{"id":40310,"date":"2015-04-15T22:02:43","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T02:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=40310"},"modified":"2020-07-15T22:02:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T02:02:52","slug":"fantasizing-about-fixing-atlantas-traffic-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=40310","title":{"rendered":"Fantasizing about \u201cfixing\u201d Atlanta\u2019s traffic woes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"border-image alignnone wp-image-40311 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01-e1429144340155.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01-e1429144340155.jpg 490w, https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01-e1429144340155-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">After a morning which saw an 84-minute drive into work, and an additional 20 minute wait at Starbucks, I\u2019m finally settled in at my desk a solid hour after when I would have preferred to have done such.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Seriously, the next time I wake up at my house and hear pelting rain and torrential downpour, and it\u2019s a day in which carpooling wasn\u2019t scheduled, I\u2019m going to say I\u2019ve contracted <a href=\"http:\/\/www.themoderndaypirates.com\/pirates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/oregontrail-300x118.gif\">cholera<\/a>, and call in sick.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">I\u2019m finding that my criteria of what constitutes a \u201cgood\u201d morning grows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3flv5nWZgII\">lower and lower<\/a>, and it\u2019s getting to a point where nightmarish traffic <strong>is expected<\/strong>, and I\u2019m just happy when the douchebag in front of me at Starbucks <em>doesn\u2019t<\/em> pay with the Starbucks app, which <em>conveniently<\/em> my daily Starbucks <em>does not <\/em>have the hardware to accept in any other fashion than necessitating three minutes to punch in every single digit before the screen goes back to sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Anyway, whenever I have a morning where I have to slog through traffic worse than it usually is, whether it\u2019s because of a retard getting into a catastrophic wreck, or like today, there\u2019s liquid AIDS AKA \u201crain\u201d falling from the skies, my mind always wanders to the oft-fantasized topic by all Metro Atlanta denizens, which is hypothesizing how to \u201cfix\u201d Atlanta\u2019s traffic woes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Naturally, the logical solution of <a href=\"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=6668\">improving mass transit<\/a> is off the table, because the city is already polluted full of crooked criminal greedy bureaucrats who will nix the idea every single time for personal monetary reasons that us pleebs aren\u2019t going to understand, so it\u2019s not out of the realm to start thinking of some more radical ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"border-image alignnone wp-image-40313 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/03-e1429144421203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/03-e1429144421203.jpg 490w, https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/03-e1429144421203-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>1. Appropriately labeling Interstate 285 with an <em>Inner<\/em> and <em>Outer<\/em> loop.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">One major thing that causes traffic for people in Atlanta is the fact that the I-285 bypass highway isn\u2019t clearly labeled. Depending on which direction you\u2019re approaching it from, it can be north, south, east or west, and this is made even more complex when it changes direction<em> while driving on it<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Describing I-285 directionality to someone unfamiliar is doubly cruel, because there are literally two sets of each direction, based on which quadrant of the \u201csquare\u201d you\u2019re needing to describe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Say a person is coming up from the airport, and is headed to Decatur. On I-85 north, approaching I-285, I need to get on I-285 north, but approaching the junction, the only options are east or west. The person panics and gets off on the first I-285 exit, and ends up going west. They let out a sigh of relief when I-285 West suddenly turns into I-285 North. Little do they realize that they\u2019re going I-285 North <em>on the west wall<\/em>, and are basically going to be driving for nearly 45 miles before they get to any Decatur exits, when if they had gone I-285 East, and eventually ended up going I-285 North on the <em>east wall<\/em>, they would end up in Decatur in roughly 20~ miles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Long story short, this kind of bullshit is avoidable if I-285 took a page out of DC\/VA\/MD\u2019s utilization of the phrases \u201cInner loop\u201d and \u201cOuter loop\u201d to describe the directions of I-495. Going clockwise is inner loop, going counter-clockwise is outer loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">In Vinings, and needing to get to Roswell? Take the inner loop to exit 25, and Roswell Road will take you straight into Roswell. At Stone Mountain Park, and need to get to I-85 north? Get on the outer loop, and I-85 exits will be in about ten miles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"border-image alignnone wp-image-40312 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/02-e1429144372865.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/02-e1429144372865.jpg 490w, https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/02-e1429144372865-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>2. The <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/BhSo5H1CMAASGLC.jpg\"><strong>destrucity<\/strong><\/a><strong> of Interstate 20 within the perimeter.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Out of all the U.S. major market cities, Atlanta is one of two cities (other: Houston, Texas) that has <strong>three major interstates intersecting within the very center of the city<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">I personally believe that this fact alone is why Atlanta suffers the tragic traffic it suffers on a daily basis. This is easily justified, because the worst traffic in the city always occurs in the three points where I-20 intersects with both sides of I-285, as well as the I-75\/I-85 Downtown Connector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">So, I propose, simply get rid of I-20 within the perimeter. Meaning Interstate 20 no longer passes through the heart of the city. Needing to go east-west or west-east to pass Atlanta means getting off of I-20 onto I-285, and <em>bypassing<\/em> the city on the outskirts, and getting back onto I-20 on the opposite side of I-285.