Moving Beyond the Congestion Argument
We have been trying to solve traffic congestion for as long as cars have been around. We have tried adding more lanes, and quickly learned what induced traffic was. We have tried spreading out so that we didn’t bottleneck thousands of people into a confined area, and ended up with sprawl. We tried getting creative with HOT lanes, HOV lanes, diverging diamonds, opening up shoulders, and timed signals. We have introduced heavy rail, light rail, monorail, buses, rapid buses, electric buses, streetcars, and trolleys. And yet our roads remain clogged. It is because of this, the TSPLOST campaign needs to move beyond relieving congestion.
I know that if it weren’t for transit, hundreds of thousands of additional cars would be jamming the roads. Filling them even more so then they are now. But traffic congestion is also dependent on road capacity. If the downtown connector wasn’t 16 lanes wide, and was only 8, we would see tens of thousands of more transit users, but the road would still be at full capacity. If it was 24 lanes wide it would still be as congested as it is today. And if the capacity is there to move at just a slow creep, people drive. That is why cities like Chicago, Washington, and New York, cities with some of the best transit systems in the world; consistently hang onto the top spots for the most congested roads in the country. High population equals greater traffic. The passage of TSPLOST will definitely take cars off the road. But it won’t stop others who normally don’t drive from filling those vacated spots in the traffic jam.
The campaign for TSPLOST needs to campaign on the ideas of transportation options and economic development, even more so than congestion relief. There is this fear amongst anti TPSLOST voters that the introduction of additional transit options will take away from their roads, or that they will be paying for something that they don’t use. But what they forget about is tens of thousands of Atlantans who have been dumping money into the road pot for years. Residents who either by choice, or by necessity, depend on transit or have no personal use for roads. This money has come from their property taxes (and yes Tea Partiers, transit users do pay property taxes because not all of them are poor and homeless as many of your ignorant politicians have attempted to insinuate), from sales taxes, and overall from tax revenue that could have been put to better use on schools, parks, better housing, and countless other community projects. Despite what many think, roads are not solely paid for with fuel, license, and automobile taxes. A driver’s commitment to TSPLOST encourages transportation options. The same options that many drivers have been given for decades through interstates, highways, and additional roads that have been piggy backed onto the rest of the population. My tax money has been diverted for years to provide surface streets so that 10 residents on Wisteria Lane can have their quiet home that bumps up to the woods. I think it is only fair that they contributed an extra penny so that I can go to the grocery store without starting up a car.
Economic development has probably been the most overlooked benefit of this proposal. We are just a shade over two months away from the vote, and one of the most important benefits of this tax for everyone has barely been touched upon despite there being studies and countless physical evidence that anyone can go see for themselves to prove it. Rail creates economic development. There is no way around that. Sure there are rail stops in bad neighborhoods, just as there are roads. But finding a redevelopment district or neighborhood that was turned into a well valued high activity place along a rail line is much easier than finding one off of an interstate. And it’s simply because of density. Sure there is a Wal-Mart off exit two hundred who gives a damn that appears to be busy. But that is one company paying property taxes (often not very much). But I can easily take you to countless rail stops around this country where hundreds of residences and dozens of businesses and offices have congregated in a single location, all generating much more economic activity and revenue than a single big box warehouse. Who do you think generates more income? The single use super store whose employees make minimum wage and the goods being sold are low dollar crap being purchased by people with limited income. Or the same amount of land along a rail line that has hundreds of residents paying property taxes, along with the businesses and the offices, who in many cases are also producing jobs with much higher pay than a cashier at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and Bed Bath and Beyond. All the while promoting entrepreneurs and innovators in the same densely filled environment. But I guess anti TSPLOST people are probably upset since they can’t get a lawn bag of potato chips and a bucket of double fudge brownie ice cream in Downtown Decatur. Regardless that is the type of economic activity that generates income, tax revenue, wealth, and neighborhood improvements. These are the type of benefits that everyone gets to enjoy. More tax revenue in the city, county, and state’s coffers equals more projects that can expand economic activity for the region and provide better schools and parks. The money that would be put into transit, would come right back through an assortment of beneficial opportunities.
As much as I rag on Charlotte, this kind of instant reward can be seen along the northern most portion of their light rail line. It’s just over nine mile long line didn’t eliminate traffic on I-485, and it didn’t run the city broke either. But what it did do, was help take an area that was full of old warehouses and industry and turn it into a rather bustling area. Even before it was built, developers were clamoring over property that used to only generate pollution and minimal income. Condos, apartments, live work units, retail and offices sprung up. One of the best projects in the city, a combination of condos, rentals, and live work units, filled up rapidly generating new activity. Which spawned businesses to relocate and rehabilitate old warehouses and industrial facilities. And all of this generates much more income for the city than did the new Wal-Mart and Ikea that opened on the other side of town, directly off the interstate. The South End area still bustles, and if the economy ever turns around there are a multitude of projects waiting in the pipeline to further advance it, generating even more revenue. Last time I checked the Wal-Mart and Ikea weren’t planning on giving up any of their acres of parking for new development and the green space around them is sacred because it was the only way they could get their building permits. The area around the light rail isn’t perfect. The city still permitted a handful of strip shopping buildings directly along the line shortly before it opened. But it is a hell of a lot better than what it used to be, and all of this was accomplished because of a ½ cent sales tax increase. It is not irony that much of Atlanta’s activity and most valuable property sits along or near a MARTA line, and that some of the fastest redeveloping areas are along it as well. Nor is it irony that the areas of the city that are most blighted and generate the least amount of income were bisected from the rest of the city by an interstate.
TSPLOST and transit provide options. Options that a majority of young professionals yearn for. And like it or not, it is those that are 35 and under, the same group who said in a majority that they would rather have an iPhone over a car, that will be the economic future. Be it as employees or entrepreneurs. In order to attract talent you have to provide what is desired. The flexibility to live without a car, along with a strong urban environment are of the utmost importance in attracting that talent. If TSPLOST doesn’t pass and we make no moves on transit, that talent will go elsewhere. That same talent, that if it remained or relocated here that would have created jobs, revenue, and countless other attributes that we all would have benefited from. And in case any of you anti TSPLOST people haven’t noticed, we aren’t necessarily bursting at the seams with economic activity. And where you do see it, it’s not found at whatever lifestyle fake new urbanism development off of interstate I-Going Nowhere Fast. It’s found in the city, and often situated very closely to transit. There is a reason why four high rises are in the works (3 currently under construction) in Midtown while your subdivision probably hasn’t seen four homes built in the last four years. And I can guarantee you that reason isn’t the proximity to the downtown connector.
I love the graphics and the statistics of many of the TSPLOST ads I have seen. They are informative, factual, and make a good point. But if we are to get this vote passed we have to move beyond congestion. We need to show the impact it will have economically through redevelopment and jobs. We need to show examples of how it has worked in other cities and the benefits that have been reaped. We need to show how more options increases Atlanta’s fluidity and its attractiveness to America’s top talent. We must show that the extra penny we all pay is about even more than just moving people around. We need to show the significant amount of financial waste that our excessive network of roads has created. Atlanta has the transit foundation. We just need to show that TSPLOST could be the thing that puts us back up top and that we can be about more than just roads and interstates. And by doing this it limits the amount of factual opposition that anti TSPLOST voters can attempt to hurl.
A Case Against Commuter Rail, and The Sierra Club
This post started out as praise for an AJC editorial that supported TSPLOST, and mainly for that reason. But as I continued to write my keyboard and fingers continued to churn out my disagreement with the Sierra Club for not backing TSPLOST, a point made by the OpEd writer.
I previously was in full support of the Sierra Club, but I am finding it increasingly difficult. A lot of it has to do with their unwillingness to support TSPLOST. I understand their reasons for not doing so, and I think that they make some very good and valid points about what is missing from this vote. But there are also some contradictions in their argument, as well as an unwillingness to do the unthinkable. Compromise. I agree that there should be more transit in this proposal, but there is also a level of practicality that must be taken into account versus idealism.
Their points on governance, funding, and pulling the politics from transportation. Bravo! I agree. But this isn’t the time or the place for that. This is purely a vote on a tax to fund projects. The acronym that constitutes SPLOST is even tells you that. It is not about politics, or getting the state to throw in more money on a regular funding basis.
But perhaps the thing that got me most is the issue of commuter rail. Sierra Club’s position on commuter rail is such: “It Likely Kills Commuter Rail For Another Decade, taking off the table one of the most promising strategies for providing commute alternatives and promoting sustainable development.” Commute alternatives; possibly. Sustainable development; definitely not. Now I am not entirely opposed to commuter rail. It gets some cars off the road. It allows for efficient access to towns and cities on the fringe of civilization. But here is the problem. A commuter rail line does not promote any sort of sustainable development whatsoever, no matter what your definition of development may be. What it does, is allow those people in Griffin to continue living in their low density, car dependent developments. It might get a handful of them off the interstate to get to Atlanta for work, but on a day to day basis they will still drive to the grocery store, to the mall, to school, to doctor’s appointments, and all other daily activities that usually count for a substantial amount of miles driven. Putting a commuter rail line to Griffin, or any other suburb, will not instantly make them urban, or green, or really anything that could be considered a major driving force in the purpose of the Sierra Club. It will not instantly or even in the future, make them change their way of life where they are not so car dependent. Look at the commuter suburbs of New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. These cities and towns are not highly urbanized areas. They constitute one commuter rail stop and maybe a small downtown and that is it. There is no highly urbanized development surrounding most of them, and the patrons that use it often drive to it. Otherwise the residents depend on their automobiles for everything else. And that should be the primary goal of transit. Not to further support an unsustainable way of living and to reduce congestion. It should be to alter the way our oil and car dependent lives operate. Commuter rail reaffirms that their lifestyle is the right choice, while only taking them off of the roads during rush hour. Commuter rail at some point should be implemented but not until the city has achieved all of its transit needs first. Not until those that choose to live a less car dependent life are taken care of first and foremost . The order of importance of commuter rail in the long line of things that need to be done to encourage less driving are as such:
- Complete Atlanta’s transit system (or at least get the ball rolling. This includes filling the gaps and extending the lines to the edge of the city/perimeter.)
- Raise parking rates in the city of Atlanta
- Narrow major arteries in Atlanta (interstates, Peachtree Rd, Piedmont Rd., Ponce, etc.)
- Extend rail lines to nearby suburbs (Norcross, Smyrna, etc.)
- Institute congestion pricing
- Narrow the downtown connector
- Implement commuter rail lines
- Close all intown park and ride lots and redevelop the land.
I put commuter rail all the way near the bottom because if we truly want to reduce car and oil dependency as well as improve quality of life and change how we live while developing for the better, driving must be made as difficult as possible first. As long as it is easier to drive, people will do it (see Atlantic Station). But this only works if the supporting transit system is sufficient enough. Otherwise you will get economic stagnation. The point we are at now. By providing those in Atlanta access to more transit you get more residents out of their cars beyond commuting for work. If you get them out of their cars, congestion begins to ease up, which will only encourage those outside of the city to continue driving in. So you raise the rates to park so it costs them more, and narrow the major thoroughfares that most of them use so that it becomes more difficult to navigate. The rail lines extended to nearby suburbs offer those living closest to the city the opportunity to redevelop while getting them out of their cars. Now that you have all of those in the immediate vicinity of Atlanta taken care of, hit the burbs with congestion pricing. Show them the true cost of driving, while raising money for their desired commuter rail. That will help remove more cars from the roads, and encourage them to use the abundance of park and rides offered at MARTA stations. Now that traffic volume is reduced, narrow the downtown connector. Take some of that land back and reconnect west midtown to midtown. Now the traffic capacity is lower. All options to get people out of their cars, and encourage them to move closer or into the city are exhausted. Then you give them commuter rail while simultaneously closing park and rides. Think this causes problems for cities? Think again. The only thing on that list not incorporated by major cities (New York, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco) is congestion pricing. And even that can be argued that it is being done with rather high toll roads and bridges which were long ago paid for. And guess what? Businesses didn’t leave. People aren’t fleeing the city or its surrounding burbs. They didn’t flounder in economic stagnation. But they did achieve some of the highest rates of transit use in this country. Some of the smartest and most dense developments. Cleaner air quality. Increased life expectancy and quality of life.
I think the campaign to relieve congestion is a good selling point to a novice. But if all we are doing is trying to remove cars from roads, we will quickly learn that those that abandon roads for transit, particularly those in the burbs, will just as quickly be replaced by others that see more open roads available. It is another version of induced traffic. The Sierra Club is right in saying that there is a lack of long term vision, but much of that vision is in policy not part of, nor should it be, to this tax vote. Cities such as New York and Chicago will always have congestion, even with the first and second most used transit systems in the country. Congestion will always be there as long as there are roads and high population. Washington’s system is fantastic, often the bar to which we are compared to. But they still have horrendous traffic. Solving congestion is a futile exercise. We have tried it with wider roads. More routes. HOV and HOT lanes. Car pooling. And it is still there. It always will be. The goal should be to make driving more difficult while having an excellent supporting transit system. That will spark redevelopment and economic prosperity. The Beltline does this. The Clifton Road Corridor will do this. So will the often hated downtown streetcar project. Commuter rail will not. Sierra Club has the right idea, but is standing on the wrong ground to prove its point. Commuter rail is a case of “its transit so it must be good.” It does little more to change peoples’ traffic patterns or congestion as will the road projects that are on this list. So if I have to choose some road projects versus a commuter rail on this list I will take the road project simply because that it will help garner the support of some of those suburbanites to vote yes. Sure it will be a waste of money. But it will help achieve other more important goals. Those of better connecting the city.
So while I appreciate where your heart is Sierra Club, you aren’t doing any good by sticking to ideals. If this list was devoid of smart transit projects in Atlanta then I would say go for it. Vote no. But the transit projects on it are smart. Clifton Road Corridor is a terribly underserved, rapidly densifying area. The Beltline closes many holes and gaps, while serving as the intowners’ version of the perimeter. But saying no because of commuter rail (and lots of other reasons that I will have to tackle in another post because I have already horribly exceeded my self-imposed word limit) is foolish and being an idealist for the sake of being an idealist. Fundamentally it also goes against many of its beliefs.
Debbie Dooley vs. MAVEN
I can respect a difference of opinion. Take TIA for example. Maybe you don’t like it, or maybe you just don’t want to impose a tax on yourself. Fine. I get it. I don’t agree and I think that you may be a bit short sighted in your opinion, but it is your opinion, and it is up to people like myself and CCT Girl and countless others to try and change your mind. I can also respect your opinion if it is at least rooted in a defensible argument. One made up of statistics, facts, and tangible information. What I can’t stand is when someone’s difference of opinion is rooted in all out lies. Short term tactics used to stick in someone’s head so that they can plant the seed of doubt or anger. And to this effect I present to you Debbie Dooley. Every once in a while she graces my television or news article that I read. And while most things she says makes me cringe (in part of her horrible misinformation, and the other from her ear drum damaging voice) her most recent appearance on 11 Alive left me screaming at my television and exclaiming to my wife, to put it nicely, that she had to be bat shit crazy. (sorry kids)
There are certain ways to go about counteracting an opinion, legislation, or political affiliation from what you believe that are effective and intelligent. That is what MAVEN’s television ad does. It doesn’t tell you which way to vote on the TIA. Nor does it make claims that if it doesn’t pass the end of the world will happen. There are no scare tactics, hell there aren’t even opinions. They simply outline the commuting problem that Atlanta faces, using facts and statistics. They utilize a study conducted in 2010 that analyzes commute times in the Metro Atlanta region. They then begin to break down how much time that takes from your personal life as a whole. And it is a lot. So when they say “Metro Atlanta, we have a problem…” they aren’t lying. They aren’t drawing reckless conclusions or even stretching the truth. They are stating the obvious, the obvious which has been studied and concluded. As a solution to that problem they encourage you to “…learn more about one of the possible solutions…” and direct you to an informational website on the TIA. Simple enough. At no point do they say “vote yes” and at no point do they spew any information that cannot be simply verified from a study that has been cited numerous times by numerous organizations.
But not to Debbie Dooley. Apparently in her twisted mind she heard that the commercial was telling you how to vote and giving you non educational, opinion based information. Sigh. As a result she is attempting to take MAVEN to the IRS for violating the rules of a 503c (that in which they are not allowed to tell someone in which direction they can vote. They are allowed to give you information and tell you when to vote. Which is exactly what the MAVEN ad did). This is why when she creeps onto my television screen I have to change the channel, or insert a mouth guard so I don’t grind my teeth down to the gums. She doesn’t like what MAVEN had to say. So instead of making her own ad, using facts and figures that could counteract what MAVEN presented, she had to indulge herself in an attention grabbing tactic, that deep down, knows will fail. Why you ask? Let me tell you.
The easiest answer is because she is crazy. The real answer is because during her media tour she will be able to grab enough peoples’ attention that when they hear her remarks they will take them at face value. They won’t check out the commercial, and they will not listen to future opinions or information. They will take what she says and run with it as one of their reasons to vote no. It is political grandstanding at its finest. Find a topic, exploit the hell out of it regardless if you are correct, and get it to stick in someone’s head long enough to influence a vote (see the Birther movement, Obama is a Muslim movement, and Agenda 21 is a conspiracy to take away property rights movement). Then it dies away, and the media, no matter liberal or conservative leaning, will let the topic die out before a resolution is made. Mainly because like us, the media has the attention span of the dog from Up. Squirrel! So that leaves a group of people, usually those without a higher functioning brain capacity, stewing on the crap they just read or heard and assume it to be true because the topic is never resolved or revisited and they are too damn lazy to go and retrieve facts.
So we are left with this crap. Having to clean up her mess, and try to defend and counteract her claims. Her own reckless behavior spreading false information, and hypocritically enough doing it to claim someone else is spreading lies. The news, acting irresponsibly, gives the loudest person in the room attention, even though they are fully aware that her claims are false. So the next time you find yourself wondering why the hell we can’t accomplish anything in this city, state, or country, just look towards Debbie Dooley.
Want the TIA to pass? Then get your @$$ in gear!
As campaigns around the city in support of the Transportation Investment Act began to ramp up, there are plenty of volunteer activities that you can participate in to help out.
The Livable Communities Coalition is launching its campaign, Fast Track Forward, with a kickoff Wednesday, April 25th, at 5:30 at SHOUT restaurant. Please join the campaign and Doug Hooker of the Atlanta Regional Commission as they celebrate moving forward with their successful Fair Share for Transit initiative which helped to secure 52% of the project list going to transit. To prepare for the event, Fast Track Forward will host a volunteer night Monday, April 23rd at the LCC office at 10 Peachtree Place, beside of the Midtown station. Join the campaign at 6:00 for fellowship, fun, and some arts and crafts.
The Citizens for Transportation Mobility is also seeking volunteers to make voter identification calls. They are asking for that volunteers sign-up for two and a half hour shifts at their offices in the American Cancer Society Building downtown. The shifts are happening now through May 17th:
Week 1: April 16th, April 17th, April 18th, April 19th
Week 2: April 23rd, April 24th, April 25th, April 26th
Week 3: April 30th, May 1st, May 2nd, May 3rd
Week 4: May 7th, May 8th, May 9th, May 10th
Week 5: May 14th, May 15th, May 16th, May 17th
To find out more or to volunteer and RSVP for the campaign kick-off, please e-mail Ashley at Ashley@cfpt.org.
False Advertising and Generational Differences
I am a little late coming to the party for this article in The Atlantic but I have been crazy busy. I thought this article jived really well with a couple of conversations I have had; one with my wife on the terrible advertising campaigns for cars, the other with a co-worker of mine that is a generation prior to me and the different ways we view home and automobile ownership. The long and short of it is that a good portion of us under 35 don’t really care about cars. Maybe it was the financial meltdown that made us all rethink how we spend our money, and find it more desirable to allocate our funds to experiences and objects that provide more entertainment than a white picket fence in Tuscany Hills subdivision or an automobile that further resembles our dwellings. Or maybe we were all just tired of watching people get diabetes, live bored suburban childhoods, or waste precious hours staring at someone’s stupid vanity plate while stuck in traffic. Hence, the car companies are desperately trying to lure us in with ads like this one, this one, or this one. All three have quickly rocketed to the top of my “I hate this damn commercial” list. Maybe it’s the song in the first two (attempting to evoke emotions that I don’t think anyone has ever gotten from a low-end Chevy) or maybe it’s just the unrealistic portrayal of the adventures you can have in a car. Regardless, they tend to leave out the little bits of information that can begin to chip away at the luster of car ownership.
