ATLANTA TRANSIT (Marta, Beltline, Peachtree Streetcar, LovJoy Commuter, etc...)

[smArTaLlone]

Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Dave Williams Staff Writer

A board of metro Atlanta political and transportation leaders Thursday adopted an ambitious plan for a network of bus and passenger rail lines that would criss-cross the region by 2030.

The Transit Planning Board, made up mostly of county commission chairmen and heads of the region’s transit agencies, voted unanimously to adopt “Concept 3” as a vision of what a coordinated regional transit system should look like in the coming decades.

At full build-out, Concept 3 calls for more than 500 miles of rail, including 322 miles for commuter trains and 116 miles of light rail. Another 849 miles of highway would be traveled by various bus systems. The projected capital costs of the full network would be $26.8 billion, with annual operating expenses of $1.1 billion.


Some of the major projects would be up and running in five to seven years under a fast-track strategy the plan contemplates. The price tag for that part of the work would be $10.9 billion in capital costs and $538.3 million a year for operations.


“We need to turn dirt,” Cheryl King, the board’s director, said shortly after Thursday’s vote. “People need to see some progress being made if we’re going to ask for this kind of investment.”

Concept 3 is contingent upon voter approval of a one-cent regional sales tax dedicated to transportation improvements. A telephone survey conducted for the board last March showed 58 percent support for the tax if it is tied to a specific list of projects.

Legislation that could have led to a regional referendum on transportation funding passed the Georgia House this year but failed by three votes in the Senate.

Concept 3 now goes to the Atlanta Regional Commission, the metro area’s planning agency. The ARC board is expected to decide in December whether to incorporate the document into its regional transportation planning efforts.



article

Concept 3

[wxjay]

^I'll believe it when I see it.

[smArTaLlone]

Here's the intown areas in the Concept 3 vision. In addition to the Beltline and Peachtree streetcar, it includes a streetcar on Ponce and LRT routes on Spring street, 14th street and Northside (which runs to Cumberland).

[Fiorenza]

One-way streets may go away

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

One-way streets may go away

We can only hope. I live on Spring Street in Downtown and it's a car sewer - especially after games. Making it two way would go a long way to restoring is an urban street.

[ATLaffinity]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

One-way streets may go away

That would be awesome. I live on Spring AND West Peachtree.

There's no way retail or anything else can thrive on one-way streets.

I see people are whining about it in the comments section. People still want the center of the city to be like a highway.

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

That would be awesome. I live on Spring AND West Peachtree.

There's no way retail or anything else can thrive on one-way streets.

I see people are whining about it in the comments section. People still want the center of the city to be like a highway.

Bingo!

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

I see people are whining about it in the comments section. People still want the center of the city to be like a highway.

Somebody get Obama on the phone. This town needs an agent for change. Like yesterday.

[Tombstoner]

Originally Posted by ATLaffinity

That would be awesome. I live on Spring AND West Peachtree.

There's no way retail or anything else can thrive on one-way streets.

I see people are whining about it in the comments section. People still want the center of the city to be like a highway.

I'm not sure there is anything intrinsic in a one-way street that makes it more highway-like and less shopper-friendly--many major cities in Latin America, Europe and Asia (even NYC) have thriving retail districts lining one-way streets. It's like saying that two-way streets have to be like the Connector. We all know they don't.

[smArTaLlone]

By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, August 31, 2008

If commuter rail ever comes to Atlanta, what would it look like? Seven lines using existing freight railroads and extending as far as Macon and Athens have been studied for years. But only recently, with Gov. Sonny Perdue’s support of a pilot line from Five Points south to Griffin, have commuter trains had a chance of serious consideration by state policymakers.

That’s critical, because a substantial investment of public dollars will be necessary — from $100 million to $500 million per line in start-up costs, according to a report by the consulting firm of R.L. Banks & Associates. The payoff? Faster commutes, less traffic congestion and cleaner air.

The hurdles are daunting. Except for federal monies pledged for the Griffin line, there are no identified sources of capital and operating funds, no locomotives or passenger coaches on hand, no stations or parking lots ready for riders.

Existing freight lines are crowded with their own traffic. Most haven’t seen passenger trains since shortly after the Crackers left Ponce de Leon Avenue, and one is in such marginal condition its speed limit is 10 mph.

On a positive note, the Transit Planning Board last week made commuter rail a key component in its final, comprehensive plan for public transportation in metro Atlanta.

In December 2007, R.L. Banks delivered a study updating the seven commuter rail plans for the TPB, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Department of Transportation.


WHAT IS COMMUTER RAIL?

• Heavy conventional passenger equipment like Amtrak’s, with diesel locomotives pulling coaches over existing rail lines.

