Peachtree Streetcar vision isn’t dead yet
July 7, 2009 at 9:53 am by Thomas Wheatley in News
A couple of years ago, it really seemed like the Peachtree Streetcar was gonna happen.
The studies were completed and it seemed like everything was in place to connect Fort McPherson and Buckhead with a nearly $1 billion street-level transit system.
The first phase of that vision — 10 miles of track from Woodruff Arts Center to Memorial Drive, with a downtown tourist loop — was nearly ready to go. All the initiative needed was a special tax district along Atlanta’s most famous corridor, a Legislature-approved parking tax, and everyone to exercise patience during construction.
But then the city reported its shortfall and the economy cratered. The streetcar concept was placed on the backburner, where’s it sat for months. Ask any transit wonk at panel discussions or community meetings about the project, and they’d tell you that the vision was there but the money was not.
Maria Saporta reports however that the City of Atlanta, MARTA, Midtown Alliance and Central Atlanta Progress are coming together to apply for federal transportation dollars to fund some of the project.
Should the feds not pick the streetcar project, Saporta reports, then the application could be used for future funding opportunities. (The article is behind a subscription firewall for the moment, but here are some snippets.)
Both Franklin and Scott said that if the stimulus dollars don’t come through for the project, the application that’s being prepared can be resubmitted for other initiatives, such as the reauthorization of the federal transportation funding bill and a possible new regional or statewide sales tax that could support transit.
“The work we are doing now is not for naught,” Franklin said. “Atlanta’s advantage is being ready for any one of those funding opportunities. This is not the time to wait for the funding and then get ready. The more ready you are, the better the chances are that you will get funding.”
MARTA CEO and General Manager Bev Scott tells Saporta that the transit agency and the city won’t be coughing up cash for the project, and can only offer support. How they’ll fund the project is also up for discussion.
Several funding ideas are being considered for operations, and it’s likely that there will be another public-private partnership to cover those costs, which are expected to be several million dollars. The CIDs might be able to contribute some of their revenue.
MARTA and other transit agencies might be able to eliminate some of their existing bus service along the route and reallocate those funds to the streetcar. Another idea, which would need state approval, has been to levy a parking fee to subsidize the streetcar.
(Courtesy Peachtree Corridor Partnership)
July 7th, 2009 at 10:28 am
This is still the dumbest idea ever. How about extending marta rail to Cobb, Gwinnett and Cumming first, and making them pay a special tax instead.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:51 am
The majority of folks in Cobb, Gwinnett and Cumming don’t want MARTA. Some say this is because close minded people think public transportation is synonymous with poor people.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Is there any reason why the City is not also requesting stimulus funds for the BeltLine? Both are good projects that would offer much needed alternatives to automobile travel, but the BeltLine would cover more ground. Besides, we can already get from Buckhead to Ft. McPherson via existing MARTA rail.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Even if this were free, I still don’t see how it will work in real life on Peachtree.
The “artists conception” pictures don’t show gridlocked Midtown/Downtown traffic with a street car sailing through.
I also don’t understand how one gets to the street car if it runs down the middle of the road.
Couldn’t MARTA just buy 40 fancy red busses and drive them up and down Peachtree (in a special lane perhaps) and call that a Street Car?
July 7th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
So wait, marta is NOT synonymous with poor people? Quit kidding yourselves people.
The sooner you realize that no public transportation system in this city will ever be used by the middle-upper class in large numbers, the more money you will save by not wasting it on projects like this.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Alex: If you don’t understand it, then it’s probably better for you to try to learn more about it.
JM: Maybe YOU wouldn’t use it, but I do.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
JM – I’ve commuted to work at my downtown office on both the north-south trains and the east-west trains, and I have to say that the trains are generally filled with middle-class people going to work in the morning and evening hours. I usually have to stand because there aren’t enough seats.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
JM, please educate yourself. Whenever my destination falls within reasonable walking distance of a MARTA station, I take it. Thousands of other working professionals take MARTA as well.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I strongly disagree with both JM and Matt. I believe the Peachtree streetcar is an excellent idea in improving intra-city transportation, making ATL more walkable, and relieving traffic congestion.
JM – while it is correct that there need to be more transit options to the sub/exburbs, such expansion is useless without quality intra-city travel. Right now, even if a Gwinnetian (sp?) could take the train to Arts Center station, it can be horribly inconvenient to get to other parts of the city – they are pretty much stranded there. With a street car, once a person reaches midtown, they will have better access to Buckhead, downtown, or hopefully even down Ponce/North. Bottom line is that inter-city transit *will not work* without proper intra-city transit.
And Matt: You’re wrong: Plenty of non-minority people take Marta to work, and even more would if they knew they could effectively get around once inside the city (see above). Furthermore, demographic stats show that more and more people are moving all along peachtree, not to the sub/exurbs (see: 12th @ Peachtree).
The PT Streetcar is not the end-all of ATL transit options. But, if implemented well as part of a comprehensive transit scheme, it could help turn ATL into one of the first post-war boom cities that is also transit-friendly and walkable.
