Professor Furrow
English 1101
22 November 2013 Atlanta’s Need to Expand MARTA into the Metropolitan Area Everyone needs to get around their city, and in a time where technology is advancing, citizens should be provided this transportation not as a luxury, but as a standard. Since the industrial age, railways have popped up across the world, across America, and even connecting the whole European continent. But even before the industrial age, Atlanta has lacked a fitting transit system and the concerns of Atlantans are growing each year as population grows. Who’s to blame for the underdevelopment of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, aka MARTA? First, it was Sherman 's March who burned down the city, and then it was the racial tensions in the 1970’s after desegregation that left the city divided (Hanscom). Now, the transportation is at a shortfall because Lawmakers, Business owners, Investors, and the City can’t agree on a solution. The situation is evident to the commuters of Atlanta, who spend an average of 66 miles on the road a day (Florio). The decision-makers of Atlanta have various arguments posing against the expansion claiming it’s unnecessary, too costly, bad for inner-city Atlanta, and etc. Despite problems faced while developing MARTA in the 1970’s, Atlanta needs to expand MARTA to Metropolitan Atlanta because of present traffic issues and to avoid future traffic problems. “The past is the past” is a saying used almost half-consciously, because when you really think about it, the past is what shapes our future. Compared to old Atlanta, the city has developed great throughout the years in business and real estate. With Atlanta booming in several areas, some residents say, “Atlanta knows what its doing. If we needed a transit system, it would have created one already!” The honest reality is that Atlanta has tried to create a unifying transit system in the 1970’s, but wealthy
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