Rosemary Geller

Rosemary Geller

English 1101

Professor Westrick

18thApril, 2018

Should MARTA Build and Expand into Atlanta’s Surrounding Counties?

March 30thof 2017 was an unforgettable day that changed Atlanta. March 30thwas the day Interstate 85 collapsed. This day rocked 250,000 people in and around Atlanta (NPR). Commuting around the city is not necessarily everyone’s favorite thing to do, but living in the suburbs and commuting to Atlanta, sitting in traffic can unwillingly become your most hated past time. The average person can spend up to 17,600 minutes a year sitting in traffic according to AAA. Many cities around America have an abundance of people as well as a transit system that flows. Atlanta needs an expansion of their transit system, but this expansion could take many years and up to millions in dollars.

Once I-85 collapsed, MARTA was considered the best alternate for the morning and evening commute for Atlanta commuters. MARTA became so packed, that their parking lots began to fill up. This shows that most of the Atlanta commuters had to cross over I-85 eventually, but unfortunately, it was closed. The fire that warped the south section of I-85 was so detrimental, that Atlanta traffic was completely stopped, which is something unheard of come 5:00 pm in Atlanta. But luckily, MARTA could be utilized, increasing the number of average commuters 67% (AJC).

Because of the increase of commuters during this period, lawmakers are now considering passing a bill to fund the expansion of MARTA to Atlanta’s surrounding counties. Asking this question to the average Atlanta commuter makes them raise an eyebrow for many reasons. Yes, a new and improved transit system would elevate time in one’s daily commute, but how long it would take to achieve this process is the biggest debate. Road work seems to be a common occurrence in Atlanta, making traffic worse on a daily basis. The expansion of MARTA scares the average Atlanta citizen because it could take numerous years to complete. That means someone’s commute could take 2 times longer for many years, just to improve on a system that our lawmakers aren’t sure that will work or not.

Georgia lawmakers have tried to implement different systems to improve on Georgia’s economy, but winded up having to retract these systems because they hindered Atlanta’s traffic more than the usual. An example of this were the toll ways that were built on Georgia 400 to collect tax dollars from commuting citizens to pay off Georgia’s bond debt (AJC). The tolls were eventually closed down because they hindered the morning an evening commutes. Because of this failed toll that Atlanta built, commuters are hesitant to approve of something that the Georgia lawmakers have approved of as well. Another example would be the expansion of interstate I-75 in Cobb County as well. Although the expansion of I-75 has also occurred for many years, I-75 has gradually began to open the lanes that have been closed for many years. This again reduced the number of passengers that have been riding on MARTA since the collapse.

When the collapse of Interstate 85 occurred, the news was spread all over the world. Atlanta is known as a very busy hub for travelers and the collapse alerted people from all over the world to know that if they were going to or through Atlanta, they were to avoid this part of 85. Henry Petroski wrote the article Relearning Lessons Learned, and stated that, “Carmageddon did not happen in Atlanta because drivers used common sense to avoid the affected section of 1-85.” Because drivers could overall avoid that destructive part of I-85, this can give a good insight of the positive of expanding the MARTA system.

Not only does the idea of having more traffic irk the average Atlanta citizen, but for many years it has been said that the reason why Marta has not expanded is because citizens outside metro Atlanta do not want MARTA to bring crime to their neighborhood. "Share Atlanta Crime — Support MARTA.” These and other socioeconomic sentiments have consistently translated into an overwhelming popular vote against initiatives that would have allowed MARTA to expand (Lampros).

The expansion of MARTA from the counties could either drastically improve Atlanta traffic, or drastically hurt it. Atlanta is continuously growing, with many people moving here every day, and new businesses expanding to Atlanta as well. The expansion of MARTA could allow new Georgia’s citizens to expand and live outside of Atlanta. This could not only elevate the traffic in Atlanta, but it also reduces the population in the city as well.

WORKS CITED

"We Ride the Marta Bus." Art Papers Magazine, vol. 40, no. 4, Jul/Aug2016, pp. 37-45. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=

Chappell, Bill. “I-85 Bridge Collapse In Atlanta Brings Headache To 250,000 Drivers A Day.” NPR, NPR, 31 Mar. 2017,

“Americans Spend an Average of 17,600 Minutes Driving Each Year.” AAA NewsRoom, 6 Sept. 2016, newsroom.aaa.com/2016/09/americans-spend-average-17600-minutes-driving-year/.

Updated May 17, 2017ByJill Vejnoska. “I-85 Bridge Collapse: Uber's MARTA Trip Numbers up Big, Discount to Continue in June.” Ajc,

"We Ride the Marta Bus." Art Papers Magazine, vol. 40, no. 4, Jul/Aug2016, pp. 37-45. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=