Lifestyle

Columnist

At first I thought last

week's letter to the editor concerning public

transportation in Fayette County was written in jest. The

writer states her outrage, supports it with assertions

that criminals will escape by bus, then predicts that

MARTA will "force its way in," bringing crime

and the ruination of her hometown.

I called Michelle McClain,

26, and found her to be a very concerned, if somewhat

misinformed, nursing student currently doing clinicals in

ICU at Emory. She is the mother of a 3-year-old and lives

with her parents who look after him while she's at

school.

When she gets her R.N.

degree, she wants to continue to live here for the

county's good school system, and dreads the thought that

with "mass transit... we are inviting criminal

activity in."

Michelle said her military

family has lived all over the country. In Los Angeles,

she blamed high crime rates on "interstate on-ramps

every 50 feet, and differences in socio-economic levels.

"I heard Atlanta has a

high number of illegal aliens," she told me,

"and they bring a lot of crime. With MARTA running

from the north side to the airport, now they can get on

the bus and come to Peachtree City."

In her letter, she takes

comfort in the fact that the Interstate escape route is

far enough away to make it harder for miscreants to

"commit an effective crime... It [crime] can,

however, be accomplished by fleeing to the nearest

departing bus."

I didn't comment that some

of us hear "differences in socio-economic

levels" and "illegal aliens" as code words

Michelle may not even be aware of.

But I asked her if she

seriously believes a burglar would catch a bus to

Peachtree City, get off and walk to a residential

neighborhood (since the buses will likely depart central

public places rather than subdivisions), then wait for

the next bus and board it with a VCR and television under

his arm.

"I see mass transit as

a vehicle," she insisted, "an easier way for

people to get here, people who want to burglarize our

homes and rape our children. They can get into our

community by the bus system."

Perhaps we should ban cars:

I suspect most lawbreakers use motor vehicles to escape

the scenes of their crimes. For corroboration, I called

Peachtree City's police department and talked to Major

Mike DuPree.

"Do we have statistics

on how crooks make their getaway in Peachtree City,"

I asked him.

No, actually we don't have

such data, he said, but added: "It's logical to

assume that escape is made on foot or in a motor vehicle

of some kind. I've never policed where buses were an

option, so I can't say that."

Fair enough. So I called

Atlanta PD and talked to Officer John Quigley, public

information officer.

He too had "no way of

verifying it, but I would expect by vehicle. You cannot

get on a bus or MARTA train carrying a 26-inch

television."

In fact, Atlanta and MARTA

police often trap thieves (assuming they are carrying

something they can conceal on their person) on public

transportation.

"A lookout is placed

on radio to public transportation as well," Quigley

explained. "If it happens at Lenox, routinely that

information is passed on to Lenox MARTA. It happens all

the time and helps us make arrests."

I asked Quigley if public

transportation causes an increase in crime. He replied

unequivocally: "This is not true."

"You can't say MARTA

brings crime because there's crime at Lenox - but

why not in Doraville? The more folks at a location, the

more there's apt to be an increase in crime. There's more

crime in New York because there are more people in New

York.

"Shoplifting takes

place at large commercial areas regardless of what

transportation there is if folks think they can get away

with it. Does it happen? Yes. Is [public transportation]

a leading contributor to crime? No."

Now some may argue that no

Atlanta PD spokesperson is going to criticize MARTA or

suggest that security within the city or its transit

system is, well, insecure. But numbers have been compiled

of being in a traffic accident or the victim of a

carjacking vastly surpasses that of my being hurt, for

any reason, on public transportation.

Michelle, who drives to

Emory every day, should be a prime candidate for public

transit for those very reasons.

Besides, we're not talking

about MARTA here. Contrary to Michelle's belief, MARTA

does not "force its way in," and the transit

system proposed in Fayette County consists of a locally

owned bus or two.

As we talked, Michelle also

mentioned what she views as the deterioration of life in

this country, referring to the school shootings. I

pointed out that almost all were committed by the same

"kind" of young people that live in her upper

middle-class neighborhood.

She finally conceded,

"I may be grasping at straws." She is indeed,

but only because she is a loving parent whose ardor for

her son's well-being has muddled her thinking.

Better she should be

working for public transportation. For easy access (read

commuter rail) to Atlanta's educational opportunities for

her boy. For improved air quality possible if we reward

carpooling or the use of trains and buses. For the

comparative safety of public transit over motor vehicles

- one-quarter or more of all deaths in the decade of

life from 14 to 24 are related to motor vehicle

accidents.

In the interests of

objectivity, I need to report that I spoke to Major Bruce

Jordan of the Sheriff's office. He believes public

transportation will offer ingress to Fayette County of

"the criminal element," but admits he bases

this belief on intuition.

He does agree, however,

that getaways are nearly always by motor vehicle.

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