The new Chevy commercials show the youth of America kick flipping and bungee jumping their way to an extreme and adventure filled lifestyle with their cars. Commercials that are probably more in tune to a Nissan X-Terra sport edition, Mountain Dew, and Red Bull all rolled into one. Partaking in a cultural parade (that they seem to have ignorantly driven into, whose participants are all walking), or driving in a muddy field in the country. Experiences that you can only get from driving a red Chevy starter car, whose actual price will skyrocket the moment you tell them you want something besides an AM radio in it. And that is the part that irks me the most about those ads. It provides this fall sense of ideals that somehow you will experience the world in a whole new way the moment you get behind the wheel, or that like the song implies you will somehow change the world or even set fire to it. But it doesn’t happen, and what I am about to say is not a means for me to brag about experiences, but more a personal statement that the moment I detached myself from a car, my life drastically improved as did the experiences that help shape it.
It is no secret that upon moving to Atlanta I had dumped driving. It was an easy break up and she was more of a gold digger than anything. Always reaching into my pocket wanting money to run smoother, more gas, needing a bath, having to pay recurring fees to stay legal. When my Honda and I broke up I found that my financial situation improved greatly, and I quickly found better ways to allocate that money. First my wife thought it would be nice and grown up of us if we got matching furniture, which was nice, but probably won’t lure anyone between the ages of say 22-35 from behind the wheel of their car. It’s a nice bedroom set don’t get me wrong. But soon after we found ourselves spending our anniversary and my birthday in New York City, attending Game 7 of the World Series, having a once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of the greatest musicians of our time, and a whole host of other things. And only 1 required the assistance of a car (once we arrived it stayed parked for the few days we were there) and all were made possible because I didn’t have an automobile draining my funds. When visiting family and friends they like to talk about what they want to fix up on their home, what kind of new car they are considering, or complaining about their current car. When we visit them, we all saddle up into their SUV and “head into town” as if we had to make a run to the general store, for entertainment. The battle that ensues over who will DD usually sucks the life right out of the evening by the end of it. When they come here we step outside our door and let MARTA whisk us away to dinner, Music Midtown, or any other event. Maybe I have just become a snob, or maybe I just don’t care. But I find it much more enjoyable to be able to talk with friends about trips we have all taken, or incredible moments made from amazing experiences. Moments, actions, and events that we will never forget. I barely remember the color of the inside of my first car, unlike these dumb ads, but I will never forget the pandemonium that broke out after watching the final game of one of the greatest baseball playoff runs in sports history. I may not have gotten to drive a car through fields of mud (which I highly doubt that car could actually do) but I sure as hell will remember seeing the excitement my wife had when she got to see Stevie Wonder jam out to some of her most favorite songs in the world. And all of these things were possible (and yes I have even gone back and done the math) solely on the fact that I didn’t dump whatever average amount of money per month into a car that spends 99% of its life in a parking space.
And that is the dividing line between our generation (if you fall in that group) and their generation, as discussed with the co-worker of mine. I wouldn’t go as far as saying we are less materialistic, I think we just value other things in life over cars. And it doesn’t even boil down to smartphones and video games versus an automobile, as the Toyota ad executive insisted. It’s simply based on a better quality of life. A life that is not defined by what I drive, or how many extra rooms my house has that I don’t want to furnish nor clean. I do not want my life to be dictated by yard work, for an outdoor space that most don’t use and only see when they pull into their garage (since most living rooms are now located on the backsides of suburban homes). And I don’t want my free time to be consumed by sitting in Jiffy Lube or the Honda maintenance facility on the weekends. I want to look at photos and recall memories of events that allow me to say that that was the greatest (fill in the blank) I have ever done/gone to/experienced/seen. For most logical people of our generation, success is not measured by leather seats, built-in navigation systems, or whatever new clever name that they want to give to a sun roof.
I haven’t been able to go completely car free. As ATL Urbanist described on his website at one point, I am more car light. We still have my wife’s car, and we still have to use it for some basic necessities. But that is more of a consequence of the city we live in, and the changes it still needs to go through so that we can completely divorce ourselves of an automobile. Regardless, the ability to drop from two cars to one has been almost life altering. So keep on trying Chevy, Toyota, and Subaru. But in my opinion, I could make a far more entertaining, convincing, and realistic commercial off of the life experiences I can have without one of their automobiles than their false picture of life with one.
If you have a “my first transit experience” (instead of Subaru’s my first car commercial) share it. Or if you had better life experiences post car ownership or just without using one, please share that as well. Maybe we can put together our own commercial (with a much better song) that is successful in targeting this generation of people.
