Atlanta has been making great strides to provide new transportation options for life in the interior, as well as for the many visitors to our city. Projects have been slow, but include The BeltLine and the Atlanta Streetcar.
About the Atlanta streetcar:
The Atlanta Streetcar is a transportation project focused on the downtown district, which includes many offices and a number of popular tourist attractions, such as the Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, Georgia World Congress Center, the Centennial Olympic Park and the World of Coca-Cola.
The tram will run on rails through the city. It is similar to what you can see in San Francisco, with its ubiquitous cable cars. The Atlanta streetcar will have a single cable running above it. Many US cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle, have some form of light rail transit like a streetcar.
The Atlanta Streetcar Route:
The Atlanta streetcar will be built in two phases. The first phase focuses on the East-West line and will run from the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial area to downtown through Centennial Park.
The second phase of the Atlanta streetcar route will take the line north to Marta’s Art Center station, ending at the southern end at Five Points station. An exact map has not been drawn for this area at this time.
Eventually, the Atlanta Streetcar plans to extend from Fort McPherson Marta Station to Brookhaven Marta Station.
The reason behind the trams:
The organizers firmly believe that trams are an ideal alternative to buses and train systems like Marta, and are more suitable for short-distance trips. Trams are more environmentally friendly than buses. They can also move more quickly, as they are not affected by traffic. Travelers often see trams as a more convenient and attractive service than riding the bus.
Timeline for the Atlanta Streetcar Project:
Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2011, with the focus on the East-West line. They are forecasting that the service will start in mid-2013.
Many of the city’s streets will be affected by ongoing construction throughout 2012. Marta has announced a series of bus routes that will be rerouted, beginning October 8, 2011, to accommodate construction.
Proposed use for the Atlanta streetcar:
Based on studies of other cities that have implemented similar streetcar systems, Atlanta expects to see between 12,000 and 17,000 one-way trips per day once the North-South and East-West lines are completed. It is expected that 11 to 14% of these passengers will be people who previously traveled in single occupancy vehicles, so it should reduce traffic on the interior streets somewhat.
Currently, the hours of the proposed system would be from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm, Monday through Friday; 8:30 am to 11:00 pm on Saturdays; and from 9:00 am to 10:30 pm on Sundays.
Proposed ticket prices for the Atlanta streetcar have yet to be announced.
Connection to other services:
The Atlanta Streetcar will serve as a shuttle through underserved areas on Marta’s current routes, but will also connect riders to Marta stations for those who need to travel to other areas of Atlanta.
The Atlanta Streetcar is part of a larger plan called The Connect Atlanta Plan, which aims to “increase urban mobility, sustainable development and the livability of the city of Atlanta.” The Atlanta Streetcar plans to eventually connect to parts of The BeltLine and will provide access to many Marta stations. The East-West line connects to Peachtree Central Station and will include many more in the future.
El plan Connect Atlanta:
The Connect Atlanta Plan is a major transportation initiative to provide better options for getting into Atlanta. At this time, many of the proposed projects in the plan are just ideas. Little by little they begin to come true, with individual parts of the plan like the Atlanta Streetcar and The BeltLine taking off and garnering funding and support. You can view a detailed map of each of Atlanta’s neighborhoods and see what’s (possibly) in store for your community as Atlanta works to become a more user-friendly city.
The history of the Atlanta streetcars:
Streetcars used to be a main form of transportation in Atlanta and other American cities, before World War II. Most of the systems were shut down, and many cities that currently have streetcar service operate on entirely new systems.
Atlanta’s original streetcar system helped shape many of the neighborhoods that are popular today, particularly areas east of downtown such as Inman Park (considered Atlanta’s first suburb), Virginia Highland, and Ponce neighborhoods. from Leon and Dekalb Avenue to Decatur. Trolley lines also headed north toward the Buckhead and Howell Mill areas. In the late 1800s, the Atlanta Streetcar was known for the Nine Mile Circle (also known as the Nine Mile Trolley), which formed a loop between popular neighborhoods, just like The BeltLine will today.
In the late 1940s, Atlanta transitioned from streetcars to buses and the tracks were covered and paved like roads. The Atlanta streetcars being built now will be modernized for today’s commuters, with handicap features, air conditioning, and other amenities we look forward to.
