Hey Atlanta, how about mass transit now, eh?

Ramblings Post #332
Atlanta is a car city. We have a mass transit system that people have fought tooth and nail against since its inception and now, well, here we are. It's gonna be a long hot summer. And the city is for the most part gonna be divided in half. The days of the floating party, the caravan of fun and the city wide club hopping might just be on hold for a minute. I'm not even going to talk about how the Metro Area Rail and Transportation Authority is going to have to bring it, and bring it hard. Since after all, ....nobody saw this coming.  *snicker*

Thursday evening, a bridge section of I-85, a major artery for the city of Atlanta, collapsed after the structure gave way during what could only be properly described as a conflagration. A big, roaring flame. Apparently just plain old fire can melt steel beams, who knew? Even worse it feel over a section right by another major artery, Piedmont Road. This will only compound the problem, as I'll explain later. This whole process will take months, at minimum four or five, to repair and should shut down not one but two major thoroughfares that connect the Northern suburbs and the rest of Atlanta. We might not be a car city much longer. 

This is the year Marta finally gets properly funded folks! Marta card sales are already up 80% and it's only the first day! Mark your calendar because if a catastrophe that will split the metro region in half won't do it, nothing will. Nothing.

The city of Atlanta is funny. On a map it looks roughly like the Vitruvian Man, with two major highways meeting, running together through the bulk of the city and then splitting again just above the airport. But in reality, only the northern part of the city (above I-20) means anything, as it is the focus of pretty much all development. Coincidentally, most of the black people live below I-20. Not that the two are connected, I'm just saying. A close look at the map however reveals that the city is not exactly a grid, but more a collection of paved cattle trails and footpaths that seemed like a good idea in 1820. As such, the metro area is really more a collection of roads that only incidentally connect to one another in some places, and not at all in others. This quirk of design is why the single collapsing highway section is such a problem.

Photo by Redditor - nico6426

I-85 where it runs through Atlanta is regularly used by roughly...um, EVERYBODY IN THE METRO AREA. It connects Midtown (with over 35 construction projects underway or announced) with Buckhead - the center of all things trendy in the New South. When it gets the middle of the city and meets 75 we call it the Downtown Connector.  So, kinda important. The other two main roads in the city are Peachtree Road...no, not that Peachtree, the other one, no the other other one, the one in the middle, sheesh, and Piedmont Road on the East side of town. Strangely, all three of these intersect in Buckhead. There is no counterpart on the west side of Atlanta, because there really isn't. Because that's why. And now that I-85 has fallen onto Piedmont, there is only Peachtree Road a four lane red-light riddled strip that remains.

Although some will claim it will not be that bad, because although the section of I-85 that fell is actually just north of Piedmont Road, the truth is the fire damage is extensive. Although only the one section fell, the flames touched everything around it, and even money says several other sections of the road surface above and below the area will have to be collapsed and rebuilt just to be on the safe side. More than likely one of the sections directly over Piedmont Road. And even if they don't have to bring that section down on purpose as a safety concern, the fastest way rebuild the section that did fall would involve...blocking Piedmont Road. 

Where I work, going forward referred to as the Ranch, the parking deck was half empty the day after and I had my pick of just off prime spots. The spot where I grab lunch was sparse as well. Because we had no off highway traffic a whole section of my home commute normally a pain was light and easy. But, I live INTOWN, and the highway that goes all the way around the perimeter of the city was bumper to bumper for nearly half its circumference, backing up the designated alternate routes for hours. And that's with the county in a State of Emergency and half the city told to work from home or just take the day off. I shudder to think of what's going to happen on Monday when the flood gates open. I may go to work way early. Or I mean, leave for work. When I make it is anyone's guess. 

It's gonna be a strange summer in Atlanta.

Barkeep, let me get a cold beer, some of that hot fish and some white bread.

What? You thought I was gonna make a bar-b-que joke? For shame....

I-285

Personal Rehab Post #2
More of the mental diatribes that were running through my head prior to my personal debacle. I'm going to just keep it moving, another step and then another. I don't expect to make it anytime soon, but all I can do it close my eyes and go.

I've driven in a number of cities and rural backwaters. New York on the Skyway at 3am. Doing 120 just to keep up on the JFK in Chicago. That lonely stretch of I-10 between Jville and Tallahassee where I took my hands off the wheel for ten minutes doing 85. But I've never driven anything for pure evil and frustration like Atlanta's 285.

I once heard someone remark that they'd driven the world over, London, Hong Kong, South America, through minefields in Iraq, through parts of Africa where regulations are more suggestions than things you can break but they'd never seen anything like the perimeter that circles this jewel of the south. We'll not even get into Spaghetti Junction.


Most highways slow down if there is an accident.
Traffic on 285 can slow down because somebody is changing a tire on the side of the road. On the opposite side of the divider.

Most highways slow at rush hour.
Traffic on 285 can slow to a creep because it's Tuesday. Anytime Tuesday.

Most highways will encounter a reason for time to time - volume, sporting events, etc - that can cause delays.
Traffic on 285 will occasionally come to halt...for no damn reason at all.

