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PERIMETER BUSINESS
Commuters adapt to
Perimeter grind
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
Yvonne Williams said.
There are also van and car pools,
shuttles and pedestrian options for
people getting to the Perimeter from
elsewhere.
But there are also studies that show
Atlanta traffic congestion hasn't de
terred drivers.
Two recent studies produced by
the Texas A&M Transportation Insti
tute and American Public Transpor
tation Association show a preference
for cars over trains.
Texas A&M concluded that in 2011
Atlanta traffic congestion ranked sev
enth worst in the nation, costing driv
ers an additional 51 hours in traffic
each year - a full work week, plus
overtime. That's up one hour from
2010.
APTA data shows ridership on
MARTA declined in 2010, 2011 and
2012. MARTA rail reported approx
imately 77,000 rmlinked passenger
trips in 2010, according to APTA. In
2012, MARTA reported approximate
ly 70,500 trips.
Public transit can be a good option
for some employees.
Tamika Eldridge, who works at
Autotrader.com, lives by the Harts-
field-Jackson International Airport
and said her trip to the Perimeter is a
straight shot north. Her ride to work
typically takes 45 minutes to an hour.
"I don't have to change trains,"
Eldridge said. "I get on
the North Springs line and
we're good to go through
Medical Center [station]."
People who connect to
MARTA using a bus pro
vided by another agency said there's
room for improvement.
Karen Brown, who works at Equi
fax and lives in Gwinnett County, uses
the Xpress bus service. She drives 30
minutes to catch her bus at Sugarloaf
Mills Mall in Lawrenceville.
She takes the bus into the city,
where it stops at the Civic Center
MARTA and Arts Center MARTA sta
tions. In order to get to work, Brown
gets on a northbound MARTA train,
a bit of backtracking that adds time
to her commute. Brown said it would
be helpful if she could get on the bus
closer to where she lives.
The length of commute and the ef
ficiency of mass transit are both con
siderations for employers looking for
a place to do business.
Sean Saffle, executive director of
the Perimeter Transportation and
Sustainability Coalition, said the em
ployment base of Atlanta is moving
“Of
course,
the major
assets
we have
here are
the four MARTA
stations, and most
of the employers
here are very excited
they have access
to MARTA here.”
- Yvonne Williams
Perimeter CIDs
President and CEO
north because of MARTA. The PTSC
is a sister group of Perimeter CIDs,
working with companies to help em
ployees find alternatives to driving.
PTSC sells discounted MARTA pass
es and organizes car pools.
"Technology companies like our
area, because it gives them access to
people who want to live in Buckhead
or Midtown," Saffle said. "That's
when it gets back to real estate costs
and parking. We do have an abun
dance of parking here. You almost
have to pay everywhere you go in
Midtown and Buckhead."
David Dabbiere, chief operating
officer for AirWatch, said
his company was quick
ly outgrowing its space at
the Lumberyard in Mid
town. The parking lot was
repainted to put the spaces
closer together.
Moving to the Perimeter gave the
company and its employees more el
bow room, Dabbiere said. On any
given day the company hosts visitors
from Fortune 500 companies. Having
easy access to the airport is essential,
he said.
"We do have a lot of consultants
that travel," Dabbiere said. "They use
MARTA to get to the airport. So we're
actually seeing for us increased us
age."
Dabbiere said he'd like to see a
shuttle to reduce traffic at lunch time,
and said he supports a shuttle project
under development by the Perimeter
Business Alliance.
He said he hopes the influx of com
panies to the Perimeter makes the
area more of a place and less of a des
tination.
"I think you'd like to see a lot more
people living here," Dabbiere said.
Cover
Story
14 | MAY 31—JUNE 13, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net