Racial reasoning on MARTA is off-track
During my recent series of columns about MARTA, several readers suggested that the biggest obstacle for MARTA is a racial divide in which rich whites, mostly in the suburbs, despise a transit system for poor urban blacks.
I think they’re wrong. And not terribly helpful.
I was born in 1978, 13 years after the General Assembly passed the MARTA Act and mere months before the agency’s first train got rolling. So, I will not pretend to know first-hand about the racial atmospherics of MARTA’s early days.
I heard a reasonable argument recently — from a transit proponent, I’d add — that suburbanites opted out of MARTA based on one cold calculation: They stood to pay for years, maybe decades, before the rails crossed I-285 to reach them. Why say yes to that?
But I also understand that our branding as The City Too Busy to Hate always mixed public relations with public reality, in varying parts. I don’t doubt that attitudes toward race played a substantial role in any referendum in Georgia in the 1960s and ’70s.
Then again, lots of things that were true 40 years ago are no longer the case. So, what about this one?
Has racism been eradicated? No more than kudzu has. But we have come closer to the former, and certainly far enough that flat assertions that racism drives transportation policy don’t pass the smell test.
I’ve heard people say that connecting the city to the suburbs via transit would bring crime (read: blacks) to peaceful (read: white) areas. Strike that — I’ve heard people, mostly in-towners, attribute that line of thought to OTPers.
Some suburbanites think that way, but I highly doubt that theirs is the prevailing belief. Both Cobb and Gwinnett counties are increasingly diverse, to say nothing of majority-black Clayton County. The keep-blaming-race crowd ignores those facts. And it’s not as if these places are otherwise sealed off by moats.
Some readers pointed the finger at the state’s Republican — excuse me, republiNazi — leadership. Their idea is that institutional racism not only lives but rules in 2010. Hardly.
If the standard for “racism” among Republicans is whether they will agree to spend money the way liberals want them to do, then there are a lot of unwitting racists in the world.
If the standard is whether MARTA gets singled out for restrictions among the state’s other 100-plus transit agencies, then we have to ask whether Republicans have been fooled into thinking that wealthy whites fill most of the bus seats in Augusta or Savannah.
If the standard is whether top Republicans hear MARTA’s pleas, then we have to ignore that House Speaker David Ralston spent much political capital to pass a transportation bill. The bill wasn’t perfect, but it filled all of MARTA’s requests from just a year earlier. Ralston worked closely with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to secure GOP and Democratic votes.
And if the standard is whether these Republicans represent rural or urban areas, well, Ralston isn’t exactly from East Point.
The race-blamers offer no substantive counter-argument to any of this, just another finger pointed at the South’s stained past.
Neither will many of them engage on the substance of MARTA’s track record, and that’s too bad. Because any of them who truly care about the agency’s future would see there are plenty of real problems to address.
NOTE: I realize this is a touchy topic, and I ask that you keep that in mind as you comment on it.
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144 comments Add your comment
Angus
May 22nd, 2010
3:11 pm
While racism put MARTA behind the 8-ball from Day 1, it has no bearing today on MARTA’s plight.
Aquagirl
May 22nd, 2010
3:14 pm
“Government subsidizing road infrastructure is not comparable with Government subsidizing the entire total sum for a means of transportation.”
Because, y’know, Michael said so.
Seriously— Mass transit is welfare, while subsidizing roads is Constitutionally demanded? Roads are “for the greater good?” Get over your cul-de-sac entitlement mentality. More people use roads because we’ve subsidized more roads. Hey, let’s do away with all rail, airplanes, Greyhound, taxis, and the horse-drawn carriages used by tourists downtown. If you can’t pilot your own conveyance, for some odd reason you’re a grubby socialist. Real ‘Mericans drive CARS! Or better yet, big, fat, gas-guzzling SUV’S!
There is a sickness in GA
May 22nd, 2010
3:28 pm
@ Kyle Wingfield Nice straw-man with the “Some readers pointed the finger at the state’s Republican — excuse me, republiNazi — leadership. Their idea is that institutional racism not only lives but rules in 2010.” Allowing you to dismiss all of those who question whether institutional racism plays a role in MARTAs situation by insinuating that they boorish, immature ideologies and thus not worthy taking seriously. After all, we all know that conservatives are always high minded and never resort to childish insults like…”blah, blah, blah DemocRAT,” etc.
Just some humble advice, if you want people like me to fairly consider your otherwise decently written opinion, leave the superfluous comments like “republiNazi” out. It is just as grating to me, as calling someone a Tea-Ba@$er” is to you.