July 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I live in Midtown and have been calling for months to try and get Juniper paved between 10th and 14th. It is like driving in the worst section of Baghdad. The road is flat torn up. And what did the city tell me? There are no plans to pave it now or in the future. But we can have a streetcar in the neighborhood? What fun…
July 7th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Nadia: The funds to pay for those two things come from two different pots of money that are each legally restricted for specific purposes.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I like the streetcar plan, and I think it would be a great thing for the city. However, I’m not convinced it’s the best use of available funds (federal stimulus or otherwise). The main problem with the current “Peach” bus on Peachtree Street (& Road) is that it is scheduled to come by every 30 minutes. For people with choices, that makes it irrelevant. No one with a choice will wait 25 minutes for a bus.
A much smaller amount of money could be used to subsidize a nice bus that comes by every 10 minutes. After a few years of demonstrated performance, such a bus would be very popular.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
What is wrong with this city? Really?! We want to be this cosmopolitan city, but we remain 2nd tier.
The Beltline – great idea, but probably will never happen.
Streetcars – excellent idea that helped Portland, OR, transform itself into a really cool city; the same could happen here.
MARTA – we have the same train system as DC, but it is a joke. The rail line needs to extend into all metro areas and look like a spider web, not a + sign. If the train actually took people to many different places in and around the city, it would be utilized.
This city needs to think and act on a bigger scale. It’s really continuing to fall behind other cities in terms of transportation, the arts, livability, nightlife, etc.
July 7th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
so move dude.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
BPJ –
While you have a valid point about the cost/benefit of providing a better bus on Peachtree over a streetcar, I think you overlook the benefits a train/streetcar/light rail has over a bus – in particular 1) its lack of stigma and 2) its benefits to tourism.
The simple fact is that busses carry with them a stigma causing people to not ride them. In nearly every city where rail replaced a bus-line, ridership increased dramatically. The new rail line was never dramatically faster or even more convenient – your typical rider just doesn’t like busses (probably for very, very baseless reasons).
An even better reason would be to expand tourist access to other parts of ATL. Your average aquarium visitor or conference goer would never venture to the High Museum on a bus. Never. Not in a million years. Throw a rail line down on peachtree, and suddenly that same tourist is swept all over the city, just for the simple thrill of riding a stupid train.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Adam-
I agree with everything you said, but you missed some things. Because streetcars run on rails, their routes are (more or less) permanent and easy to understand. The permanence of streetcar lines encourages development along the line, and the ease of understanding encourages strangers to the system to ride. In addition, people just seem to be more comfortable with riding trains.
All of this is despite the obvious energy benefits and you have a clear victor.
The original rise of the bus in place of streetcar lines was not natural; it was a result of cheap gasoline, spread out cities and a scheme to get people to buy cars due to the bus’s low desirability (for more, read http://www.ejnet.org/rachel/rehw439.htm ). There is mounting evidence that we will be living in a much more energy scarce world in the coming years, so all three of those factors will soon be out of the window. I wholeheartedly believe that streetcars will become more and more utilized in coming years.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Nadia –
I live on that block of Juniper as well, and it’s been my assumption that the developer of the new high rise building would repave the street once they finish construction (which is getting much closer by the looks of it). That may be a naive assumption, but it’s their trucks and construction vehicles that have torn it up.
I can say this, I could use Juniper a lot less if there was a streetcar on PT. If it were to connect to a future streetcar line on Ponce that would be incredible. Also, Adam’s comments have been right on and are much appreciated.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Hahaha. Some silly Atlantans don’t realize that a streetcar actually removes other cars from the street. You are building high rise buildings. There is simply no way the roads will be able to handle the congestion if everyone drives. Transit is the only option. Any world class city has a world class transit system. I live in New York, which simply could not have developed without the subways and buses. Enjoy higher gas prices, suckers.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
The problem with the trolley is that the initial funding was to come from a 3 mill tax on condos only within 3 blocks of Peachtree. Further that the PCP funded report stated that very little in the way of new development would come. Portland, the model for development driven by a trolley, built theirs in an area without development. That is not the case along nearly all of Peachtree.
This is a want not a need that the city is asking a few not the many to fund.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Markat Twelve – but there is plenty of development in the area serviced by the streetcar in Portland now. In fact, the Pearl District went from being craptastic warehouses to one of the nicest parts of downtown for living and working. And the streetcar is a major mode of transportation for people living and working there. (yes, Matt, even the ones that live in the insanely expensive Pearl District Condos) I took it, daily, for years. It was clean, easy and reliable, and I wasn’t paying for or dealing with gas, traffic or parking.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:53 am
from a 3 mill tax on condos only within 3 blocks
This is not entirely true, but it does speak to the intention of the proposed tax district.
The district was drawn to extend a quarter-mile in every direction from the streetcar line. However, instead of drawing the line strictly according to distance, they drew the line according to neighborhood borders.
When asked about this, Ray Christman explained two reasons: first, because it’s easier; second, to help preserve single family homes that are within the quarter-mile distance.
Both reasons are clearly a bunch of crap. The district boundaries could have been extended — the benefits of the trolley clearly extend beyond the quarter-mile border. Also, single family homes are not suddenly going to be rezoned just because they fall within a tax district.
To me, it really seems to be a big mistake to be so willing to forego the good will of those falling within the tax district for the sake of appeasing single family homeowners.