Atlanta Gridlock

There are lots of reasons for Atlanta gridlock.  First, the main highway is I-285 and it goes in a circle, forcing all traffic to use it.  A circle is ok for a Bypass and maybe it was built to be a Bypass, but it has now been engulfed by local traffic. Furthermore, Georgia has refused to add lanes to I-285 as our metro population grew from 3 million to 5 million.

 

There are several solutions to this gridlock.  One is don’t move anywhere near I-285 where there is already gridlock. The solution to pollution is dilution.  Embrace suburban sprawl and continue to put subdivisions and office and industrial parks in the suburbs.  Folks who work on Windward Parkway and live nearby rarely ever need to use I-285. Global warming is a hoax, there is plenty of oil, a Prius still gets 50mpg and land is cheaper in the exurbs.

 

Public Transit not the answer

 

Claims that public transit expansion can have any effect on Atlanta road gridlock are bogus.  Public transit ridership is down from the lows reported in 2012.  Trains and buses only go where they go and most of MARTAs destinations are not high volume. Transit village fans will want to pack apartments around MARTA stations to increase ridership, but the only folks who even like the idea are recent arrivals from other countries and urban living fans. Atlanta is the least dense city of its size on the planet. Public transit requires high density. Creating high density pockets around I-285 is resulting in pockets of gridlock.

 

North I-285

 

North I-285 needs more lanes to relieve the gridlock at PCID and handle normal volume.  The divergent diamond did not help. Ashford Dunwoody Road connecting to I-285 is a parking lot.  It takes 30 to 45 minutes to go past PCID to get to I-285.  

The ramp redo at the intersection of I-285 and G-400 is underway. The work being done to relieve the back-up on the G-400 exit ramps might help. We will see. 

 

West I-285

 

The Cobb stadium will create even more gridlock at the already packed I-285 and I-75 and G-41. 

 

Atlanta Bypass

 

It is still possible to attract interstate traffic to go around Atlanta if we connect US 27 with I-85 and I-75 south of Atlanta.

 

Being Stupid

 

For years, whenever anybody suggested adding lanes, you would hear somebody say:  “Don’t bother building more lanes; if you build more lanes, they will just full up again.”  You can’t have it both ways.  Atlanta always wants to project its future growth way beyond what will actually happen and plans their roads to accommodate a steady decline in population.

 

The answer to all of this is to first own up to the fact that the public transit vs car travel is a political struggle that is not in search of a real solution.  And the road gridlock problem is being politically blocked by the pro-transit crowd.  Finally, GDOT needs to get new employees who will DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME !  Never has so much money been spent to accomplish so little.  Another answer is to close the federal DOT and keep the Georgia’s tax money in Georgia.

 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader