posted July 3, 2008
I was certainly interested a while back in the possibility of a high speed rail service from here to Atlanta and, with higher gas prices, I think this should be given more intense scrutiny.
What's everyone's thoughts on getting more rapid transit with the gas situation and with the issues that the airlines face?
Jeff Guffey
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I agree that a rail system is needed but not necessarily "high speed." It makes much more sense to recruit AmTrak to run two trains to Atlanta and Nashville three or four times per day. They run commuter trains in the Northeast every day.
Groome Transportation makes many trips to both airports and has a great business. But you are still traveling on the interstate and stuck in traffic.
A train could connect with the MARTA rail system and put you directly into the Atlanta airport. Possibly the same could be done in Nashville as I am sure there are tracks near the airport.
We need to quit spending millions of dollars on consultants and use that money to open these routes. I am not sure I want to be going 200 mph on the ground anyway.
Mike Harvey
Signal Mountain
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I agree that this is absolutely the time for some change in the way our city handles commuting. I've felt for a long time that talking and planning has put us at a disadvantage in the competition for people (and industries) looking for a community that is "working family-friendly."
Being a single mother living near Harrison, working downtown, with a child attending an East Brainerd school, makes it quite a challenge to utilize the CARTA bus routes. Their schedules are actually quite limited for the time and areas my daughter and I need.
Our schools and economically feasible access to downtown employers and surrounding communities should be top priority. Everyone is feeling the crunch these days and I believe a local train system to connect Chattanooga's suburbs with downtown is a wonderful start and desperately needed.
Dyea Robertson
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