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10 March 2010

Conversations about MARTA



MARTA is Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and they run the subway and bus system here in ATL.
I took MARTA from the airport to Chamblee near my mom's house, due to her adversion to driving through downtown Atlanta's bad traffic. After living in Japan again, I'm not complaining. I took the Meitetsu Mu-Sky Rapid to Centrair-- it was very nice, and I fell asleep. I wouldn't dare try any of that here though...

While riding the subway I noticed the new maps are all color coded. Instead of saying "north-south line" or "airport line" now there's red, blue, green and yellow.... yellow-- gold? huh?

The problem here is that the yellow--er gold line runs through an asian part of town at it's terminus. I don't think when the map was created, anyone ever intended as a bad joke to say "hey lets call this one the yellow line since it runs through little Asia in Atlanta" I actually had the job of redesigning MARTA's map back in 1998 when the north line (now the Red line) was extended.

I guess I find this strange now since I live in a country that's 99% one ethnic group--Japanese. No one ever does a town hall meeting about anything concerning the other 1% of people... which is why things like the Obama monkey TV commercial happen...

I think everyone should turn their sensitivity meters down a little bit. What if the rail line was ALREADY called the Yellow line BEFORE the Asians moved to that part of Atlanta (and I remember 15 years ago, there were none up that way...) would they have asked MARTA to change the signs?

And before the table turning begins, I don't care if they rename the Green line to the Black line. It does have a station that is in the projects--and the other end lies at the Martin Luther King Memorial... Suits me just fine... The line passes the State Capitol and CNN center too. I already know I can go anywhere, and am NOT limited to a line drawn on a map!

Posted via web from ...all about starrwulfe...


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