By Maria Saporta
At long last!
The MARTA board voted to advance the eastern extension of the Atlanta Streetcar to Ponce City Market at its meeting on April 13 – a move that was significant on multiple levels.
First of all, MARTA is moving to fulfill one of the key projects on the City of Atlanta’s More MARTA list with the mode that had been promised – a rail line. That is reason enough to celebrate.
Every other proposed rail project on the More MARTA list has been scaled back to bus rapid transit. While that may be a cheaper mode on the front end, BRT costs more to operate in the long run. More importantly, bus lines don’t have the same economic development impact as rail lines, which positively transform land use and the urban design of cities.
Second, the MARTA board voted to approve the project because City of Atlanta officials – namely Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) leaders – made it clear they wanted rail rather than another mode of transit.
City of Atlanta voters overwhelmingly passed the More MARTA half-penny in 2016. It is estimated that it will cost $230 million to extend the Atlanta Streetcar to Irwin Street where it will travel along the BeltLine north to Ponce de Leon Avenue. Because city taxpayers are paying for the 2.25-mile extension, the MARTA board rightfully followed the desire of Atlanta leaders.
This could be a valuable precedent as other decisions for More MARTA projects are made – specifically the controversial $260 million plan to spend more than $200 million of More MARTA money to redo the Five Points Station.
Both Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta city councilmember and the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association oppose the project as currently designed. The City of Atlanta’s position on the Five Points MARTA Station has now become even more important in light of the 8-0 (with two abstentions) favorable streetcar vote.
The City of Atlanta has three representatives on MARTA’s board. Two of them – Jennifer Ide and Jacob Tzegaegbe – were appointed by Dickens. During the April 13 meeting, fellow MARTA board members said they were voting in favor of the streetcar extension because they listened to the comments of Ide and Tzegaegbe, who stated the city’s position.
Oddly enough, the third city representative, Rod Mullice, wasn’t present for that important vote.
Third, this vote gives MARTA an opportunity to show it can get back into the business of building transit – especially rail. It has been nearly 20 years since MARTA has developed any new rail projects.
Remember, the Atlanta Streetcar was developed by MARTA. It was a project spearheaded by Central Atlanta Progress and the City of Atlanta. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Streetcar has been unfairly maligned by public perception.
Let me explain. The Atlanta Streetcar was supposed to be part of a much larger transit network – not just a 2.7-mile, east-west leg floating on its own. Because of a lack of resources at the federal, state, regional and local level, the Atlanta Streetcar was not implemented in the best possible way. It has to maneuver in traffic rather than having its own right-of-way. And its infrequent service — every 15 minutes — makes it less than ideal as a transit mode.
Ryan Gravel, the visionary planner behind the Atlanta BeltLine, said MARTA’s vote to advance the rail extension along the BeltLine presents an opportunity to “fix” the streetcar. MARTA took over operations of the Atlanta Streetcar in 2018.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Gravel said in a telephone interview on April 17 of the MARTA vote. “Now that we are finally building it, let’s make sure we get it right. Let’s do it in keeping with the promises and vision we made all these years ago. Let’s build the transit with the high quality of rail that fits with the quality of the BeltLine.”
For example, Gravel would like to see the BeltLine streetcar travel on a bed of grass rather than concrete. MARTA and ABI have commissioned the IDOM consulting firm to do a report on Best Practices for the BeltLine Streetcar. The report includes a rendering of what the BeltLine Streetcar could look like if implemented in a quality manner. It also could motivate MARTA and the city to improve the existing streetcar.
“The streetcar can be fixed,” Gravel said. “Those fixes need to be included as part of this project. We should recognize we are building the next piece of a much larger network.”
On a personal note, I’m so happy to be able to write a column commending MARTA on an important project. I have always been a huge proponent of transit and MARTA. Recently, it has been painful to find myself out of sync with the agency and its plans.