There is a sickness in GA
May 22nd, 2010
3:42 pm
@ DawgDad Thank you for your well thoughtout comments. With regards to “Am I concerned about criminals using the system? Sure, that’s a concern that proponents need to address”
These is evidence that mass transit reduces violent crime http://blog.aia.org/aiarchitect/2009/09/crime_and_mass_transit.html …but there is also anecdotal evidence that it increases petty crime at nearby large-scale retail sites like malls, see http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/could-a-public-transit-boom-result-in-a-crime-boom/
So, mixed bag I guess. Still when I drive up to Cobb Co from Fulton for work every morning I cannot help but think that everyone of those people suck waiting in traffic going south are suckers for not supporting Mass Trans
Kyle Wingfield
May 22nd, 2010
4:00 pm
Sickness: You need only read the comments on this and other political blogs to see where “republiNazi” comes from. And yes, the people who use it do tend to be boorish and immature.
Now, do you care to rebut any of the specific points I raised, or make any others?
jj
May 22nd, 2010
4:02 pm
i live in alpharetta, and wish Marta was more accessible. Its decent to take it to the airport and the falcons games but other than that…it’s 20 years behind its time and with the rapid expansion of metro ATL- it’s an absolute waste unless someone steps in and fixes the issues. Sorry Cobb, Clayton, Gwinnett- you want to make things easier, allow the trains to hit your county and we’ll hire extra security for the “shady” people.
jj
May 22nd, 2010
4:05 pm
what i mean to say is: make MARTA convienent for everyone and all races- then it won’t be an issue.
The Visitor
May 22nd, 2010
4:12 pm
I don’t like those Breeze cards riders must purchase, so we don’t use it very often when we visit. We are white and don’t mind riding at all. We see all sorts of people on our MARTA trips. As far as the rail goes, well, it goes no where. Atlanta is so spread out that is does not cover enough ground. Now, for all the people in Cobb and Gwinnett who are worried about crime coming in via MARTA — guess what! You have already the inner city crime sans the inner city.
Michael H. Smith
May 22nd, 2010
4:37 pm
Seriously— Mass transit is welfare, while subsidizing roads is Constitutionally demanded? Roads are “for the greater good?
Yeah, Seriously! Roads are for the greater good of the greater number and not just for a select few. “Providing welfare” is not constitutional. “Promoting the general welfare of the United States” is very constitutional.
More people use roads because we’ve subsidized more roads.
That is your grammar school playground entitlement mentality speaking. More people use roads because Americans love their cars and the personal freedom cars gives them. Public mass transit has been reject by the mainstream of America in a preference to use automobiles. Good luck getting over that fact, Aquagirl.
You Can't Get There From Here
May 22nd, 2010
4:39 pm
I live in Cobb County, and I have to gas-fume my way south, east or west to get to a MARTA train station. My primary destinations (since flying is too much a hassle anymore) would be Turner Field and the Georgia Dome. Both require a change at 5 Points. That is the last place in Atlanta that I want to visit. A walk through Underground Atlanta? Forget it. I’d rather be in Mogadishu, Tehran or BumF*** West Virginny. . Changing to the West line puts me at an escalator to Phillips Arena. Not a destination of choice. Way over in the distance I can see the Dome. Too bad I can’t take a bicycle in there.
So, basically, I’ve forgotten Atlanta. Driving to Chattanooga would be as convenient.
Michael H. Smith
May 22nd, 2010
4:52 pm
One other point
If you can’t pilot your own conveyance, for some odd reason you’re a grubby socialist.
If you expect or demand that others – namely the taxpayers through the force of government – provide for you a pilot and the means of your conveyance then you are not so oddly in fact, a grubby “nanny state” socialist!
Tom
May 22nd, 2010
5:01 pm
Marta is being cut because of money. But all the blacks automatically think its a racial issue.
Henry
May 22nd, 2010
5:16 pm
No matter the issue, there will always be disagreement because people have different beliefs and values. However, MARTA provides a good (nothing is perfect) service in that it properly transports at least 100,000 people (White, Black, Asians, etc…) daily. I ride the MARTA five days a week to work; my pass cost $60 a month. If I drove to work it would cost me upwards of $160 ($100 for parking and $60 in gas) a month. As you can see, I save money by taking the MARTA. So, my position is, MARTA should raise the user fee to keep the system operational and improve service. I’m sure I am not the only person saving money by riding MARTA. I think every one that rides the MARTA saves money when you consciously consider the cost of transportation other than MARTA. I must say, I’m not a fan of outsourcing. Outsourcing is part of the reason we got an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
ginn
May 22nd, 2010
5:31 pm
I worked in public transit in CA for 17 years and the transit funding here is disgraceful. These suburban counties should be forced to help fund MARTA since a great many of the suburbanites ride it also MARTA should have zone pricing so those in outlying counties pay more to help fund it. I’m caucasian and I do believe that a form of racism does play a part in where MARTA goes. sonny boy really doesn’t give a rat’s !@# about MARTA or Clayton County transit.