Making Transit Sexy
Last week I promised a series of posts on selling transit. First, let’s talk about the easy things, like reaching out to current riders and engaging with them. People love to talk about transit, and generally, they talk when things go wrong. I’m sitting on Amtrak currently, nearly five hours behind my scheduled arrival in DC because we hit a truck on the tracks. I’ve been tweeting about it for the last fifteen hours. And Facebook. And I’ll blog about it soon. Point is, riders are talking about the service whether the agency is there to hear them or not, so they might as well be there and start a conversation back.
Sure, MARTA has a Twitter account, like many other systems, but all they ever talk about is single tracking. In fact, it was so dry, I took their feed off of our main page. Other systems, like St. Louis, interact with riders, asking questions while giving out pertinent info. Some systems have gone out on full fledged social media campaigns, but weren’t consistent and were razed by riders. WMATA, I’m looking at you. Fact is, riders complain because they want people to commiserate with them, and nothing is more gratifying than having the system itself respond back and answer questions or apologize.
It’s as simple as searching the #MARTA hash tag, or your transit agency of choice, and seeing what people are saying. I do this regularly, which gives me the opportunity to respond as a transit advocate since MARTA is silent. I’m able to educate people of issues like funding, safety, even how to use the system, while gaining new followers and Klout and all that jazz, in one simple blow. And riders thank me, all the time. It’s the simplest, cheapest, win-win outreach strategy ever.
To keep people talking, and to encourage them to talk positively, it’s also important to engage them, respond when they have funny stories, or prompt them. I gave a talk recently at Transportation Camp about ways of engaging folks on Twitter with things like transit haikus and pick-up lines. And as silly as they seem, these sorts of things took off and went viral, with even US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joining in wih his own haiku. In a down economy, these are one of the best, free ways, of reaching out and creating good will among riders. And happy riders, who are proud of their system, will encourage their friends to ride.
For giggles, below are some of my favorite transit pickup lines. Enjoy!
<3 There's priority seating for you in my lap.
<3 Just call me MARTA and ride me until you get off.
<3 I mind the gap between us.
<3 Single Occupancy Vehicles do it alone.
<3 Our smart growth plan just got fast tracked, I'm your TIGER.
<3 Why don't you pull your train into my station?
<3 Is this a hot car or is it just you?
<3 Why don't you come back to my Gallery Place and I'll show you my Foggy Bottom.
<3 Baby you keep my third rail hot and electrified.
<3 If you tap on with me, I'll make sure we tap off together.
<3 I can tell you this contactless system is not smart. Let's punch a farecard.
<3 Why don't you open your gates to me?
<3 Let's not single track any longer, I'll be at the peak of my peak.
<3 I only want to lay track with you.
Snakes, Sharks, and all the things that make transit awesome
Last week I had the privilege of judging a policy competition at UGA in which the prompt was to increase MARTA revenues and ridership. Teams from universities across the state came to make presentations and provide a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to the panel of judges. I’m not going to lie, I had two weeks to come up with everything I expected to hear, and everything I would immediately fail. Luckily, no one proposed my automatic fail of blanket fare reductions. That would have made for a very nasty Q & A session.
However, the prevalent theme was distance-based fare proposals, and not a single team addssed bus ridership. I guess I can’t fault them, they’re Public Policy students, not people who obsess over transit all day, every day, but where’s the ingenuity?
One team did have amazingly great, out-of-the-box ideas.
They were from Korea.
The issue is that we’re not thinking out of the box enough. There is this culture in American transit, particularly at MARTA, that we can’t spend money. Times are tough and heaven forbid money gets spent on something that’s not got four wheels and running on pavement.
So what would my proposal be?
First up: don’t be afraid to invest a little bit of money. Where to start? Technology. Provide all the up-to-date bus & train real-time data. If people know when a train on a 20 minute headway is arriving, they’ll be less frustrated and more inclined to take that train. Waiting in stations makes for unhappy customers.
Speaking of customers, they need encouragement. At least a couple of times a week I see tweets from people complaining about not knowing how to ride a bus, or are scared. Offering Ride Clinics would generate buzz around the bus service and encourage people to ride. It would make riding a bus more exciting.
Know what else makes buses more exciting? Bus wraps. You make think I’m crazy, but picture walking down Peachtree Street and seeing this bad boy coming rolling down the street:
Or better yet, this guy:
These guys get attention. These guys cause excitement. And there would even be revenue from the Atlanta Zoo and Georgia Aquarium. I’m just guessing, but every little boy in town will make their parents take them for a ride on that bus. Factor in tourists, and I’m betting that will mean, roughly, an additional million or so boardings a week (totally based on nothing, I’ll admit it). We could even make the downtown streetcar to Centennial Park a shark. Take the shark to see sharks! I love gimics.
What it really boils down to is the need for an educational campaign. People in Atlanta think no one rides MARTA, that it doesn’t go anywhere, and that it’s basically worthless. So in need for inspiration and direction, expect to see a series of posts on the case for MARTA and transit in general. Someone’s gotta do it.
Protect Your Children!!! Gwinnett County Raises Fares
That would have been the headline, had the AJC actually reported on the story and treated Gwinnett County how they do MARTA. But instead Gwinnett County raised its fares to $2.50 each way (for buses only mind you) and I still haven’t found an article proclaiming such. They didn’t miss a beat when MARTA raised its fare to $2.50, proclaiming “MARTA fares jump to $2.50, among highest in the nation.” But then again they buried the article when Cobb County raised its fares last year so I guess I should lower my expectations even more than they already are. Being that MARTA is “amongst highest in the nation” (and by that we mean right on par with nearly every other system in the country), does this mean that Cobb and Gwinnett County Transits’ fare increases make them even worse since they don’t offer nearly the same level of service? Probably not, the AJC and Channel 2 didn’t beat them up enough; it is probably just another “sign of the economic times.” Those poor poor suburbs just can’t catch a break can they.
The Death of the TIA OR Stupid Politicians are More Concerned with Being Re-elected to Do What’s Right
Sorry that it’s been a while, life was being all life and sh*t. I’ve had hundreds of blog posts bouncing around in my head, but frankly, I like sleep. But today I am just too ticked off to not write this post while sitting at a reception at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting.
Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee and Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews joined forces today with Reps Chip and Lindsey to hold a press conference at the Gold Dome to ask that the money for the fixed guideway line to Cobb be moved to the HOT Lane project up I75/575. You read that right. They want to scratch the potential light rail project to use tax money to build a toll road. This will effectively force the transit advocates and the fiscally conversvatives and the people who don’t like paying twice for roads to join up with the anti-tax folks to vote against the TIA, just so they can save their careers.
The article has been buried in the AJC, either because no one cares or because no one thinks it will happen, given that members of the state legislature have stated their reluctance to open the reopen the bill, which would be required to make the change happen. You can read the here.
So keep an eye out for developments or responses, if there are any. And feel free to contact your reps and tell them that this is some dumb, half-brained idea.
You can read more about this on the AJC, and you can look for more
TOD’s, Urbanism and a New New Urbanism
The other day I sat down with CCT Girl and a college student to discuss his thesis topic of Transit Oriented Development. We were discussing the good and the bad examples of TOD’s and New Urbanism. I didn’t want to dash the student’s enthusiasm by exclaiming how nearly all TOD and New Urbanism work was garbage, so I bit my tongue and mustered up a few examples that were at least decent, and one or two that were exceptional. All the while, in the back of my head, and occasionally verbally, I could only think and speak of how terribly off track these types of projects have gone. In the spirit of someone I met a few months back during a tour of proposed transit projects for TSPLOST, (edited for profanity and paraphrased): “we have become completely comfortable with accepting a cup of urine to drink, simply because it is not a bowl of feces to eat.” I think that can safely apply to nearly all examples of TOD and New Urbanism. Sorry Andres Duany, but your brainchild was neither original nor safe from developer molestation. The ideas existed long before and were executed much more successfully when they were not treated as compartmentalized profit machines for developers.
Sure the spirit of these projects is great with good intentions, attempting to reduce dependency on automobiles, live more compactly, and to integrate uses and incomes with ease. But that hasn’t happened, except in very few exceptions. Instead these projects have served to act as nothing more than open air shopping malls or variations of the suburbs. The approach is heavy handed and formulaic, and usually clone stamped from one location to another with the only differences being styles of crappy architecture and a Macy’s instead of a Belk’s. Locally, Atlantic Station is symbolic of the developer approach, with complete disregard to the urban fabric of the city. Regionally and nationally projects in Charlotte, Wilmington, Raleigh, Orlando, Nashville, and most of Texas miss the mark on what New Urbanism and Transit Oriented Development are suppose to be. In these attempts, the single goal is to recreate a false urban feeling while not solving any of the true urban issues that plague cities and current development.
So how do they fail?
Reducing dependency on the automobile: In nearly all TOD’s and New Urbanism projects, this attempt is failed miserably. This is mainly due to the fact that it is so much easier to drive than to take any form of public transportation or even walking. And if one lives in any of the developments, one of their daily needs is missing, be it affordable housing, daily services (groceries, dry cleaner, civic functions), or feasible employment not centered on retail. Lindbergh Station alone offers several parking decks, as does Atlantic Station. In order to encourage the true intention of walking and transit accessibility, driving must be made more difficult, by removing free parking and the glut of parking decks that occupy so much land. You can’t call yourself a TOD or anything with the word Urbanism in it if the largest percentage of your development is parking decks, roads, and lots. Until then, patrons will continue to drive to these developments, as it is easier and usually more accommodating.
Living more compactly: In almost all cases of TOD and New Urbanism the housing is more compact, which is great. Townhouses, apartments, condos, live-work units, homes on smaller lots and closer to the street make for a much improved density and quality of life then the suburban alternative. But the amount of parking that goes into these projects reduces the overall number of residents that could be living in the development, often to the detriment of the businesses that choose to occupy it. Lindbergh Center Station and Atlantic Station are examples of that. This is why we consistently see businesses closing and high turnover. The developments are not dependent on those that live or even work there because there are not enough of them. Instead they become dependent on destination visitors. And anyone who is familiar with the economics of a shopping mall can tell you that that is only sustainable for a short period of time. Something new and flashy always opens up in another part of town, and those drivers are willing to traverse a city to go to something new.
