July 17, 2008 - Will one of Atlanta's biggest mistakes finally be rectified?

Tim Darnell

July 17, 2008

It certainly seems to be heading in that direction. At least, the Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers thinks so.

Local passenger rail advocates are encouraged by the results of this week's MARTA straw polls in Gwinnett County. Both Democrats and Republicans were asked whether they would be willing to pay an additional 1% sales tax to extend MARTA service into Gwinnett. Democrats voted "yes" and Republicans voted "no," but the overall percentage of Gwinnett voters favoring MARTA service was much higher than in previous elections.

The association says the results are evidence that Gwinnett voters are interested in rail passenger service.

"The straw poll questions only asked about MARTA service, which implies heavy rail transit," said GARP President Steve Vogel.  "If Gwinnett voters had been asked about commuter rail service, the number of 'yes' votes would have been even higher."

Heavy rail transit is generally used to link central cities with close-in suburbs. It consists of frequent trains operating on their own dedicated tracks making frequent stops throughout the day.

Commuter rail  is a different form of rail service, generally used to link central cities with more distant suburbs. Commuter trains normally operate on tracks shared with freight railroads, and most runs are scheduled during the morning and evening rush hours. It's less expensive to build and operate than heavy rail.

The proposed Atlanta-Athens "Brain Train" commuter rail line would run through Gwinnett.
 
"The size of the pro-MARTA vote suggests there would be very strong support in Gwinnett for a commuter rail line," said Vogel.

There can't be anyone in Atlanta today who can reasonably disagree that MARTA's rejection, in the 70s, by Gwinnett and other outlying suburban counties wasn't the biggest transit disaster the region has ever made. The consequences of those decisions is being felt by anyone who commutes to work in this gridlocked region each and every day.

Let's hope it's not too late to rectify that historic mistake.