The blog post to beat all blog posts!

Really, I'm just trying to catch up.

So Erik Steavens - he attended the CfPT Happy Hour last Wednesday and is some something or another for the GDOT.  I could look it up, but you could too.  Point being he's a great transit oriented dude who did (at least that night, from what I've heard of when he spoke to the RAIL committee) seem to have some hope for transit in Georgia.  However, he completely skirted the issue when he was asked his opinion on MARTA being merged with GDOT.

My unprofessional opinion (maybe someone way more educated on it, like One or Two :p, could chime in) is that this is a bad idea.  I mean, GDOT recently got into a bit of trouble for loosing some buses they had purchased.  Buses.  How do you loose buses?  I mean, those are pretty big.  In fact, one had been totaled and they were unaware.  Some were in other states, like Virginia and Texas, and those, my friends, aren't even neighboring states.  Granted, they were buses for intercity transit, but that's a huge intercity distance.  So if GDOT can't keep up with a small fleet of buses, do you think they can handle MARTA?  I think we're best to leave that one up to the folks that seem to be doing pretty well with it already given the circumstances, and just give them a bit more money to make it work.  That't where GDOT can lend a hand, in lobbying for funding for MARTA, because if MARTA operates, there are less people on the roads, so less wear and tear.  These people should really let me be the decision maker.

Some politicians and political candidates also showed up at the CfPT happy hour, including Amir Farokhi, Graham Balch, and Elena Parent, who I think we're all pretty excited about.  She is running opposed to Jill Chambers, who I'm a bit miffed at (but that's another post to be written).  It was a great evening and well attended, it was standing room only in the meeting room. 

In other news, my morning commute went really well.  I have this down to a fine science, as long as the train is running on time.  I am now driving to the station, it saves me 30 minutes and when you've got that long of a ride, I think it's a fair trade off.  Be mad at me if you want.  But if I leave the shelter by 7:15 then I make it to Arts Center by 8 to make the 8:05 10b, which is epic.  And that gets me to the office by 8:50.  So this morning I had my coffee (I know, what's become of me?  Coffee?!?!?) and read my book, 46 pages to be exact.  I'm currently reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite authors.  Ironically, this book heavily features the tube in London, complete with a map which includes the dates the stations opened.  I really had no clue how old the tube is; it was founded by an Act of Parliment in 1854.    Anyways, other than the wierd dude on the bus who kept staring at me (yes, I am the only white girl on here, but this is not a zoo!), it was a perfect morning!