Aquagirl
May 22nd, 2010
5:32 pm
Okay, demanding my tax money for your vehicle is not socialist, but subsidizing transit usable for EVERYONE is commiepinko. I think we’ve cut to the chase, here—your lifestyle deserves tax money. Everyone else is SOL. Make up whatever rules make you feel like a rugged independent Teapartier.
Gotcha, Michael. Good luck when you get old, and can’t drive. I hope someone is socialist enough to drive you through a 37 hour traffic jam in America, the land of the free.
City (sic) of Atlanta
May 22nd, 2010
5:46 pm
So you want the respect of a real city, but you don’t want public transit to succeed region-wide? Welcome to Atlanta, the largest country-town of all!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
John
May 22nd, 2010
6:07 pm
This is not about race. t’s about quality, competence, safety and convenience. I would love MARTA to succeed. My son rides it every day to school. However, MARTA is a microcosm of our society. It’s a great concept and a noble plan. But, it’s not well run at all. Why in 2010 do we still have set asides? Why does affirmative action still exist? Personally, I believe racism is gone. At least to the extent it ever will be. I recognize it will never be eradicated 100%. But, speaking for myself, I don’t think in racial terms. I grew up in a segregated society. I just don’t think that way, and I’m definitely a conservative.
Let the people who know how to run it take over. And if they’re mostly white, so what? If you want the suburbanites to ride MARTA, it must be improved. The present Administration is incapable. Everyone knows this, and ridership will not improve until MARTA improves. It really is that simple. It’s a different society today. It’s all about quality and value. I don’t care what color you are, if you can’t deliver, I won’t do business with you.
Curely
May 22nd, 2010
6:09 pm
“They stood to pay for years, maybe decades, before the rails crossed I-285 to reach them. Why say yes to that?”
A portion of the money I pay in property taxes goes to the school system in my county. However, I have no kids and it may be decades before I have kids. Why say yes to being taxed that way?
Taxpayer
May 22nd, 2010
6:33 pm
Kyle,
Are you equally “bothered” by people’s use of words such as “nazi” to describe Obama? If not, then perhaps you miss the point another blogger attempted to make.
montanadawg
May 22nd, 2010
6:43 pm
I grew up in Ansley Park and spent much of my adult life living in the Decatur/Avondale Estates area (I have since moved to Montana and have been living there the last 10 years). I used Marta many times to get to the airport, go to Braves games, visit intown festivals (Inman Park), and for the annual Peachtree Road Race. I do not see the issue of its demise and red ink having anything much to do with race. I see the issue mainly as 2 things: 1) Very poor management (money wasted) from the beginning and 2) the line doesn’t go most places people want to go. The reality of using Marta is unless it’s truly convenient and goes where I need to go then it’s not used. Unless you live inside the perimeter and also live along or near the Marta line then most people don’t use it. It runs north-south and east-west. I used it for certain things, but in general it’s not something that is part of most people’s daily lives. We don’t HAVE to use it, and as I’ve said it just doesn’t take me where I want to go most times.
Scott
May 22nd, 2010
6:44 pm
Here is a link to a graphic of the Concept 3 plan that the arc drafted. I think some of you would benefit from checking it out. I think you would find that in this master plan, transit would go to places you want it to go.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/5923/futurerail.jpg
Atlanta born and raised
May 22nd, 2010
6:58 pm
Boy,you are just flat out of your clueless mind. I was born at Crawford Long, and grew up around Emory and I’m 20 years older than you. This. is. about. ONE. thing. ONLY!!!
POOR PEOPLE
PERIOD. FULL STOP!! END OF STORY!!!
The affluent people in the suburbs, who drive BMWs and Lexus, live in beautiful homes, wear nice, new, clean clothes do not want to spend time crammed into a train or bus, on a hard plastic seat, or worse yet, standing for hours, surrounded by poor people who don’t wash, have filthy torn tattered clothes and don’t behave like they and their friends do.
I’ve seen more barely concealed breasts, and flaunted erections on the MARTA train than I have ever seen anywhere else. It is disgusting. And the putrid body odor/cologne/hair junk stench is nauseating.
