Rail transit key to Downtown revitalization

Atlanta has a strategic opportunity to embrace Downtown revitalization efforts by fueling new and improved transit service.

In conversations with about a dozen business and civic leaders, it has become obvious that our city is at a pivotal juncture when it comes to Downtown and transit.

First, stars are aligned to bring new life to Downtown.

Second, key people in the private and public sectors are focused on “fixing” MARTA. That includes actually expanding transit as promised in the More MARTA plans.

Third, we as a community should look at ways to enhance our existing assets — such as the Atlanta Streetcar — as our most tangible opportunity to improve our transit network.

Fourth, we need to take advantage of our most immediate and cost-effective opportunity to expand transit in our central city.

Let’s start with the most transformational development underway in the Atlanta region — the $5 billion Centennial Yards project.

Take Tony Ressler, principal owner of the Atlanta Hawks and a partner in Centennial Yards (his brother Richard Ressler is a co-founder of the CIM Group, the developer of Centennial Yards.) At the Buckhead Coalition annual meeting on Jan. 23, Tony Ressler said that when he first bought the Hawks 10 years ago, he was surprised by the lack of vibrancy Downtown.

“I felt Downtown could be much more incredible, and it will be much more incredible,” Ressler said in a conversation with Eric Tanenblatt, the outgoing chair of the Buckhead Coalition. “Of all the amazing parts of Atlanta Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead — Downtown has a little patching up to do.”

Ressler ticked off its attributes — the convention center, the Georgia Aquarium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena, the Black colleges that make up the Atlanta University Center, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Emory University as well as other assets.

“Imagine how much more vibrant Downtown will be like when Centennial Yards builds out 4,000 to 5,000 apartments, a hotel and a state-of-the-art entertainment district,” Ressler said.

Brian McGowan, president and CEO of Centennial Yards, also takes a long view. As the former CEO of Invest Atlanta and Atlanta Beltline, McGowan understands the symbolic role rail transportation has played in the founding of the city when three railroad lines converged at the site that is now Centennial Yards.

“Transit, including rail transit, is critical to any major metropolitan area that values economic growth,” McGowan said. “Growth projections for our region are staggering, and it’s a fact that if you can’t move people and goods, your economy cannot continue to grow. So, I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t prioritize adding all kinds of transit wherever we can fit it.”

Atlanta voters have embraced the idea of transit. In 2016, 71 percent of Atlanta voters supported adding a half-penny sales tax to support the expansion of transit in the city.

“We are nine years into the More MARTA program with nearly $700 million in taxes collected and no transit expansion to show for it,” according to Beltline Rail Now’s website. 

In December, after a meeting with the Atlanta Committee for Progress, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said fixing MARTA was going to be a top priority for the city. 

“Yes, it’s a higher priority,” Dickens said. “We just have got to get going. We will not be in this position at the end of 2025. When we sit down at that ACP meeting, you will see a different MARTA and a different Atlanta MARTA relationship. It’s going to be a big push.”

Coincidentally, Dickens is heralding the tagline: “Move Atlanta Forward.” Nothing could move Atlanta faster than investing in a robust transit system.

That leads us to the Atlanta Streetcar, its extension and rail on the Eastside Beltline. The Atlanta Streetcar just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and its track record is not nearly as bleak as people like to portray. A recent story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said ridership on the Streetcar has rebounded more than any other transit mode operated by MARTA since the Covid pandemic.

“The Streetcar, even in its limited state, is performing quite well,” A.J. Robinson, president and CEO of Central Atlanta Progress — the entity that launched the 2.7-mile transit loop. “The streetcar, if managed properly, can provide a lot of upsides for Atlanta and the metro area.”

Remember, the Atlanta Streetcar was supposed to be part of a transit network, including a Peachtree Streetcar that would have connected Downtown Atlanta with Piedmont Hospital.

When it was launched, the Atlanta Streetcar was free to ride. 

“We used to have music on the Streetcar, and we had parties on the Streetcar,” Robinson said. “The community needs to look at the streetcar as an asset. We need to care about it.”

Several people interviewed agreed the Atlanta Streetcar could use some love. Some suggested it should have its own dedicated right-of-way and not be mixed with automobile traffic. Others said there needs to be much more frequent service. Now it runs every 15 minutes. 

“I would argue it’s been successful,” Robinson said. “We can make the case it has spurred economic development. And that’s with a poorly operated streetcar. A lot of this goes back to MARTA. People don’t have confidence in MARTA. We’ve got to make the existing system work really well before biting off new chunks.”

Matthew Rao, chair of Beltline Rail Now, agreed. “We can and must fix the Downtown streetcar,” Rao said. “The city can and should take this on before we extend the streetcar onto the Beltline.”

Rail on the Eastside Trail is the next best opportunity. Detailed engineering plans have been underway, and it’s the closest project we have to being shovel-ready. It also is a way to provide more equity in Atlanta.

“We won’t get equity unless we have mass transit on the Beltline,” said Doug Shipman, president of the Atlanta City Council. “Rail is the only form I’ve seen that can deliver our needs.”

Rao said rail on the Eastside trail makes sense because the corridor has the current density to assure ridership. Plus, it could be delivered in three years with $230 million earmarked for the project.

“Everywhere else on the Beltline is eight to 10 years out,” Rao said.

But another idea is taking hold. Extending the Streetcar through Centennial Yards, the Atlanta University Campus and onto the Westside Beltline trail. That would complement having rail on the Westside corridor.

“That would be a great second project that would be doable in five years and connect even more destinations directly,” Rao said. “It could also be done before the Westside trail becomes like the Eastside and truly extend equity and access to communities that don’t have it ahead of the tens of thousands of residents who will ultimately be there.”

Ryan Gravel, the visionary who first envisioned the Atlanta Beltline, said he is a strong believer in Downtown’s potential.

“The timing is right,” Gravel said. “The markets have finally begun to recognize the strategic opportunities for Downtown. Downtown is the most sustainable part of the region to grow. It is prime for the development of housing and other uses that don’t rely on cars. It is the centerpiece of the regional transit network.”

When asked about the Streetcar, Gravel said, “It has to be connected to a network of streetcars.” He still sees the value of having a Peachtree Streetcar to Piedmont Hospital.

Another piece of the puzzle is bringing Amtrak to Downtown — restoring our center city as a place for passenger trains — intercity, and commuter trains.

“We have been talking with Amtrak about a solution to provide some sort of train service in Centennial Yards,” McGowan said.

Gravel agreed. 

“Amtrak would be ideal,” he said, pointing to the population projections for the City of Atlanta and the need for regional connections. Instead of a major downtown train station, Gravel said there could be a series of interconnected platforms at track level.

It’s obvious. In a future where the region and the state have legitimate commuter passenger rail, downtown will be the most opportune place to go. Connections to other parts of the region. It just makes a lot of sense. It can be a series of interconnected platforms at the track level. 

“It just makes a lot of sense,” Gravel said. “In a future where the region and state have legitimate passenger rail, Downtown is the most opportune place to go.”