GDOT, Beltline strike deal on vital track segments
July 9, 2009 at 5:40 pm by Thomas Wheatley in News
Beltline has secured a purchase option on segments highlighted above in red
The Beltline and Georgia Department of Transportation have agreed that key railroad tracks owned by the state agency will indeed be part of the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit.
GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith and Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Terri Montague announced today the agencies have struck a deal over a two vital segments of railroad tracks in Southwest and Southeast Atlanta.
The set of tracks in Southwest Atlanta stretch more than three miles from Allene Avenue to Lena Street. The other segment, which is much smaller, runs from Wylie Street to Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown.
According to the agreement, Beltline officials have exclusive claim on the properties until June 30, 2012. Until then, ABI will lease the segments and prepare them for public use — think hiking tours, urban sightseeing, etc.
“This is a great milestone for the BeltLine,” Montague said in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to the board and staff of the Georgia Department of Transportation for making this BeltLine transaction a priority. By securing the Southwest corridor and a portion of the Southeast corridor, the BeltLine is now ahead of schedule on Right of Way acquisition, and controls close to 50 percent of the BeltLine corridor. This agreement will allow ABI to continue transit and trail planning activities and open parts of the corridor up to the public within the next year.”
”We are extremely pleased to participate in a project that will advance transit and mobility options in the city and the region,” Smith of GDOT said.
The track segments are unused and abandoned, which means Beltline officials can now begin planning in the project areas. It also means we won’t see a repeat of the fiasco we saw earlier this year in Northeast Atlanta between ABI, GDOT and Amtrak. After negotiations, GDOT and Amtrak backed away, and ABI was able to move forward with planning in the area.
Officials now say that dispute helped bring the agencies together and improve communication, making deals such as this one possible.
July 9th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Awesome!
Those of us in the aforementioned area near Cabbagetown refer to it as Reynoldstown.
July 9th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
The portion Beltline Inc acquired from GDOT is in the neighborhood of Reynoldstown. Thanks for marginalizing us! I guess I can read the other rag…you know…The Sunday Paper.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
© 1870, yo
July 9th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Be nice to Wheatley. He’s practically the last man reporting on this stuff.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
No disrespect or marginalization intended, guys. The post has been corrected.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
This thread is a little reminiscent of the classic Springfield v. Shelbyville conflict.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
While aspects of the BeltLine project itself have been likened to “Marge vs. the Monorail”.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Wheatley, It’s better now that you slightly corrected your article, But the Beltline isn’t “near” Reynoldstown, it actually runs through the middle..uugh, maybe you could use the phrase “runs from Wylie Street to Memorial Drive bisecting Reynoldstown”. Thanks.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:05 am
This is fantastic news. Progress, indeed.
I can’t wait for the first Allene – Lena Beltline 5k road (er… trail) race. That segment is almost exactly 5k, I hear.
Also, since we are splitting hairs over neighborhoods, the section near Allene is in between The Capitol View and Adair Park neighborhoods. I think that Lena street is in Vine city.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:19 am
well if we are referring to the part of the segment that is bisecting reynoldstown in the picture then I’d say it goes well past Memorial. I live in the A&P Lofts which is at the intersection of Memorial and Glenwood connector which is the street it will run down…I guess.
Rather than carve this thing back out of the city is it foolish of me to think a raised tram is out of the question? Not talking about the Chicago style but the amusement park style that sits on concrete posts.
Newark airport has something like I’m thinking.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:00 am
You’ve probably reported on this before, but does the Beltline qualify for any Obamabucks?
The Newark airport skytrain is the slowest thing on Earth. I hope it’s more like the above ground portions of the Greenline T in Boston, except without the shrieking and crashes.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:28 am
WSB reported last night that, including this section, over half of the train tracks for the Beltline have been secured. Also, they are close to securing the rights to 3.5 miles of train tracks in SW Atlanta. Don’t know if any of this is really true, but it’s great news if it is.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I can’t wait until 2035 when this project is complete!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am
BTI,
The Beltline will stand to benefit from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that’ll be used to clean up brownfields in several redevelopment corridors in Atlanta. The project overlaps some of those areas. The grant’s expected to clean up 10-12 properties that are considered hazardous.
Because a lot of the Beltline is currently in planning stages (concept design, environmental assessments, etc.), it’s unlikely any of the projects are considered “shovel-ready” and eligible for Obamabucks. I’ve heard mumblings of another federal stimulus, but I doubt that’ll happen.