Take a weekend or after business hours walk in downtown:Chicago, Manhattan, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, and on and on and on OUTSIDE of the south and you will find a vibrant active community filled with people enjoying themselves. They will have taken the train then walked to meet their friends and they will be loving life in the city. All with people who are like them.
Now do the same thing in downtown Atlanta. You will find an abandoned city, no where to go and no reason to be there. Aside from the panhandlers and the stray conventioneers the streets will be deserted.
The suburbs on the other hand will be packed with people, kids playing, shopping etc.
You don’t think socioeconomic status is the reason OTP communities don’t want MARTA bringing that blight to them…Then you are a fool,plain and simple.
My first draft of this note said that this is about race and black people, but I realized that affluent AAs don’t use or want MARTA either…..It really is about social standing.
This note will never see the light of day because it says things that are not accepted in polite company, but every word is true and it’s time that kids like you grow up and see what’s happening.
Funny
May 22nd, 2010
7:38 pm
It is funny about all the comments regarding how bad MARTA, yet it paid for by the same two counties as Grady (Dekalb and Fulton). It is funny how if you don’t get to rail station by 6:30am, it is full of people who don’t leave in two counties listed above. I am sure you also love the free parking that is paid for by us.
carmikal
May 22nd, 2010
7:44 pm
Recently, my wife was forced to take a temp assignment job in D.C. While at the job conversing with a white co-worker who was from Maryland the co-worker recalled what his old roommates from Atlanta called MARTA(Moving africans rapidly through atlanta)!! In fact, if you google Marta with the word moving omg, guess what you will see?
The author of this article seems to be saying that there isn’t any substantial evidence that race is the cause of the anti-Marta and transportation hate in Atlanta and its suburbs. I used to ask co-workers from Atlanta about why they didn’t have a functional transportation system and most whites said it was due to crime being transported to suburban areas. White co-workers also exclaimed that taking public transportation would be embarrassing and they would rather move out of state if they had to. Blacks just said that whites voted against transit years ago and that the only time they see white people on Marta is when there is an event downtown. Based on that, I will agree with the author that you can’t really say that transportation woes are due to racial tension,lol. However, he should at least admit that racial tension makes what would seem like intelligent individuals apper STUPID.
You see, Georgia has 158 counties!!! That’s more counties than New York and California combined!!! For some racial ahem, idiotic reasons individuals were and are allowed to vote on the establishment of a true transit system because of the 1 cents tax, right? Soooo, how do you think New York got their transit system(MTA) established way back in the day? Another question, are you allowed to vote on what you pay in county taxes for your home?? Lastly, when a street light is broken or there is a pothole, do people in GA vote before getting it fixed? Of course not!! Because those are things that must be done and are not up for discussion.
I say all of that because Georgia is under governed and allows to many racists ooops, factors affect its progression. New York noticed its population was increasing and formed the MTA because it was necessary!! Suburban Westchester county had commuter rail lines going into NYC back in the 1800’s. New York didn’t ask for a vote, they just formed it because they had to. Just like when a traffic light goes down or a pothole is fixed. You can’t vote on your county and state taxes because $ is necessary to fund any county and state operations. There are just things you HAVE to get done and they are not up for discussion or votes!! If Georgia’s transportation woes were not racially charged then there wouldn’t be a need to vote on it!! The legislature would have taken care of the missing transit link back when the state started to grow, just like New York!!
The fake establishment hasn’t all of sudden come to its senses and buried their racial hate. They are just feeling embarrassed about Charlotte’s transit progression and lawmakers bang their heads each time they miss out on Obama infrastructure money!!!
If Atlanta’s lack of a real tranist system wasn’t based on race I could have ditched my car a long time ago!!
Amy in the ATL
May 22nd, 2010
7:44 pm
Is MARTA run as efficiently as it could be? Probably not. But then again, can you name a government entity that is? And please do NOT forget to include our Republican run state government!
That said, MARTA’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t connect where people live (which in Atlanta is largely the suburbs) with where they work (intown and around I-285). There are a lot of historical reasons why, and being a native Atlantan I will tell you that racism was, at least historically, a contributing factor to not initially expanding MARTA into the Northern Suburbs.
As time has gone by, the region has diversified, but the old “city vs. suburbs” rift remains. I will blame this on having WAY too many local municipalities and local elected officials whose job it is to propogate an “us vs. them” mentality to justify their questionable existence, but there’s probably many factors at play there.
That said, we collectively need to stop blaming each other, stop blaming MARTA, and start demanding that our state DOT start spending some of that money they collect in Metro Atlanta IN Metro Atlanta as opposed to funding projects like widening 341 through nowhere and trying to build a rail line to Lovejoy.