Integrated incomes and usages: This is never achieved. Never. Real estate prices and speculation force out middle-income buyers while rentals are priced too far above anyone below middle to upper middle class. This always results in the same homogenous group of people living in the same homogenous development, living in the same homogenous buildings in nearly every development across the country. I am not advocating TOD’s or New Urbanism to service the slums, but one can look at the beginnings of the new Cabrini Green in Chicago and show that mixed incomes, even as broad of a spectrum as Cabrini Green, can be successful when given appropriate design, established rules, incorporated into city public housing works, and executed less heavy handedly. Cabrini Green’s building and development has taken place in phases. Rather than one giant land clearance there has been a slow integration of mixed incomes, ethnicities, and cultures, wielding what has become a successful project despite the fact that 50% of its residents are on some form of discounted or subsidized living. The remaining residential and retail spaces go for a premium and those in affordable housing are given an opportunity to reside outside the squalor they are used to and reside in areas that provide hope and opportunity for upward mobility. We are a product of our environment.
Urban Connection: The lack of connection to the urban fabric can be the main attributing factor to nearly all of the deficiencies found in TOD’s and New Urbanism. Much like a shopping mall most of these projects are islands. Atlantic Station is disconnected from Midtown and Downtown. I applaud the effort to redevelop a brownfield site, but when most of your patrons drive, it isn’t much of an environmental improvement. Sure it is only .7 miles from the nearest train station, and there is a free shuttle but most aren’t willing to walk it. I know I am, but the walk is still not enjoyable, with a large portion (almost all of it) not pedestrian friendly. It is a walk along an exposed bridge over an interstate, or alongside a busy 4-5 lane street. Put Atlantic Station in Midtown, Downtown, or closer to a rail station and watch how important and busy of a well-connected place AND node it becomes. Lindbergh Station is fortunate enough to have a transit stop. But its internal development focus, turns its back on the surrounding community. Prime parcels to connect the streetscape and neighborhood were given to two chain restaurants found at any other suburban shopping complex. The development is bordered by an unfriendly pedestrian street where one can’t even get to the center of the street before the walk signal starts flashing for you to hurry up. Many of Lindbergh’s problems arise from its lack of surrounding support, but there were design solutions that could have been executed to help mitigate that. Branch out from Atlanta and it’s even worse. Highly touted and celebrated Birkdale Village in Charlotte is located off of an interstate exit, miles from an actual city center, detracting from the entire point of this type of development. It is an attempt to recreate an urban place, while attempting to avoid solving real urban problems such as density, crime, poverty, and income disparity. But just like a shopping mall, eventual deterioration sets in. Unwanted patrons take control. The development itself is chopped up and sold to third parties who have little care in the quality or appearance. Urban dilemmas cannot be avoided or ignored. They have to be solved, and how we design and plan our cities and transportation is essential to the solutions.
I know, I know. That seems like a lot of whining and doom and gloom regarding the current state of TOD and New Urbanism. But alas! There is hope. And hope does not have to come in the form of replicated 1960’s urban renewal that focuses on large-scale heavy-handed demolition and development. It can come in small-scale investment. Projects that would need little tax money contribution (Tea Partiers should love that) and offer an opportunity to create unique environments that are not filled with the same generic chain retail that we have come to expect. Downtown Decatur may not have been established as a TOD, but it has grown up into one and it didn’t require the obliteration of the existing site. It offers a unique environment, rife with local retailers and shops, while still being friendly enough to let Starbucks have a seat at the table and diverse enough that it isn’t Phipps. It doesn’t require generic apartments, and while some condos can be expensive in the area, there is still room for affordability. It did not require massive land clearance, as buildings were rehabbed and reused, and it even incorporates civic and daily need functions like churches, banks, and government buildings. It is well-integrated to the surrounding neighborhoods, and isn’t an island along an interstate. Downtown Decatur is representative of some of the light rail suburbs of Boston, rather than Seaside, Florida. When the streetcar project is complete, there is a good chance that the type of change Downtown Decatur experienced, will happen along the streetcar and surrounding neighborhoods. Auburn may once again thrive. Poplar Street, one of Atlanta’s most beautiful and underrated streets may be revived into a bustling area. These areas have character and unique elements that will not have to require massive land clearance or a colorful site plan to compensate for what looked great in Excel but fails in the true experience.
There are new projects that offer hope as well. Rockville, Maryand’s town center comes to mind. Accessible by Metro with a scale and quality of buildings that doesn’t have a recreated atmosphere of a Las Vegas casino. While some of the roads are a bit too large, it is still within walking distance to civic functions such as judicial buildings and post offices. A movie theater doesn’t act as a centerpiece; (though there is an absolutely atrocious one across the street) rather a corner anchor tenant is the local public library. Much of the parking is below ground. The retail is made up of a balanced mix of local establishments, as well as chains offering a certain level of familiarity, but still incorporating local charm. The residential portion could use improvement, but the scale of the development is smaller than most.
This is a call to the Crosland’s, Carter’s, and Jacoby’s of the country to think smarter and smaller. You can still be profitable by executing smaller scale projects that are responsible, iconic, and beneficial to a region and a city as a whole. You can still offer places to live, work, play, and shop while creating an environment that is unique to a region, rather than one that was derived from the same project you may have executed in Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, and Raleigh.
That's MARTA!
CCTgirl
theaccidentalcommuter
UrbanCommuter
