Wednesday, June 23, 2010

help me help you, MARTA

She’s like a cold, hard bitch.



WHY Atlanta public transit is failing:



-people are afraid to MARTA. disconnect of community due to large spread out lay out of the city. influx of vehicles in the city has created a high 'convenience' factor and void in social community interaction.



-people do not trust MARTA. buses and trains are inconsistent. unsure of destination points (esp. for someone unfamiliar with the city). cut off times are confusing and unnecessary.



-people have no need for MARTA. citizens are aware of system shortcomings and chosen to bypass it all together. city itself is more accommodating to vehicle use.



**problem solvers**—promote easier access to destinations. maps and schedules at every bus and train stop. offer special fares for events/ weekend rates. run trains 24 hours. focus on the economic value of public transit over vehicle. get more press.



ART! on MARTA



-makes people comfortable in their space



-generates interest in using facility during site specific event



-stimulates excitment about and within community



-rise in economy from increase of tourists



i’m just saying tho..


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

This town needs an enema...and less cars.

In the hopes that Atlanta will very soon get a clue.

This is a truthing of the how this city is fucking up.


There is so much evidence that the city of Atlanta values its vehicles over it's actual residents. Historic buildings and neighborhood have been and continue to be torn down to make way for new, wider roads. The massive expansion of I-75 and I-85 has not succeeded in reliving the constant gnarling traffic mess all day everyday. Neighborhood streets are used, and often encouraged to be used, as speedways.
I have said it so many times in so many ways, the mentality of the people in Atlanta consists of getting from point A to point B in a little time as possible with little or no engagement in the community they live and/or pass through.
This is why Atlanta is terrible in so many ways. What is the point in living and thriving in a community if you spend a majority of the time enclosed in something instead of actually being out in it? How can you know what is going on block to block in a place you know as home when you don't even have time to look around it. It just whizzes by in a flash and then you are parked and inside point B destination.

 Atlanta is not sustainable. There is no way we can continue to live in a car based society. The hypocrisy of people who are angry and shake their fingers in disgust at BP oil is amazing. You have no place to call for blood when yours is warmed by the gas they provide. When your accusing fingers grip the steering wheel of your vehicle. Mistakes happen. People and companies are fucked up. But they wouldn't have been down there if we didn't beg and scream and demand their product like the selfish children we are.

 In the photos below represent the whole shebang.
 The city is doing construction work on a strip of road and sets up signs to let drivers know. They block the entire SIDEWALK to let CARS know about what is happening on the ROAD. I pull the sign off the sidewalk and onto the street where it belongs, not in traffic, very much on the curb where it is out of the way for both parties. The construction workers put it back on the sidewalk. When I ask them about it, they tell me it is city law that they cannot put signs on the road, they must be on the sidewalk. They are under the impression that if there is a huge orange sign on the side of the road, cars may be inclined to run into it. If someone driving a car cannot see and avoid a huge orange sign on the side of a street they should not be driving at all. They seem confused when I ask them how someone in a wheelchair is suppose to get around it. And for that matter why do I have to crawl through it or walk in traffic just to get some coffee?


This is troublesome for a few reasons.
 First, someone in a wheelchair or any other disability would not be able to pass by. And where should they go instead? The street? How can they do that when there is no easy slant in the curb to even get on the road? In the first photo, the woman on the right side is having to go into the street to walk by the sign. That is typical of Atlanta to put pedestrians in danger for the sake of saving a theoretical car-into-sign mishap.
Second, it shows the obvious favoritism of cars over people. The city of Atlanta is proving that it cares not for the people who use these sidewalks, but only for vehicles that may or may not be able to move out of the way of a huge orange sign. In the other photo the white SUV that pulled up to the curb still hit the side of the sign so their theory is totally wrong. And people in Atlanta are terrible drivers.
Third, it continues to encourage the unsustainable car based lifestyle Atlantians are leading. Sidewalks are obstacle courses and the city bends and shakes for the unnecessary needs of vehicles. There was a place for that sign all over that block where it would have been out of the way for everyone.
Fourth, it proves over and over again the unawareness of the people of Atlanta to realize and understand how desperately important it is that we get off our vehicles. Like a bad drug, it is a crutch. It is hurting the city. The air sucks, city streets are boring and ugly because there is no cares, and people in Atlanta are severely cut off from each other in a way that is disheartening and alienating.It is such a joke to people here now, but it is actually a very sad reality we find ourselves in here.


In addition, the newly placed parking meters make is even more of a winding walk since the sidewalks are so small and they set them back so far.





I got rid of my car three years ago and tried to make it on a scooter. But in the reality of it I do not, I cannot live as a slave to fuel. There is nothing wrong with having a vehicle for the out of town adventures or moving things for which they are needed. But to drive all day to different spots that are in a 10 mile radius from each other is a waste. I feel shamed in the fact that I do take rides and need vehicles sometimes, but it is because of the city structure I have found myself in.
desperate plea for anyone listening who actually cares to help Atlanta before it is to late and the city is totally unsustainable. I believe that in five years, personal vehicles will have no place in this world. They will be used in need and not convenience, which is the main purpose of them now. It is bad news.We need to remember how to use our feet again and feel the city in which we want to be a part of all around us, not just seeing it as it flies by.

The people of Atlanta need to FLUSH OUT the people who are in power there now and start over in a more sustainable, aware, thoughtful, human, and caring state of mind. There is no more room for greed and gross denial in this time.

I am closing it out with a brilliant TED talk in which the idea of how to live longer is discussed and to no surprise has a strong emphasis on walking and existing in your chosen community. It's a good one. I hope we can all get into it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYxZluIilLo