It probably makes sense... Gwinnett county is dense enough along the 85 corridor for heavy rail to pay for itself.
I always laugh when folks say "MARTA brings crime" as if the inner-city hoods are jumping on trains and heading out to the burbs to steal, rob and rape, and then waiting around for the next train home.
It probably did encourage building lower-income neighborhoods near stops though, and lower income almost always equals higher crime.
I doubt that's as true as it was any more though.
Growing up around Boston, being near an MBTA train stop was a very positive thing, and people would pay a premium for houses in walking distance to a "T" stop.
As Atlanta and the immediate suburbs get denser, that same shift seems to be happening here. If you look at the in-town stations, people will pay a fortune to live right on top of a MARTA station and being within driving distance of one is actually a selling point in the 'burbs now as well.
I always laugh when folks say "MARTA brings crime" as if the inner-city hoods are jumping on trains and heading out to the burbs to steal, rob and rape, and then waiting around for the next train home.
It probably did encourage building lower-income neighborhoods near stops though, and lower income almost always equals higher crime.
I doubt that's as true as it was any more though.
Growing up around Boston, being near an MBTA train stop was a very positive thing, and people would pay a premium for houses in walking distance to a "T" stop.
As Atlanta and the immediate suburbs get denser, that same shift seems to be happening here. If you look at the in-town stations, people will pay a fortune to live right on top of a MARTA station and being within driving distance of one is actually a selling point in the 'burbs now as well.