We need regional mass transportation, and that really should be run by the state. As a Fulton County voter, I would be happy to turn MARTA over to the state to run, in the hopes that we could expand it to have park and ride lots out in the suburbs like the fabulous system in D.C.
But until we get past our petty bickering and hating on the big city and MARTA and working TOGETHER to solve our REGIONAL transportation issues, we’re going nowhere. And that’s a real loss, especially for folks who sit for hours in traffic to get to their jobs when they could be reading the paper and answering emails on their blackberries on a train like every other respectable city in the world.
Jack
May 22nd, 2010
7:56 pm
Reading these comments-its amusing at the assumtions people make about the makeup of the workforce at Marta.The jobs are open to all who apply-there have only been 2 black GM’s compared to many white ones. The system ran no better under those many white GM’s than it has under the 2 Black ones. That’s how racism comes into the picture.When the white GM’s were in control,the OTP’s talked about not wanting Marta because of the element it attracted. Now with the Black GM’s it’s the incompetant management. Interesting.
Kyle-about the outsourcing,you’re dead wrong. Ask Clayton County how a for profit company(First Transit)
screwed them on their bus maintenance and forced them to void their contract by demanding more money. This is another way to line someone’s pockets with public money.Probably your republican friends.
Tommy Maddox
May 22nd, 2010
7:58 pm
If you want the fur to fly, just wait for North Fulton revert back to old Milton County.
Then, Marta will become Detroit Met
catlady
May 22nd, 2010
8:00 pm
Let me point out that the county Mr. Ralston is from, Gilmer, did not have any nonwhite families, save one (the black man who cleaned the bank) until 1986, except that Monica Kaufman bought a weekend house there at one point. In 1986, the first Latino family came to Gilmer County. Oh, yes, and the Cherokee that were not caught in the Removal, who intermarried but whose descendants are still there today.
I doubt any changes to Marta ever have much effect on Mr. Ralston or his family. He can spend his political capital any way he wishes.
Michael H. Smith
May 22nd, 2010
9:09 pm
You don’t pay for my vehicle with your taxes Aquagirl nor does any other taxpayer subsidize my ride and I drive myself, so you gotcha nothing but your same old silly socialist tripe and wounded ego to offer in yet another pitiful response to serve as a defense for socialist “nanny state” transportation.
And, if you socialist liberals have your way old men like me will have no choice to make regarding anything, in what would become the People’s Republic of U.S.S.A., land of the once free and no longer brave.
Mishap
May 22nd, 2010
9:40 pm
Dawgdad,
Marta doesn’t run up/down I-75 so I don’t see how it would affect traffic except on the Connector when 85/400 has merged in. If anything the exurb counties like Cherokee do more damage to your commute and having Marta/some train system up the 75 corridor would likely help things. Go stop by the North Springs Marta station or try to make a commute down GA400 and imagine all those cars in the decks in stations on the northern route loaded onto 400 and how much worse the already terrible commute would be. Having lived off exit 267 on 75, I can say I would have loved to see a Marta station run up to Barrett. Given the current demographics of Cobb and Gwinnett, I would say to those that objected to Marta on racist grounds that they failed to stop the diversity and honestly it’d just make their area more livable given current traffic nightmares.
Personally, I live in town and ride Marta about once a month but that’s b/c most places I go around my home are within walking distance. I do have to drive out to Vinings for work daily now after changing jobs but I only have to look at the nightmare the rest of you face up 75 to be content w/ living in Midtown. Even my mom, who is as conservative/anti-tax/(and bigoted) as anyone I know loves to ride Marta to her job in downtown from Snellville (after a 20 min drive to the closest station). It lets her read a book and avoid paying $10/day parking while her job pays for passes.
There is a sickness in GA
May 22nd, 2010
9:43 pm
@Kyle The point of my comment was to bring to your attention that you added, consciously or sub-consciously “republiNazi” to delegitimatize those with whom you disagree. While I disagree with you, your blog post was interesting and I felt I had nothing to add to the substance of what you were saying.
However, by mocking the hyperbolic nattering-nabobs you added something that detracted from your post instead of enhanced it. This approach shuts down constructive dialogue instead of encourage it.
