I attended a Neighborhood Coalition meeting tonight concerning the Atlanta Beltline (There! I've said the Project That Shall Not Be Named!). The Beltline is a transit proposal for connecting some 22-odd miles of unused railroad tracks around the city to create a multi-use ring of mass transit, trails and greenspace around the inner core of the city, and will pass within about a block of my house.

Except that it has now been announced that MARTA, the Atlanta rapid transit authority, has decided that it's more cost effective to run buses along the Beltline that streetcars or light rail, and since the tracks within a block of my house aren't exactly "unused" (they're a principal trunk line for a major railroad), the buses will run along the city streets in my neighborhood.

So instead of getting a traffic-relieving alternative to the automobile in our neighborhood, we'll be instead getting more congestion on our already overburdened roads as the Beltline buses come rumbling down the street.

The reality of things rarely turns out like what we anticipated. But rather than getting gloomy and cynical over this, I can find some solace in that the reality of the bus-clogged streets will probably not be anything like I'm currently anticipating. And since the Beltline project has an estimated 25-year construction phase, will I even be around to see it? (I've been told that I'm going to die in 2033 at the age of 79).

No use worrying about the future. Take care of right now.