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">As for those unfortunate souls who commute into Atlanta via I-20, sorry, but you\u2019re the guys that have to cope with the loss of ITP I-20; naturally, in my fantasy, I nix the interstate that I rarely use. Besides, the people coming in from I-20 are people who live in places like Conyers, Douglasville, and even some saps that literally commute in from fucking Alabama. I\u2019m not saying places like McDonough, Newnan, anywhere in Clayton County or Gwinnett County are any better, but those are the folks that would use roads similar to the ones I need to use, so they\u2019re safe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>The bottom line is, Fuck I-20<\/strong>. The existence of I-20 within the perimeter is pretty much 90% of the reason why the city has as shitty traffic as it does. So fucking get rid of it, and watch the cars flow with vastly more ease on the connector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"border-image alignnone wp-image-40314 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/04-e1429144492133.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/04-e1429144492133.jpg 490w, https:\/\/totfc.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/04-e1429144492133-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>3. Straighten out the north-south interstates<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">What\u2019s the fastest way between two points? A straight line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">That being said, it always baffles me that the Downtown Connector is the roller coaster-like series of twists and turns throughout the heart of the city. Compounded with the intersection of I-20, it doesn\u2019t help the flow of traffic when people are incapable of gauging on whether they can maintain a 60 mph speed around the <a href=\"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/4\/3146\/2758113813_637bbed532_b.jpg\">Grady Curve<\/a>, or like in most cases, slam the brakes and come to a complete halt and crawl through it as if it were like trying to <a href=\"http:\/\/37.media.tumblr.com\/tumblr_m274ft8ICO1rnaz59o1_500.gif\">swap the idol for a bag of sand<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">There\u2019s like 30 miles of asphalt to complete 20 miles worth of distance between I-85, and substantially more to connect both segments of I-75 to each other. Again, genius idea of having both major highways go through the <em>center of the city<\/em>, but we\u2019ve clearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=la_k_r61ZlA\">gone too far<\/a>, legitimately in this case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">But in the fantasized world where such theories were capable of coming to fruition, both I-85 and I-75 would be completely straight lines through the center of the city. Who absolutely cares what\u2019s currently sitting on the land that would be needed for roads to pass through, as they can simply fight over the larger amount of land that would be hypothetically freed up by the straightening out of roads, as well as the complete elimination of I-20?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Who cares is the SunTrust building, Bank of America building, and the Georgia Power buildings will have to have a road <a href=\"http:\/\/www.censurageek.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/iron_man_photon_cannon_bmp_jpgcopy.jpg\">blown out through<\/a> them, like they were those <a href=\"http:\/\/www.image-archeology.com\/REdwoods_CA_Drive_Thru_Tree.jpg\">trees in Northern California<\/a>? It would also be justice to see the smarmy folks who live in the Druid Hills\/North Decatur area who loathe automobiles to suddenly have a massive interstate just plopped onto them?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">I-75 on the south would benefit greatly, as it would eliminate the tinier I-675 bypass, and it could basically be the new stretch of I-75. The existing stretch of I-75 could be razed, and the rest of the city would be done a favor by eliminating the major vein that gives the cesspool known as Clayton County access to the Metro area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Now, this is the part where I say that I know my ideas aren\u2019t perfect, but as far as I\u2019m concerned, they\u2019re certainly better than a lot of the nonsensical crap that other people have thrown out there. More unlikely, yes, impossible, not entirely, but at the same time, there\u2019s not a lot to deny that these ideas would most certainly alleviate traffic on a pretty grandiose scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Lora; font-size: 12pt;\">Sure, it would really fuck those who live outside of the city that rely on I-20, but fuck them, nobody cares about those areas. It would also fuck with those inside the perimeter that rely on I-20, but the west end actually has MARTA access, and they\u2019re all ghettos anyway, so fuck them, and honestly places like Decatur on the east would probably be happier to have even less interstate accessibility to them.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a morning which saw an 84-minute drive into work, and an additional 20 minute wait at Starbucks, I\u2019m finally settled in at my desk a solid hour after when I would have preferred to have done such. Seriously, the next time I wake up at my house and hear pelting rain and torrential downpour, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=40310\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Fantasizing about \u201cfixing\u201d Atlanta\u2019s traffic woes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29,15,143,91,10],"class_list":["post-40310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brog","tag-fantasy","tag-og","tag-ohatlanta","tag-pf","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40315,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40310\/revisions\/40315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}