Bike Portland has an interesting post about how the Feds feel Portland’s Regional Transportation Plan doesn’t focus enough on cars. In Atlanta transportation planning seems to focus exclusively on cars. Let’s take a look at Atlanta regional transportation projects:
MARTA: Still no rail service to Cobb, Gwinnett, Paulding or Coweta counties.
Beltline: Not dead but certainly dying.
Commuter rail to Lovejoy: I’m pronouncing this project dead.
Ok, here’s a crazy idea. We desperately need transportation alternatives in metro-Atlanta; and we really don’t want to pay for them. So why not use existing freight rails for a commuter train. Yeah, the ride will be terrible but it beats sitting in traffic. CSX has a line that runs from Atlanta straight through the heart of Cobb County on to exo-burbs of Bartow. To the south this same line runs along I-85 to LaGrange. In Gwinnett, the Norfolk Southern line hits all the major population centers. So am I missing something? Why can’t we just throw up a few passenger stations throw some cars on the track and make a go of it?
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