Thankfully MARTA did not listen to opponents of the project who wanted to further delay this decision. Delays would only make the project more expensive. Rising costs, combined with limited financial resources, are a big reason why MARTA has had to scale back its plans from light rail to buses.
Again, that points to a much larger problem, which still needs to be addressed – the lack of state support. MARTA continues to be the largest transit system in the country that doesn’t receive operating support from its state government.
So, let’s celebrate this victory.
Matthew Rao, chairman of the BeltLine Rail Now board, called MARTA’s vote for the Streetcar East Extension “one of the biggest milestones to date” for the project, which is supposed to break ground in 2024 and open in 2027.
“It’s a clear signal that MARTA is moving forward toward construction,” Rao said. “Details remain to be worked out and there is still a long road ahead, but the clock toward operation to Ponce City Market just began ticking.”
Hooray!
This is a tourist trap, but in the best possible way. People in downtown hotels can now catch a slow ride out past the King Center to the Ponce City Market, which is a nice day out.
But let’s not pretend this is anything but that. And let’s also not pretend that throwing $260 m at a functional transit stop for some redesign is going to put a single fanny in a train seat.
What MARTA needs is to go where people want, frequently enough so they don’t have to think about it too hard. The system is like Billy Crystal’s old “Fernando” impression on SNL — it is better to look good than to feel good. (Yes, I am old.)
I think you’re forgetting that a lot of people live downtown, it’s not just hotels. Take into consideration that *thousands of people live on the Georgia State University Campus, and the current streetcar runs right through it, this would allow for GSU students to work in places along the beltline without the need for a car, which many of them do not have, I think that in the long run this would definitely be a net positive for Atlanta, even with the large price tag.
Also, the streetcar can provide a faster mode of travel along the beltline that can allow for people who are using it to get to their jobs do so much faster, which will ultimately make the beltline less crowded, and more enjoyable for those using it for leisure.
Wow the North side wins again. WHEN IS SOMETHING COMINS BELOW I 20?
Critics of the streetcar are motivated by two things: a love of parks and a love of transit.
The Beltline is a park – Atlanta’s best park – and running rail on it will ruin the park.
The picture atop this article is terribly misleading. Where is the fence? If the streetcar is built, there will be a safety fence along the tracks that prevents people from going to the other side. Trail users will be dangerously jammed in the adjacent sidewalk.
See all that grass? It won’t be there. MARTA plans concrete between the rails. Moreover, once capital funds run out early, any grass will likely be sacrificed for concrete. Later, when operational funds run out, trash and weeds will take over. The streetcar tracks will look like rail tracks every else.
Where is the mess of power lines? Expect a highly visible jumble of cables, towers, and cross-cables.
The streetcar hurts the park.
The streetcar is also bad transit. It serves a low-demand route, and it is very expensive.
How about deploying transit where to meet need: to the south side of town, where working people desperately need transportation. Everyone talks about equity, and this streetcar is terribly inequitable.
Opposition to the streetcar will only grow. When MARTA starts tearing up this park, the Beltline’s 2.1 million annual users will go ballistic.
Atlanta can preserve the Beltline park and deploy useful, cost-effective transit. Take those $230,000,000 and use them where they provide the most public benefit. It really is that easy.
Agreed on all points, Mr. Klein. People are going to feel hoodwinked once this starts happening and again, once it’s completed and it doesn’t look a thing like that picture. The MORE MARTA tax was not intended to fund a tiny strip of track in an area which does not need transit. At the time of the “More MARTA” vote, in 2016, the streetcar was not even part of MARTA.
Hans is correct. The streetcar option is ill-advised fantasy. The reality is much different. Go take a ride on the current streetcar and then tell me you think it will be a state-of-the-art transportation system. It isn’t now. It won’t be then. It will be an eyesore that destroys the best thing Atlanta has done in decades.
Let’s forget the political bickering and do what is best for the entire city.
