transplant from the suburbs to the city, I’ll gladly tell you to stay out. The Mrs. and I were talking about it the other day, and we were noticing how in Kennesaw, there was never any break from the traffic, except early on weekend mornings (sometimes). Down here, as soon as all you people go home from work, it is rather easy to drive around without getting stuck in traffic. Oh, and if there is traffic on one street, there are any number of neighborhood streets I can cut through to get home without using the main roads here. You can’t do that in the suburbs either. The only reason I go OTP is to visit those friends of mine that live out there still and to get cheap gas.
Doggone/GA
May 2nd, 2012
9:34 am
“I like to read it either before or after so I can be disappointed in the movie”
It doesn’t always work out like that though. I saw “Courage Under Fire” before I read the book, and the movie was better.
St Simons- island off the coast of New Somalia
May 2nd, 2012
9:36 am
“MARTA is treated with disdain and contempt, when it should be embraced as the core of a regional transit system. As the report notes, “MARTA is the sole target of an egregious provision that forbids any T-SPLOST revenues from being spent on MARTA’s operations, the agency’s most pressing financial need.”
What’s the word you use when there’s just no embarrassment anymore.
What’s the word after embarrassment, wordsmiths out there?
I think that may be these Ga Republicans’ strategy.
Inundate, bombard you with stupid & backwards, so that after a while,
they hope you’re just not surprised or embarrassed at anything
any more.
MiltonMan
May 2nd, 2012
9:36 am
“…in front of a bunch of redneck conservative hacks…”
Translation: I am a tolerant liberal.
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:37 am
Doggone – The only books I’ve read that I thought they did a good job on with the movies were: “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy (and since Peter Jackson is doing it, I have high hopes for “The Hobbit”), “We Were Soldiers,” and “The Fountainhead.”
(ir)Rational
May 2nd, 2012
9:37 am
And with that, I must run off to a meeting or two.
Fred ™
May 2nd, 2012
9:37 am
Back when I lived in Lawrenceville and the Gwinnett bus system first came in I heard all kinds of raves about it form folks who worked downtown and road the bus. For me it wasn’t an option because they wouldn’t let me bring my 3 miter saws and stands, nail guns, compressors, tool belt, tool box, table saw, skill saw, jig saw, coping saw, drills, lumber stands, cooler, microwave, and lumber on the bus………….