Up until a few months ago, I was lucky enough to always be going in the opposite direction of traffic both coming and going to work. Unlike most people, I lived INSIDE the perimeter and worked OUTSIDE the perimeter. I used to joke I needed a passport to get to work. I never understood the need for a cell phone conversation in the car..or why a headset was important.

Then I moved.

Now as soon as I get on now the next exit is right there. Then there is a long long long ass gap between exits and if there are issues, they usually don't start until right after you pass that first one. Like maybe by 100 yards. And since the road curves right there as well, you can't really tell from the on-ramp and don't see the red tail lights 'til about 5 seconds too late. I get on, traffic is moving nicely and then slowly we grind to a halt. And creep a little bit and slow then creep then slow then creep. I'm only listening to classical and jazz right now (long story) and sitting there, looking at the clock wondering what the hell is going on is so frustrating.

Then, since my ride is something like 10-15 miles, I should be able to see what the issue is. Only once have I ever seen an actual accident that closed lanes. Sometimes traffic will get real real slow, then it picks back up again. No accident, nobody pulled over, not even a naked big booty chick walking down the side of the highway. Nothing! I'd really like to get some monitors and study the cyclical nature the damn system myself. Not that I'm in a rush to get to job and try not to commit interoffice papercide. But sometimes you're just like...WHAT IS GOING ON?

Is it so wrong that I want to know?

Since I like to imagine that I'd like to follow up that admittedly general inquiry with a small missile launcher and a backseat full of Molotov cocktails, and get someone's attention. But since traffic stops because the wind changes direction, a real incident might shut the city down for weeks. As it is now, I'm thinking of upgrading to the bluetooth headset. Please forgive me.

Now the city wants to add these little lights to on-ramps to ease traffic in slowly, thus creating backups on the ramps. Which ain't gonna help 285 any. The concept that I'll be mad when I get there hasn't struck anyone. yet.

Barkeep ...I'm driving. Make it a Whiskey Sour.

It begins again

So again with the finding of a house I can deal with. I've found a charming little three bedroom two bath that will be turned into an even more charming two bedroom two bath. The price is right, the renovations are coming in well below the limit and dammit the old guy across the street has lived there 47 years so the neighborhood is even livable. In town no less.

After Sporty talked me out of reporting folks for Mortage Fraud and holding properties and dozen other illegal activities (the state of Georgia needs to be ashamed), it seems that things might finally be coming together.

The house isn't big, but it's got good bones. Okay, I've been reading a lot of Renovation and Design Magazines, so I've adopted a few terms. I'm going to gut most of the first floor, put in new floors, new kitchen, new drywall with mouldings, and if they're are a few pennies left over maybe a little bathroom reno and nice deck off the back.

In a shamelss plug I hope will earn me a free gift card, Ikea is about to be my new home away from home. They got everything!

I've been looking a searching for a minute and I have to feel it when I walk in. I have to be able to look at a spot, and envision the possibilities, to see the future just looking at it. The last one I was already placing furniture and picking paint. With this one I can see me whipping up something while a hottie sits and the new kitchen counter waiting for me to the start cooking with her.

At this point all the numbers line up, I just need the inspecitons and estimates to line up. Then it's on.

Bartender, a bit of the Cutty Sark.

House Hunting

The new year brings new things, and this year after renting for eight years I've decided to put down some damn roots and buy a house.

Unlike a number of my counterparts, I've decided to stay inside 285. ITP baby!

There is something about moving outside the perimeter of Atlanta that I-1285 represents that changes a person. It makes them more homebound, by the simple act of home assimilation and traffic. People get home after work, take their shoes off and their done, it doesn’t matter how hot the party is or how free the drinks are, that drive home is a killer at midnight. As one of my coworkers put it: “there are too many jurisdictions between here and my house”.

I’ve taken my brother with me and although he’s actually accomplished very little in the long run, he is my resident skeptic. When he finally goes along with what I’m thinking, then I know I’ve done enough homework. I had to talk him into the area of town I’m looking in, and then into why. He’s bought in so far, but he lives in Alpharetta, so his thinking is a bit “warped”.

So anyway, today I’m looking at this house, just riding through hitting a lot of places. By the way if you’re a developer, you may want to move the notification that the house has been “Winterized” to inside the front door. So we stop by this house, pair of houses really, side by side mirror images of each other. Outside looks nice, peer through the window it looks good, I call my agent to check it and dammit, it’s under contract. Now I’d checked my listing less than 24 hours ago and this one was cool, so I’m like whatever. So after we look around a bit more, I find say what the hell and call my agent for the other house. That’s one’s under contract too! Now I’m pissed. Two times and two misses in 15 minutes.

Do these people not update? Everybody in Atlanta is trying to sell somebody something, so keep it moving folks... geez. Looked at this other spot up the street, call and the agent won't give my agent permission to go in. And I wonder for serious, for serious, just how much they want to sell these homes.

Finally called it quits for the day after about 4 hours, cause my brother who is out of shape had to go home and get a nap and the game was coming on.

Barkeep - two shots of Old Grandad. And he’s paying.