Historic Gridlock a Rallying Call for Suburban Rail

Gridlock of historic proportions left much of Atlanta changing their tune on the benefits of MARTA. Cobb and Gwinnett commuters who had 3+ hour rides in bumper to bumper traffic are realizing the benefits of rail while commuters in town suffered waited 30+ min to travel ten blocks. According to the AJC 13 MARTA parking lots were over capacity yesterday "with some people creating their own spaces. Lines formed as infrequent riders waited to buy the new Breeze card needed for a fare."

I took MARTA on this epic morning. I park on the far side of an infrequently used MARTA lot and this was the first time someone was already in my spot. I barely caught my train on time running through half the station, but I still go to Five Points in time for my classes. However my teacher for my first class was 45 minutes late (never happens) and half the class was missing the start of class (also never happens). A blogger in the article said even MARTA wasn't prepared for such a busy day but I think that is because they haven't been allowed to expand into Cobb and Gwinnett to alleviate pressure on end stations like North Springs and Doraville. Incidentally her handle was MariettaGirl-hmm. Lee Biola, President of the nonprofit advocacy group Citizens for Progressive Transit, had this to say:

"Commuter rail from Athens to Atlanta to Macon would give Georgians a permanent choice about whether to sit in traffic. Commuter rail from Atlanta through Cobb County to Canton, Cartersville, Rome and Bremen, through Gwinnett to Gainesville, and south of Atlanta to LaGrange and Senoia are also desperately needed. While commuter rail may or may not reduce traffic, it would certainly let people choose whether to sit in it."

For now, all Gov. Sonny Purdue only cares about is his "Go Fish Georgia" initiative and doesn't even mention MARTA anymore, Mayor Shirley Franklin "was traveling and unavailable to comment (stuck in traffic?), her spokeswoman said. Another spokeswoman referred questions about whether the city was prepared for future traffic disasters to the Police Department (the APD, not the DOT? that bad?)." I foresee more of these "epic gridlock" days ahead without any changes being made. It is only a mater of time before Atlanta gets fed up and public opinion makes rapid transit the preferred mode of transportation and rail investment a financial priority. Ariel Hart - AJC (1/26/07-1:44am), Lee Biola - AJC Editorial (1/26/07-5:08am)