I merely wanted to offer my two cents that you should consider staying out of the mud flinging, as that is for children, not adults…and you are clearly an adult.
zeke
May 22nd, 2010
10:47 pm
I no longer live in the Atlanta area, THANK GOD! I lived there for about 11 years from ‘83 to ‘94. I would ride the system only for the PTRR or to go to the OMNI or Phillips on occasion. Pitifull system, service, workers! Yes, fear of crime is a factor when so called urbanites can ride from the inner city to Buckhead, Lennox, Phipps and other areas for practically nothing! Several times I rode from the Chamblee area to the Ga. dome! When the train stopped at Lennox, hordes of young blacks got on! They obviously had not been to Lennox or Phipps to shop! Guess they were just cruising around, or, MAYBE CASEING SHOPS AND HOMES IN THE AREA! There is already enough crime in Cobb, Gwinnett, Forsyth, WHY THE HELL WOULD WE WANT TO GIVE THESE TYPE THUGS ACCESS TO OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES????
BPJ
May 22nd, 2010
10:51 pm
Reluctantly, I have to agree with “McDonough Democrat” – I too have had people assume that since I’m “white” that I share their attitudes, and so they say things about MARTA (and those who ride it) using racist language, as in: “No one rides MARTA but n*%#!”. We would like to believe that racism is dead or dying, but many of the old attitudes persist, driven underground by the fact that they are no longer publicly acceptable..
I have to disagree with much of what “diogenes” wrote: there are always route maps, inside every MARTA train I’ve ever been on. The new signs, which say when the next Northbound and Southbound trains are coming, work well in my experience. The stations I use the most, Peachtree Center and Arts Center, are cleaner than most metro stations I’ve encountered in Europe (I go there several times a year). There are usually some employees around in the stations I use. And as for the “incoherent” public address system, this is the case in every system I’ve ever been in, and many airports as well. Saturday Night Live had an hilarious skit several years ago about the unintelligibility of the PA system in the New York subway.
Tiger Woods + Jesse James = SuperBAD meets SuperEVIL in "SuperUGLY!"
May 23rd, 2010
12:12 am
“If the standard is whether MARTA gets singled out for restrictions among the state’s other 100-plus transit agencies, then we have to ask whether Republicans have been fooled into thinking that wealthy whites fill most of the bus seats in Augusta or Savannah.”
Republicans don’t have to be fooled into thinking that wealthy whites fill most of the bus seats in Augusta. Remember, Masters Shuttle from hotel to Augusta National. DUH!!!
As a matter of fact, Kyle, you’ve given me a great idea…forget the chauffeur and the sports car. I’m leaving the Bentley (Monday), the Benz (Tuesday), the Beamer (Wednesday), the Rolls Royce (Thursday), the other Benz (Friday), the stretch Excursion limo (Saturday and Sunday) and the stretch Hummer limo (Saturday, too) all at home and taking MARTA all week long!!!! Who needs beyond-comfortable personal chauffeured-driven luxury transportation when one partake in the finest public transportation that America has to offer (laughs, hysterical laughs)? Thanks for the inspiration, Kyle! Because everyone knows that chicks don’t dig hot wheels…chicks dig monthly bus passes at deeply discounted rates that only get you to within half-a-mile’s walking distance of the shopping mall.
Tiger Woods + Jesse James = SuperBAD meets SuperEVIL in "SuperUGLY!"
May 23rd, 2010
1:28 am
Of course racism was apart of the reason that erstwhile suburban counties Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton refused to join MARTA in the past. Another reason that those counties didn’t want MARTA was that they were suburban and exurban counties at the time and public transportation was thought to be a purely urban thing and understandably those residents who had moved out of the city to escape urban life didn’t want an urban thing like MARTA in their then-far flung suburban neighborhoods. Remember, in 1970 Cobb and Clayton Counties were still emerging as strong, nearly all lily-white suburban strongholds which had many rural edges around them and now dominant ultra-diverse super-suburb Gwinnett County had only 70,000 and largely consisted of a few very small towns situated amongst farms, vast swaths of wooded areas and open spaces.
Even with the overt racial over and undertones, residents in those areas understandably thought that public transportation was unneeded for environments that were still semi-rural or even almost completely rural at that time some 40 years ago. Many residents in those areas couldn’t even imagine that their then largely lily white exurban and rural strongholds surrounding a Metro Atlanta that then contained barely over one million residents would someday be completely swallowed up by that seemingly far-flung city that would grow by nearly five-million more people to become one of North America’s largest and most important metro areas and become super-diverse urban communities at the core of one of a 30-county metro area with six-million people total.
