Beltline, Amtrak, GDOT maps and more! (updated)
February 10, 2009 at 6:37 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsNow that the Georgia Department of Transportation, Amtrak and Beltline officials have all taken a vow of silence and decided to keep quiet about the ongoing negotiations surrounding a rail segment in Northeast Atlanta, we have ample time to pore over the plans ourselves.
To bring everyone back up to speed: GDOT and Amtrak say they have plans for a future commuter rail line that would run on unused tracks along the eastern edge of Piedmont Park. Officials for the Beltline, the 22-mile of parks, trails and transit proposed to circle the urban core, recently purchased the tracks and surrounding property for $66 million, not including interest payments and payouts to private partners in the deal. Beltline officials oppose GDOT and Amtrak’s plans and say they would not only alter the vision of the Beltline in the area, but potentially jeopardize the entire $2.8 billion project. Beltline planners are scheduled to unveil their plans for the area in dispute — plans that could change if GDOT and Amtrak don’t budge on their position — on Thursday. Here are details of that night’s event.
After the jump, I’ve posted some handy maps that were included in a memo written by GDOT Commissioner Gena Evans and sent to boardmembers after the shit hit the fan. Also included is a handy map that shows who owns rail segments in Atlanta. If there are errors with any of these, send me a line or leave notes in the comments.
Many Beltline maps can be viewed on Atlanta Beltline Inc.’s website. Here’s the main one of the project:
Here’s a map from GDOT that shows rail segment ownership in Atlanta. As you can see, it’s a bundled-up mess. (View it as a PDF here.) The ownership issue is one Beltline visionary Ryan Gravel and community activists have cautioned about in the past — and one Beltline officials will certainly have to face again.
Here’s a map that focuses specifically on the Decatur Belt, the 4.8-mile rail segment that’s become such a hot-button issue. (View it as a PDF here.)
And here’s an undated map that takes another look at who owns what when it comes to rail in Atlanta. (View it in PDF here.)
UPDATED: Beltline supporters and officials from the Transit Implementation Board, City of Atlanta and Atlanta Regional Commission often point to Concept 3, a regional transit plan that many agencies approved last year, as evidence that GDOT knew about Beltline plans for the Decatur Belt. Concept 3 shows commuter rail running along the western edge of the city and stopping at a long-planned — but unbuilt — downtown train terminal near Philips Arena. Concept 3 includes the Beltline and shows the Decatur Belt as handling light-rail. GDOT did not formally approve Concept 3, but agency representatives attended meetings where the plan was discussed and voted to approve it. Here’s a PDF of Concept 3. On the plan, commuter rail is a green line, the Beltline light-rail is a blue line.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
A lot of evidence, Thomas.
Exhibit #2 is unclear but suggests that Norfolk and possibly GDOT (faint blue squares) own the stretch along Piedmont Park. Exhibit #3 and #4 make it clear that Norfolk owns an out-of-service patch along Piedmont Park.
All the talk so far has been about Amtrak and GDOT. Where does Norfolk come into play in all of this?
February 11th, 2009 at 9:51 am
According to Norfolk Southern’s filings with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that’s handling the dispute, it wants to abandon the rail segment. That’s what sparked this dispute.
You can view the filings here:
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/WebFilingDate?openform
Filings related to the Beltline are under the docket IDs “FD_35215_0″ and “AB_290_210_X.”
February 11th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Thanks. I re-read your original post.
The last comment to that post sounds sadly prophetic: a bike trail. Which actually may not be a bad idea!
P.S. I never realized until now that the ugly looking building at 15th/Peachtree is none other than Norfolk Southern.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
good stuff.
keep it coming.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I am glad you have put this up. I don’t live in Atlanta but the Beltline, for all its faults that I don’t know about, seems like the best thing for Atlanta, and seems much better and more coherent than the fictitious idea of Commuter Rail, which it sounds like, hasn’t gained traction yet in GA.
I have to mention, and this is really why I post, that the maps from GDOT are atrocious. The legends do not match what is on the maps, both in color and in some cases in size of lines. It is really pathetic. It explains to me why they feel blind sided by the Beltline. People who think such maps convey information in a clear manner obviously don’t understand the information that they are trying to convey.
Best of Luck
Keep it Up
February 11th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Also your comment feature does not work in Safari – it thinks that I can’t spell the same anti-spam word that has come up, three times out of seven tries.
February 14th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
This is the most informative material that I have seen on the issue. You might also note the “Atlanta Rail Corridors Assessment” published by the Rails to Trails organization. It very clearly points out that the NE Beltline corridor is a critical link for bringing commuter rail in from the east to downtown. Lots of good maps there also.