S. DeKalb Voter,
The portion in Southwest Atlanta was included in yesterday’s arrangement. I drove around the area on Wednesday; it really is an incredible part of town.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Ok. Including the Mason land, what proportion is controlled by the beltline now?
I agree it may be a while before this project is complete, but glad people have the vision to do it nonetheless. Just think what Atlanta would be today if Mayor Hartsfield didn’t have his vision about Atlanta and aviation.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:03 am
The 25-year timeframe makes this project a joke. I can see that implementing light rail takes significant time and money, but that doesn’t mean we should have to wait forever to enjoy any benefit from the project. Now that the Beltline folks have rights to large tracts, let’s make them usable. Why can’t neighborhood groups (such as in Reynoldstown) organize themselves and work to clean up the tracts and turn them into an unpaved hike/bike trail (like the trails bordering the Chattahoochee)? Such a project would be quick, relatively inexpensive, not interfere with the ultimate Beltline solution, and create a real asset to the surrounding communities.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I think the 25-year time frame is a plus. By the time there’s a train, I’ll get a senior discount.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:31 am
S. DeKalb Voter,
The Beltline controls the former Mason property in Northeast Atlanta, which is roughly 4.6 miles, and these segments, which total roughly 4 miles. A Beltline spokesman says that’s a total of 48 percent of the Beltline transit right-of-way. (Remember, they just have a purchase option on the DOT property. They still have to finalize the purchase by June 30, 2012.)
Beltline officials now have to acquire the northwest quadrant and what’s left of the southeast quadrant.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:39 am
“Why can’t neighborhood groups (such as in Reynoldstown) organize themselves and work to clean up the tracts and turn them into an unpaved hike/bike trail (like the trails bordering the Chattahoochee)?”
Believe me, if we have ABL’s blessing, I would expect us to do this. Right now, there is a menacing sign where the tracks go south from Wylie street that says “GA DOT PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING”.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Thanks Thomas.
In related news. THERE ARE 10-12 PROPERTIES THAT ARE CONSIDERED HAZARDOUS??!!
Jesus Christ, I thought that was a lot until I read your other story and saw this little doozy, “the Beltline and selected sites contain nearly 180 brownfields.” Is it just me or does that seem like a lot. Another story for another day I suppose…
July 10th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I know, it’s kind of unsettling. But the definition of “hazardous” is pretty all-encompassing. One planner — not affiliated with the Beltline — told me “hazardous” can mean anything from grocery store parking lot to an abandoned battery factory. A lot of the old buildings and properties along the proposed Beltline tracks were once serviced by the railroad, and were industrial in use. So there’s a mix.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
As I understand it, and based on the bus tour I took with the beltline folks, the NW quadrant will be the most difficult. The path in that quadrant isn’t perfectly configured like the others and a lot of those tracks still have regular use from freight trains.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
S. DeKalb,
Yep, that’s what I’ve heard as well. The rail yard in Northwest Atlanta has been described as the busiest and most active in the Southeast. I’d have to check the figures on the Savannah ports to see if there’s a large amount of rail service in that area.
During the negotiations between GDOT, Amtrak and the Beltline over the Decatur Belt (Wayne Mason’s former property near Piedmont Park), a proposed alternative to running intercity trains along the tracks near Piedmont Park was to instead to run the trains on those Northwest Atlanta tracks.
That would’ve required modifying the rail corridor, which concerned residents in that area. The Atlanta City Council amended a resolution that approved the Decatur Belt deal so their concerns would be noted.
July 12th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Did the agreed price include a payoff to GDOT for giving up the fight over right of way on the Mason stretch of line? And yes I know it was lower per acre than the blackmail price that Mason extracted.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
This is great news. Now, the BeltLine needs a decent management team and other than a completely lame Board of Directors. With Mayor Franklin soon to let go of the project, there is renewed hope that something real and substantial will happen.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 am
The area that Lena St is in is not Vine City, it’s Washington Park. I am really excited to see what will be done there! Maybe more with the arboretum?
July 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Kudos! I hope they make the right of way useable in the near term for something (hiking, mountain biking, community gardens) – even as the transit is being planned. Also think it demonstrates a commitment to making it happen in SW Atlanta.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Way to go! ABI, Terri and staff are making it happen. Making the deal with DOT is essential to building Beltline transit and this after gaining the attention of EPA administrator Lisa Jackson last month. Way to go!!!