MARTA transit plan includes 21 miles of light rail (Atlanta, North Druid Hills: sales tax, live in)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Campbellton Rd should only happen as BRT / LRT if it will be in dedicated RoW the majority of the route.

I doubt there is really support for that at this point given that a lot of the route is only two lanes. But I say punt it back to the power players in the SWATS and let them decide how much RoW they are willing to give up. My guess is it would end up as a heavy ART route which I think is appropriate.

I agree we need to focus funding as many dedicated lane/guideway projects as possible with MoreMARTA, not political favors.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

The one thing I'd really change about the proposed plan would be to pull back on the funding spent on the Campbellton Rd corridor, which quite a few of us have said by now, multiple times. Right now it's slated to receive three levels of service throughout the tax's life:

• Campbellton Line: Five miles of in-street light rail service along Campbellton Road between Oakland City Station and Greenbriar Mall. An arterial rapid transit line has been established. It will be upgraded to bus rapid transit and then to light rail in the long run. $263.7 million (light rail only).
• Campbellton Line: Five miles of in-street bus rapid transit service along Campbellton Road between Oakland City Station and Greenbriar Mall. The line began as arterial rapid transit, but will be upgraded to BRT and later to light rail. $130 million (bus rapid transit only).
• Route 583 - Campbellton Line: Arterial rapid transit along Campbellton Road from Greenbriar Mall to Oakland City Station. Mostly finished. Will be upgraded to bus rapid transit and, eventually, to light rail. $27.6 million (ART only).

[Source]

Now, the ART level is almost done, so we can't get funding back from that. I don't think we should put light rail in the corridor, though. BRT is already slated for the route, and that's a solid new route.

By contrast, we could take that 5 miles of Light Rail and just about finish the Southside transit route from the already planned Westside route to the already planned Eastside route. That's assuming, of course, that it costs a similar amount to run Light Rail along the Southside, which is a pretty large assumption. Then again the Northeast BeltLine is looking at ~$58 Mil. per mile, and the Southwest BeltLine is looking at ~$49 Mil. per mile, meaning that we could probably get close to 5 miles of rail out of the Campbellton Rd reapplication of funds. Especially if teamed up with BeltLine efforts at building out the Southside Trail.

Just make it one of the last projects, so that we give ABI enough time to get ready for construction on the Southside, and we can knock the whole thing out at once.

I agree with this. Spending $130 million on an interim transit mode just seems wasteful and unnecessary. However, I did watch the Beltine Rail Now Q&A in which I learned that Campbellton Road is the second busiest bus corridor in the entire region so it is more than just a political route. In that meeting, Marta promised to update their website with the data that the project list is based on as soon as possible.



Also Ryan Gravel has posted his thoughts on the project list which is more nuanced that most people will take the time to understand. Now that I've read this, I completely agree with him.

https://ryangravel.com/2018/05/21/fa...re-marta-plan/

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by J2rescue

I agree with this. Spending $130 million on an interim transit mode just seems wasteful and unnecessary. However, I did watch the Beltine Rail Now Q&A in which I learned that Campbellton Road is the second busiest bus corridor in the entire region so it is more than just a political route. In that meeting, Marta promised to update their website with the data that the project list is based on as soon as possible.



Also Ryan Gravel has posted his thoughts on the project list which is more nuanced that most people will take the time to understand. Now that I've read this, I completely agree with him.

https://ryangravel.com/2018/05/21/fa...re-marta-plan/

I agree with him on the Campbellton Rd projects

I would make this a permanent prototype project that would jumpstart a regional BRT network. This roadway connecting Oakland City to Greenbriar could be a state-of-the-art, national model by prioritizing street design and signalization for transit and by including all the features of real BRT – level boarding with multiple doors, off-board fare collection, etc. The money in the plan assigned to future light-rail conversion would go toward another corridor better suited for rail.

but break away when it comes to Emory and Armour infill, I just feel Armour infill is unneeded.

I’d set aside 20% of the budget planned for the Emory line and hold it until the region comes up with the rest. The Emory line easily meets federal transit planning expectations and should have no problem competing for money. Assuming the region finds that match, City residents will then be prepared to contribute our share. As for the remaining 80% previously budgeted to the Emory line, I’d reassign it to other projects that support the Emory connection but more directly benefit City residents and neighborhoods. I would use that money to fund light rail along the northside of the Atlanta Beltline – it would construct the physical connection to MARTA’s red and gold lines with an infill station at Armour, which can later be shared by the Emory line. And it would expand the reach of the future Emory line to a broad swath of northwest Atlanta and other destinations like Piedmont Hospital.

I mean, where are you going to put LRT on the BeltLine Northside currently?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by J2rescue

However, I did watch the Beltine Rail Now Q&A in which I learned that Campbellton Road is the second busiest bus corridor in the entire region so it is more than just a political route.

What are the busiest and least busy bus routes in the region?

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by arjay57

What are the busiest and least busy bus routes in the region?

I think the busiest is in Clayton.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

I think the busiest is in Clayton.

Do you have a link to something showing the ridership on MARTA bus routes, fourthwarden? I have looked all over MARTA's website and elsewhere on the internet and haven't been able to find it.

I'm sure they have the information readily available but it's almost as if it's treated as some sort of secret.

That would sure help tremendously in transportation discussions and decisions.

[1lifealex]

Originally Posted by arjay57

What are the busiest and least busy bus routes in the region?

The busiest bus route in Marta's system is route 39 Buford Highway it uses the 60 ft long buses and are still packed it's frequency is every 15 minutes most of the day and every 20 minutes early in the morning and late at night and every 20 minutes all day on weekends this route also runs over 22 hours on weekdays which is longer than marta's train system first bus departure 4:05 a.m. last bus arrival 2:11 a.m. at the Doraville train station

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by arjay57

What are the busiest and least busy bus routes in the region?

Originally Posted by 1lifealex

The busiest bus route in Marta's system is route 39 Buford Highway it uses the 60 ft long buses and are still packed it's frequency is every 15 minutes most of the day and every 20 minutes early in the morning and late at night and every 20 minutes all day on weekends this route also runs over 22 hours on weekdays which is longer than marta's train system first bus departure 4:05 a.m. last bus arrival 2:11 a.m. at the Doraville train station

Buford Hwy would have been my guess. Beyond that, I have no idea about bus ridership numbers. It was mentioned by one of the Marta representatives ( I don't think it was Parker) at the Beltline Rail Now meeting.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by 1lifealex

The busiest bus route in Marta's system is route 39 Buford Highway it uses the 60 ft long buses and are still packed it's frequency is every 15 minutes most of the day and every 20 minutes early in the morning and late at night and every 20 minutes all day on weekends this route also runs over 22 hours on weekdays which is longer than marta's train system first bus departure 4:05 a.m. last bus arrival 2:11 a.m. at the Doraville train station

Buford Highway is practically screaming for LRT. Even the inevitable redevelopment of the Corridor won't change that.

[fieldm]

Didn't know that about Campbellton Road. Im for it now!