• Trains would make scheduled stops inbound to the city in the morning and outbound to the suburbs in the afternoon.

• Service would range far beyond MARTA’s territory, possibly as far as Athens and Macon.

• All lines would converge on a proposed “Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal” next to the MARTA Five Points station.

[Andrea]

This is very exciting. I hope it really happens.

Here's an interesting PowerPoint that the consultants presented to the Transportation Planning Board.

[NativeAtlantan]

I'm sure that Waycross to Jesup line will be up-and-running quite soon.

[smArTaLlone]

I'm not sure what that map is all about. We'll be lucky to finally get the Griffin commuter line going.

[Pessimistic Observer]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

I'm not sure what that map is all about. We'll be lucky to finally get the Griffin commuter line going.

when you guys say about to get it going you mean in like 5-10 yrs right

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by Andrea

This is very exciting. I hope it really happens.

Here's an interesting PowerPoint that the consultants presented to the Transportation Planning Board.

Boy, I'd love to be able to take a train from Atlanta to Savannah. Bring back the Nancy Hanks!

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by Pessimistic Observer

when you guys say about to get it going you mean in like 5-10 yrs right

Reguarding the commuter line to Griffin, I'm not sure of the timetable but the DOT is moving forward on it. I believe one of the reasons they made this the pilot route is that it would be the easiest to implement so I would think it could be done within 5 years.

[catlike]

Originally Posted by Tombstoner

I'm not sure there is anything intrinsic in a one-way street that makes it more highway-like and less shopper-friendly--many major cities in Latin America, Europe and Asia (even NYC) have thriving retail districts lining one-way streets. It's like saying that two-way streets have to be like the Connector. We all know they don't.

What I've understood is that traffic tends to travel slower on two-way streets as opposed to one-way, most likely because of the perception that oncoming traffic is traveling at twice the speed, which suppresses the impulse to speed. Sure, there are one-way streets with thriving shopping in other parts of the world, but are drivers able to do 40+mph down them as they do on Atlanta streets? The issue here is that when cars are zooming down four-lane, one-way streets with no parking lane, drivers are less likely to notice what's on the sidewalk (stores) and pedestrians are at the mercy of speeding cars when crossing the streets.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Weird, there's some "town" named Edna on the map between Vinings and Mableton on what looks like what used to be called the village of Gilmore (corner of Atlanta Rd and Cumberland Pkwy). Not sure what Edna is... Never heard of it. Maybe it's the dried up Main Street area near the back-side of Ace Hardware off Atlanta Rd?

Originally Posted by trainiac

Boy, I'd love to be able to take a train from Atlanta to Savannah. Bring back the Nancy Hanks!

A high-speed train between here and Savannah + Hilton Head would be great for trips to the beach. It'd have to be something faster than standard passenger rail, though, for it to really link Savannah and Atlanta.

I think with Savannah being a large port, the people (not just freight), really should be linked between these two cities.

Originally Posted by catlike

What I've understood is that traffic tends to travel slower on two-way streets as opposed to one-way, most likely because of the perception that oncoming traffic is traveling at twice the speed, which suppresses the impulse to speed. Sure, there are one-way streets with thriving shopping in other parts of the world, but are drivers able to do 40+mph down them as they do on Atlanta streets? The issue here is that when cars are zooming down four-lane, one-way streets with no parking lane, drivers are less likely to notice what's on the sidewalk (stores) and pedestrians are at the mercy of speeding cars when crossing the streets.

And unlike NYC, you can't just go down into the subway station on one side of the Avenue and come up on the other side (or diagonally cross 5 blocks in some station tunnels in NYC ). Still, better pedestrian planning may serve the need without grinding traffic to a halt. There are already some pedestrian crossing zones around... I think with some extra stoplights, and a few more crossing zones, and some well-placed medians would make being a pedestrian easier without getting rid of the one-ways.

[netdragon]

Concept 3 is still flawed. It has the Marietta line ending in Bolton. That's pretty crazy, especially considering that a funding source for the line to Marietta using W&A has already has been identified. It's too Atlanta-centric as well.

I don't believe Smyrna, Marietta and Cumberland residents should support Concept 3 unless it adds in the Marietta rail line through the center of these areas and scales down the ridiculously expensive BRT plans along I-75, which is mostly going to favor the relatively poor populations that live right along I-75 North of Windy Hill.

I did notice a disclaimer at the bottom of the Concept 3 diagram that it's only generalized. Not sure to what degree they are talking about.

[smArTaLlone]

Marietta line ending in Bolton? Huh?
Also the map shows an express bus route on 75 but no BRT.