ATLANTA | Development Thread V

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by gttx

I always drove on Peachtree for 2 reasons:

1) I wasn't typically in a hurry
2) I love cities and skyscrapers, so it provided the most interesting drive. Plus I got to keep up with what was going on with construction.

Originally Posted by UVAsuperman

In addition:

1) Due to one ways, some places almost require a short jaunt on Peachtree.

2) Peachtree is our grand boulevard and people from out-of-town, including the nearby suburbs, use the road exclusively. I don't know whether that's an ignorance thing (maybe, given how many out-of-county license plates I see try to make left turns from the far right lanes of one way streets like West Peachtree) or a see-and-be-seen, excitement of the city thing, but it's a fact. A streetcar will only make it worse.

Exactly...Peachtree Street is for short jaunts and leisurely drives on Atlanta's renowned main street - not for commuters. That's why it is perfect for the streetcar. The other parallell streets are for those in more of a hurry.

Hopefully those from out-of-town would be using the streetcar...isn't that one of the purposes of it?

[NativeAtlantan]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

Exactly...Peachtree Street is for short jaunts and leisurely drives on Atlanta's renowned main street - not for commuters. That's why it is perfect for the streetcar. The other parallell streets are for those in more of a hurry.

Hopefully those from out-of-town would be using the streetcar...isn't that one of the purposes of it?

This is wrong. When I used to live in N. Buckhead and worked in Midtown, going straight down P'tree was, by far, the best way for me to go.

The streetcar will most likely hinder that efficiency.

[sevensixtwo]

Originally Posted by Zanarkand A East

Peachtree-Pine shelter escapes foreclosure

That sucks!

[cybele]

Originally Posted by NativeAtlantan

This is wrong. When I used to live in N. Buckhead and worked in Midtown, going straight down P'tree was, by far, the best way for me to go.

Well I have to agree with that, Peachtree has always been one of the city's main commuter streets.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by NativeAtlantan

This is wrong. When I used to live in N. Buckhead and worked in Midtown, going straight down P'tree was, by far, the best way for me to go.

The streetcar will most likely hinder that efficiency.

FOR YOU...for 99% of the rest of commuters, Peachtree Street isn't used that way. So, we should forego the streetcar just for 1% of commuters?

It won't hinder the efficiency of driving through Midtown for the majority of drivers. I think that is very clear.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by cybele

Well I have to agree with that, Peachtree has always been one of the city's main commuter streets.

Let me get this straight...if you were commuting through Midtown on the surface streets, you would choose Peachtree over Piedmont? or West Peachtree? or for that matter, the Connector? THOSE are made for commuters...Peachtree isn't. I don't see how you can even make the claim you made above - it's ridiculous.

[atl2phx]

Originally Posted by NativeAtlantan

This is wrong. When I used to live in N. Buckhead and worked in Midtown, going straight down P'tree was, by far, the best way for me to go.

The streetcar will most likely hinder that efficiency.

i suppose it depends where you were departing from in north buckhead and where you were terminating to in midtown. i made a similar commute back in the 2000/2001 timeframe and found the most efficient route was 400 south to the connector and then take 10th/14th/north exit(s) which was much more time efficient that straight down peachtree. even when i lived in south buckhead/collier hills i found it was easier to pick up 75 south at northside/howell mill and take one of the midtown exits over peachtree. having said that, i often took the drive down peachtree simply because it was a more interesting and enjoyable drive to me.

there seems to be an overall driver mentality in atlanta that places a premium on getting from point a to point b as quickly as possible, going 10/20 mph over the posted speed limit and disregarding posted yield/stop/crosswalk postings. drivers seem to disregard the immediate environment around them...i suppose this is simply a byproduct of the car culture.

i personally enjoy the new configuration of peachtree with the bulb-outs, on street parking, landscaped medians and fewer lanes. i don't stress out behind every stop light, delivery truck or activity along the way....these are the elements of an urban environment that i like, reminiscent of some of the main streets/side streets in other northeast/midwest and european cities.

as for the streetcar, i would rather see it take a route down west peachtree or spring, but i think it will be a nice addition to peachtree.

[Fiorenza]

Hey, the streetcar is dead as a doornail....there's no $300 million for it.

[SCUTTLE]

Originally Posted by briantech

Word. I'm totally for some slick, modern, euro-looking light transit up in this city. Just not squeezed into the middle of peachtree street. And not with ugly ass electrical wires being put up everywhere.