The problem with MARTA and overall transportation in Georgia in 2010 isn’t so much about race as it is about an almost complete lack of leadership and vision. That lack of leadership and vision is why an agency like MARTA serves only two counties of a 30-plus county metro area and has a reputation for suspect service that is inadequate to serve for a supposedly international city of Atlanta’s size and scope. Because the metro area has grown so large, mass transit service for the metro area shouldn’t even be the responsibility of a clearly limited very local two-county agency like MARTA, it should be the responsibility of a multi-county regional agency or even the state, since Metro Atlanta is so large geographically that it physically affects different parts of the state from West Georgia to Northwest Georgia to Northeast Georgia and the mountains to East Georgia and Upper Middle Georgia.
Having an agency like MARTA that isn’t known for always being consistently clean, safe, reliable and dependable serve our supposedly great city has become an embarrassment to that same great city and even the state when your “showcase city” is served by such a clearly inadequate bus and train service that has come to symbolize this city and state’s clear neglect of transportation along with the Georgia Department of Transportation. Holding those two agencies up as examples of local transportation management to visitors and onlookers makes them think that there is something disturbingly wrong with our local governance. Kyle, I know that you are new to the AJC and the Atlanta Metro Area and your writings about MARTA’s failings in its current state make you seem as if you’re late to the party of trying to point out the operational flaws of a “mass transit” agency that by now is pretty much on life support and probably close to the “end-of-the-line” in its usefulness as a meaningful mode of local transportation at best. Sorry that you’re kind of late to the party in pointing out MARTA’s clearly evident flaws, Kyle, but by now its pretty clear to almost everyone with sight, vision, hearing and even smelling senses, if you’re rode a MARTA bus that didn’t quite smell right, that MARTA is clearly NOT the answer to Atlanta’s traffic and transportation mobility issues, just like the people who run MARTA, we’re just all pretty much waiting for the clock to run out on MARTA in it’s current form sometime in the near future.
Billy
May 23rd, 2010
3:42 am
Are you kidding me?? RACE is always a reason! especially in these southern states like Georgia. I think if they could bring slavery, lynching back they would. Any major metropolitan city has a transit system like New York, Chicago, etc. Japan has one of the best systems in the world Hello and everybody uses it. We worry about high gas prices, pollution, etc. Public Transit can dramatically reduce that. I am just tired of these republicans, they are completely out of control. We are going so backwards and we wonder why our country is going into shambles. I guess the bullies now don’t want to play fair because somebody shook up their strong hold.
yankee in gooberville
May 23rd, 2010
6:22 am
No, it’s more a class warefare that kylie likes to parrot in these phoned-in op-eds.
Andy the native
May 23rd, 2010
7:12 am
Unlike some of these posters I’m a native born 1964 in what was Dekalb General then. MARTA has always been contentious and a political tool for the city. Look at the rail routes and overlay them with where the (now mostly removed) large public housing projects use to be its not coincidence that its like a game of connect the dots… Eastlake Meadows, Clark Howell, Bowen Homes, Carver, Techwood… never an idea other than social welfare came into play when they designed the routes. Now that they’ve almost eliminated all of those projects and replaced them with section 8 vouchers, those same people now move to the ‘burbs and look for transportation… observe Clayton county.
Jeff
May 23rd, 2010
7:14 am
When we equally address racism in ALL forms and by ALL people, I’ll be back to the table to hear your concerns. But the racists (African Americans) at the Sprite dance contest a few months back are a serious issue. Tackle that one first if you want some crediibility on this issue.
Richard Bagge
May 23rd, 2010
7:28 am
“Changing to the West line puts me at an escalator to Phillips Arena. Not a destination of choice. Way over in the distance I can see the Dome. Too bad I can’t take a bicycle in there.”
You’re kidding, right? That’s a ten minute walk, tops, to the Dome, along a paved avenue across the GWCC campus. That little exercise won’t kill you.
Jack
May 23rd, 2010
7:53 am
I used to depend on the Atlanta Transit System. I ‘m not rich and would like to ride MARTA, but you couldn’t pay me to get on a MARTA bus or train without police protection.
Jeff Pruett
May 23rd, 2010
7:55 am
Mr. Wingfield, I was around at the “creation”. There were three political entities involved. Atlanta, Fulton county and Dekalb.
Fulton was not yet majority black (in political representation) and Dekalb was still a “white” county. I don’t think it was racism, but lack of vision that kept other counties out.
I believe they still considered themselves rural and couldn’t see the need to join. As years went on. MARTA implied that Gwinnett and Cobb would need to pay in Billions to join….
Bryan - MARTA supporter
May 23rd, 2010
8:43 am
Race definitely had a role in the nonexpansion of MARTA. Maybe today it’s not as big an issue but look at some of the post. There are plenty of Cobb, Gwinett, and Clayton residents that don’t want MARTA and will with no problem say because they don’t want poor people and crime in their area. Now lets just be honest most people riding are poor blacks and hispanics that don’t have a car. It’s funny because northern Clayton is mostly black, Gwinett has a mexican drug cartel problem and there are pockets of poor areas in Cobb all WITHOUT MARTA!!!
