Hope comes to Pain Street, Hampton

I had an interesting interaction with a young man on Main Street, Hampton, Georgia last week. He approached me on a bike, looking tired and frustrated.

“Can you spare some change, Sir?” he asked. “I’m job-hunting and very thirsty. I’m also broke.”

I didn’t have any money on me at the time but was only a few doors down from my MainStreet Realty office, so I invited him to come down and get a glass of cold spring water.

As we talked he explained his dilemma to me. He had been searching for a job in the vicinity of his home in Clover Ranch because he didn’t have a car and had hoped to find something within walking or biking distance. His search had been in vain and he felt hopeless about his prospects for employment.

I asked him if he was aware that there was an Xpress Commuter bus stop at the Atlanta Motor Speedway with several connections to downtown Atlanta on a daily basis. With a free connection to the MARTA system, this transportation option was sure to open up a world of employment possibilities to him. And the bus stop is easily within biking distance of his home.

He said he was unaware of the Xpress bus, but seemed encouraged by the prospects. He rode off towards his home with what seemed to me like a renewed and refreshed spirit.

The following day I had a listing appointment to list one of the Tara Place Condos adjacent to the race track and happened to notice a bike chained to the fence where the Xpress bus stops. I don’t know if the bike belonged to the young man I had met the day before or not, but I couldn’t help but feel hopeful that my suggestion may have helped improve a person’s lot in life.

I share this story as an illustration of one example of how valuable a community asset this alternative transportation is (and the rail will be). Some fear that the rail will bring crime, when it is entirely possible that the opposite is true. Perhaps it will provide a relief valve for crime. It’s easy to imagine young men or women with similar obstacles to my young friend succumbing to their perceived lack of options and deciding that they have no choice but to steal from a neighbor, or commit some other crime out of anger and frustration.

In 2003 Gwinnett County reported a higher incidence of violent crime per capita than Dekalb County. The irony was that Gwinnett County citizens had successfully fought the MARTA system from coming into their region when it was being built in the 70s, while Dekalb had welcomed the transit option. The reason often cited by Gwinnett County residents was that they wanted to keep “those” people out of their community and prevent the crime the transit system was sure to bring. In 2003, many of the acts contributing to their crime rate were committed by roving gangs of “middle class” suburban youth. Perhaps these youth felt limited in their options and trapped in their circumstances.

Let’s see the Xpress bus and coming commuter rail for what they are: a tremendous asset for our community and one that should be embraced and not fought.