Given the opposition locally to this project, is the risk worth the reward? Not in my opinion.
The last streetcar project went 30% over budget. which if this one follows suite will put it over $300 Million. It will be a poster child for wasteful government spending. Streetcars are the most costly, least ridden, form of Mass Transit. It’s 19th century technology. Autonomous Buses, also Mass Transit, would cost a fifth as much, and preserve many trees already growing on the Beltline. So much for the city of trees legacy.
This is the project to waste $230 million (or much more) taxpayer funds. It brings the failed downtown loop to a one mile segment on the Beltline, most of the route sharing traffic with cars and moving at 5mph. Who would logically advocate for this project at the expense for 50+ other cancelled actual benefit projects? MARTA is not going to get any federal grants as this is a wasteful project that doesn’t qualify. MARTA is not going to revisit any of the additional 21 miles of Beltline until at 2035, probably 2040. I am hoping this article would be a bit more transparent in regards to the equity (what projects are cancelled) and not just quote the usual lobbyist groups.
Maria, I respect your opinion, but I believe it is biased by a desire to see MARTA have a win. While a phase shift toward other options for transit might look like a delay, it could be much faster to operation, far less costly (to the point that transit along more of the Beltline could quickly be accomplished far in advance of the 2035 date put forward by MARTA), and far more flexible. The rendering provided is a far cry from what will likely be built. It’s disingenuous to show the entire rail corridor grassed, no fencing on either side of the corridor (nothing to keep children or others from entering the active transit area) and fails to show the multiple overhead lines necessary. I don’t mind losing a far fight on a matter but not when the proposal has so many inaccuracies (visual depiction, ridership estimates, cost and lack of fair consideration of new alternatives).
The rendering for this article is someone’s fantasy. There isn’t a chance in hell that MARTA could make anything look that good. They don’t have the imagination, they don’t have the ability, and they don’t have the money, nor will they ever have the money. There’s also a good reason why MARTA hasn’t built rail in 20 years…it’s because no one rides it! With the exception of a few anomalies across the country rail ridership continues to drop. While Atlanta needs transit, and while other types of transit could benefit the Beltline, MARTA and Mayor Dickens have their minds stuck in 20th century technology and refuse to look to the future. This may be Mayor Dickens’ legacy…a failed Streetcar with $230 million or more down the drain.
This writer is in a fantasy land. Marta has already said the grass will not be there without funding from LOCAL businesses. This street car fairy tale land looks great, but she should show the REAL picture of what it will be.
I feel like the same person wrote most of these comments. In any case, I fully support this expansion as it’ll make the streetcar actually useful AND provides a much needed proof of concept for Beltline rail. That said, I can sympathize with the feelings on loss of trees and some of the idyllic park setting. I wish they found a way to make it less obtrusive and ugly. The
At the end of the day, Beltline is a transit corridor and designed for connectivity so I’m happy to see this happening exactly where the action is. If this were in the Southside, the same “taxpayers” would be on here complaining about low ridership and calling it a tool of gentrification.
As someone that lives in the middle of where this streetcar will go and whose children learned to walk on the beltline I can say this picture should be in a Childrens book. Because it’s just that a dream. The actual result will be nothing like it and will be a HUGE I told you so moment for those of us that have to live with it daily and not just on the weekends. but sadly that I told you so I won’t feel so great because it’s still will be a nightmare. I love the street car when it actually works… And when it’s not filled with homeless people sleeping. It will easily go well over budget during construction and after when it has to be fixed daily. Great idea to get people hooked on a new form of transportation and then have it not work so that they have to find alternatives every day. This will like all things MARTA be a disaster.
We are on track for the reality that Asheville is facing. Forcing people like myself who have been on the beltline for almost 10 years to have to move away from it due to this transportation disaster, and then it will be filled with second home buyers and Airbnb‘s. People who don’t care about the community and will let it go to the wayside along with the schools and surrounding parks etc.