TommyJack
May 23rd, 2010
8:43 am
Absolutely brilliant piece. But Cynthia Tucker and her 1960’s thinkers will barbeque this guy. No room at AJC for a non race-baiter.
Bryan - MARTA supporter
May 23rd, 2010
8:50 am
MARTA clearly needs to be expanded into those counties. What some of the people don’t in those counties don’t realize is that without Atlanta and MARTA you wouldn’t have those nice suburbs you have. It would look like the rest of Georgia….backwoods and small run down towns! Atlanta generates over half the tax revenue for the entire state yet people are so quick to say MARTA needs to pay for itself. Why not charge a toll to come inside I-285. Most…not all but most people work and play inside I-285 and downtalk the people and the services with. Let them pay to use them then!
Bryan - MARTA supporter
May 23rd, 2010
9:03 am
Last, every person that says buses are never full…they aren’t going to be packed every trip! Also depending where you are along the route makes a difference too. Go to NY in times square and you’ll see empty buses or a few people on the buses too…the M42 bus. Now not everytime but on some trips yes. That is the same with MARTA. The state isn’t going to every REALLY help MARTA because it’s a red state outside of Atlanta. They don’t care about anything that benefits Atlanta. So when you can’t get your hamburger, or get into a hotel, or can’t get to a Hawks game, or if your job leaves…please believe it’s cause you didn’t support MARTA! Might not be the only reason but it is a major one. Don’t hope on either when gas is $4 and $5 bucks either and you see that MARTA is a cheaper option like people did in 2008.
Bryan - MARTA supporter
May 23rd, 2010
9:21 am
@ Gerald West
May 22nd, 2010
10:24 am
I agree with this post, even down to the statement of young blacks being a problem. I’m young and black and in my teens acted “hard” or tried to “thug it out” so I know exactly what he is talking about. Now since then I’ve gotten a college degree and a good job and don’t do that stuff anymore. But again it still boils down too race. There are plenty of folks that won’t ride because of that main reason. I guess don’t go to the mall, or the store, or even drive because they are out there. Nowadays there are a whole lot more posers in the burbs acting like that then real street kids. I guess that is MARTA’s doing too huh?
Michael H. Smith
May 23rd, 2010
9:24 am
The last time joining MARTA was put on the ballot in Gwinnett County the reason it was defeated for a third time had more to do with money than “ethnocentric” fears and animosities. Many people, at least more so than in past years, said they wanted MARTA but when asked would they be willing to pay the added tax, then they said they didn’t want MARTA.
So if you want to define this argument in terms of color you’d best think – and speak – in shade$ of green.
redweather
May 23rd, 2010
10:12 am
Race is a factor for some people no matter what you’re talking about. Just for the record, I am a white male in my 50s.
I rode MARTA from Avondale to downtown and back again for about 15 years, or until the mid 1990s. Finally I got tired of (1) the over-crowded trains, (2) the frequent delays that resulted in over-crowded trains, (3) the young black men who constantly accosted me when I was paying my fare, (4) and the bus rides (not always air-conditioned in the summer) to and from my home and the Avondale train station.
I don’t think any one thing prevents MARTA from being a better service provider. But in my experience, MARTA has always taken its patrons for granted.
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May 23rd, 2010
10:58 am
Michael Smith @ 9:24 am-
It’s not that people in Gwinnett don’t want to pay the added tax for MARTA service…it’s that people in Gwinnett don’t want to pay the added tax for MARTA and wait for 10-15 years or more before receiving and service from MARTA as they’ve been repeatedly told would happen by MARTA officials themselves if Gwinnett residents decided to pay taxes to bring MARTA to the county.
Let’s see. Pay for a service now and not see any results for the actual service for 10 years or more and even then maybe still continue to not see any results or tangible benefit for that service that you started paying millions, even billions for years earlier? Yeah, that’s the type of customer service that’s sure to be a big hit with taxpayers and consumers. Where can I sign up for that “sweet” deal where I start paying through the wazoo now and most likely get little to nothing years and years later? Further proof that MARTA has no leadership, vision or even a simple plan for its own survival other than to beg a hapless lost and clueless state government and understandably hesitant and skeptical taxpayers in surrounding counties for money with no promise of service in return for that money anytime soon. Yeah, stick a fork in ‘em, this sick puppy (MARTA) is, for all its intents and purposes, done!