Which "ugly ass wires" are you refering too? The wires that they are proposing to put up for street cars or the very aesthitically pleasing pleasing power lines Georgia Power runs all over Atlanta. [IMG][/IMG]
As someone who has spent some time in San Francisco the ugly ass wires are hardly noticeable and most of the downtown area streetcars share lanes with the rest of the city traffic. It is not great for commuting to work, but if your just trying to get some shopping done or traveling around for your lunch break it is perfect. This is more of a benefit for the people who live and work around Peachtree street. Unfortunately it is ahead of it's time in Atlanta. As long as there is plenty of parking around Peachtree street the car is still the most viable option for getting around for errands and lunch.
[IMG][/IMG]

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

Hey, the streetcar is dead as a doornail....there's no $300 million for it.

Really? No, it isn't "dead as a doornail"...there are countless other grants out there to be granted - this wasn't the only one.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/despite-grant-rejection-atlanta-309384.html?cxtype=rss_news_81966

[Fiorenza]

You're living in yesterday's world if you think the Feds or GA is about to grant $300 million to Atlanta for a streetcar or any other infrastructure. There's no money, and the faith and credit of this country to borrow more has a very good likelihood of going poof.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

You're living in yesterday's world if you think the Feds or GA is about to grant $300 million to Atlanta for a streetcar or any other infrastructure. There's no money, and the faith and credit of this country to borrow more has a very good likelihood of going poof.

I'm not really sure what you are talking about. A large percentage of stimulus money is still scheduled to be granted out to cities and states in the next year, and there are plenty of regular programs that might be used to pay for this. This particular grant was only worth a total of $1.5 billion - peanuts compared to the amount the federal government pays out each year to build infrastructure.

The "world is coming to an end" line is great for rallying Republicans against Obama...but the rest of us are growing tired of it.

[atl2phx]

Originally Posted by gttx

I'm not really sure what you are talking about. A large percentage of stimulus money is still scheduled to be granted out to cities and states in the next year, and there are plenty of regular programs that might be used to pay for this. This particular grant was only worth a total of $1.5 billion - peanuts compared to the amount the federal government pays out each year to build infrastructure.

The "world is coming to an end" line is great for rallying Republicans against Obama...but the rest of us are growing tired of it.

[briantech]

Originally Posted by SCUTTLE

Which "ugly ass wires" are you refering too? The wires that they are proposing to put up for street cars or the very aesthitically pleasing pleasing power lines Georgia Power runs all over Atlanta. [IMG][/IMG]
As someone who has spent some time in San Francisco the ugly ass wires are hardly noticeable and most of the downtown area streetcars share lanes with the rest of the city traffic. It is not great for commuting to work, but if your just trying to get some shopping done or traveling around for your lunch break it is perfect. This is more of a benefit for the people who live and work around Peachtree street. Unfortunately it is ahead of it's time in Atlanta. As long as there is plenty of parking around Peachtree street the car is still the most viable option for getting around for errands and lunch.
[IMG][/IMG]

Thats what I remember most of SF downtown looking like. I think it looks horrible.

Yeah there are still sections of peachtree with ugly powerlines too -- but there are also large sections that have been buried, and it looks great. We really shouldn't undo all that for a gimmick like the street car.

[cybele]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

Let me get this straight...if you were commuting through Midtown on the surface streets, you would choose Peachtree over Piedmont? or West Peachtree? or for that matter, the Connector? THOSE are made for commuters...Peachtree isn't. I don't see how you can even make the claim you made above - it's ridiculous.

Well Peachtree has been Atlanta's main drag for 150 years and it's still the way a lot of folks are used to coming in. We were using it before there were interstates all over creation and it's just the normal way to go for many, it's normally not all that crowded anyway.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by briantech

Yeah there are still sections of peachtree with ugly powerlines too -- but there are also large sections that have been buried, and it looks great. We really shouldn't undo all that for a gimmick like the street car.

Agreed. Invest in some futuristic-looking biomethane (or electric, or whatever you want other than diesel) buses and run a free circulator up and down Peachtree. You get the feel you want without the wires or the dedicated ROW - at a fraction of the cost.

Then, spend your time applying for grants for the Beltline.

[Fiorenza]

Now you are making sense. Marta has had CNG buses since 1993.

[skapunkskatedude]

Savannahs street car runs almost totally off recycled vegetable oil. Theres a little bit of biodiesel mixed in. Theres a pretty interesting article in Creative Loafing about it.

[AtlantaMustang]

[RobMidtowner]

The one-way pairs in midtown are much quicker for drivers than Peachtree. I'm not 100% sure but it also seems like the signal timing along Peachtree is designed to slow down traffic for the sake of pedestrians. So adding a streetcar to Peaechtree doesn't seem like such a bad idea. But I'm still not sold on the idea yet, seems like it would require a lot of taxpayer support to survive. I think the beltline would be a better alternative to invest in because of all the connectivity it adds to the transit network.