By David Pendered
The Atlanta BeltLine is evolving quickly into a name-brand transit system that could serve thousands of streetcar riders and untold numbers of cyclists and pedestrians by the end of this decade.
That’s partly because the name “BeltLine” has become shorthand for four proposed streetcar projects to be paid for through the proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation. Just half of the 10-plus mile streetcar system would be built in the BeltLine corridor, but its linkage to the BeltLine has earned it a BeltLine tagline.
The way several BeltLine officials explain it, this evolving view of the BeltLine results from its central role in Atlanta’s ongoing efforts to improve mobility in the region’s urban core.
“We are pursuing an aggressive, integrated strategy to build out the transit network in the City of Atlanta over the next 10 years,” said Ethan Davidson, spokesman for the BeltLine. “The streetcar concept and BeltLine are not happening separately. They are happening together and will be built out as part of the same process.”
To get a sense of the blurring boundaries, consider the formal name of the $600 million streetcar project as listed by the committee that crafted the project list for the proposed sales tax, the Atlanta Regional Roundtable: “Atlanta Beltline and Atlanta Streetcar Transit and Trail.”
The original vision for the BeltLine was of a linear park in the shape of an oval, with transit and trails built on 22 miles of railroad corridors. Tax incentives were created to spur construction of homes, offices and shops along the trail and in adjoining neighborhoods.
Now, the vision of Atlanta’s transit plan is more complete, and complex. The name “BeltLine” often seems to be attached to everything except the Atlanta Streetcar in a comprehensive mobility plan that includes:
- The Beltline loop of transit, trails and development;
- The Atlanta Streetcar, now under construction in Downtown Atlanta to link Centennial Olympic Park with the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site;
- Various pedestrian and bicycle paths, from ones that begin in the central business district to the proposed trail along Ga. 400, in Buckhead;
- Four streetcar projects that would be funded with $600 million from the transportation sales tax. Two of these projects would connect to form one project through Midtown, along an undetermined route that is already ginning up controversy.
The BeltLine’s chief transit and transportation planner, Nathan Conable, explained his thoughts on why the BeltLine is becoming the de facto descriptor for the streetcar and BeltLine projects.
“Five years ago, there were two completely separate conversations about the BeltLine and the streetcar,” Conable said. “What has happened over the past 18 months is that we’ve tried to pull the conversations together.”
Here is Conable’s description of how the conversations are merging:
“Now we’re talking about one integrated system of transit serving the city and region, and taking away any barriers so that these systems will function as one thing and be as useful to the rider as they can be, while still supporting the vision of building out the BeltLine and creating economic development for the city and the region.”
Here are the streetcar scenarios, as defined by the Atlanta Regional Roundtable. The first project, Atlanta Streetcar, is fully funded. Major funding for the other streetcars projects are included in the proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation.
- The Atlanta Streetcar will link Centennial Olympic Park with the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
- On the west side of Downtown, a streetcar would connect with the end of the Atlanta Streetcar at Centennial Park. The streetcar route would continue to a station a short distance to the north, where a spur would be built to connect to MARTA’s North Avenue Station and continue to the old City Hall East. Going back to the junction station just north of Centennial Park, the streetcar project would proceed west to the BeltLine corridor at U.S. 78. Then it would travel south along the BeltLine corridor toward a terminus near West End, at the corner of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Cascade Avenue.
- On the east side of Downtown, a streetcar would begin at the MLK site, at the eastern terminus of the Atlanta Streetcar, and go east to the BeltLine corridor at Edgewood Avenue or Irwin Street, then head north along the corridor to a final stop at Piedmont Park. A spur that appears on the map, but not the description, would be built at the intersection with North Avenue and link with the spur to be built from the line that begins at Centennial Park.
According to the project list, the overall streetcar project would connect the following destinations:
- Centennial Olympic Park;
- Coca‐Cola Company headquarters;
- Downtown Atlanta;
- Georgia Aquarium,
- Georgia Institute of Technology;
- Georgia State University;
- Historic West End;
- Inman Park Village;
- Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site;
- Midtown;
- Peachtree Center MARTA Station;
- Piedmont Park;
- Ponce City Market (AKA City Hall East);
- The Carter Center;
- Washington Park;
- Woodruff Park;
- World of Coca‐Cola.
So #1 Atlanta Street car or the Auburn Edgewood corridor Street car is funded and has broken ground via the previously awarded TIGER Federal Grant on the basis of its ability to impact land use and Urban Renewal – this is the project the AJC has criticized because it does not address the Metro Atlanta definition of mobility which is (moving more cars farther and faster) but instead addresses the more sustainable version of mobility that being allowing more people to move about their daily lives (work, play, shop and sleep) in a reasonable manner even if its short distances.
So that leaves 2 and 3 funded by the uber regressive Transportation Sales Tax. Both of these projects are good though the question is what does “Major Funding” from the transportation tax mean?
2 or TIA 007 has $435,940,345 in TIA funds and
3 or TIA 004 has $165,952,132 in TIA funding
Is this more than 50%? 70% or 90% Does it include operating funds? I guess time will tell. I do think the Beltline can fund itself via other avenues because of the positive effect it will have on land use (TAD Bonds etc.) alternatively even if initially built as just a trail as is happening now it will have a great impact on the sustainable definition of mobility and on development.
The TIGER funded line was initially 72 million, though I believe that is the old number before they decided to go with the new model street car. That’s 2.6 miles on existing streets.
@inatl
I completely agree. Even if the T-SPLOST fails in the July referendum, the Beltline is the type of project that must be completed in some way, shape or form like a City of Atlanta voter referendum, long-term bonds paid back with the property tax revenues from the new development constructed along the route and the fares collected from the light rail trains along the route.
@inatl
Despite the controversy over how the project is eventually funded, the Beltline is the type of large-scale redevelopment initiative that will greatly impact the city in a very positive way in the manner that, for example, the “Emerald Necklace” Greenway has done for a classic American city like Boston so it absolutely must come into fruition some type of way.