MARTA transit plan includes 21 miles of light rail (Atlanta, Martin: city hall, bus)

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by cqholt

If and when DeKalb Co passes their own MoreMARTA sales tax increase then that's a possibility, but because of it's redundancy and proximity to Gold Line I can see it having difficulty qualifying for FTA grants. Also, dedicated BRT lanes would allow in the emergency that I-85 is shut down GDOT could open the BRT lanes to general traffic. IMO that corridor is better suited for BRT, the stigma of bus doesn't exist.

You make good points, but we're talking about an area that is going to see increased density and major demographic shifts in the years to come; of that I have no doubt.
Furthermore, the 'redundancy' of the Gold Line hasn't impacted ridership on the 39 one iota; it continues to increase. Who on Buford Highway is going to opt for walking to Brookhaven or Chamblee stations? The FTA should be able to see this.

[arjay57]

It would be nice to see a line between Emory's main campus and its new campus at NDH and 85.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by arjay57

It would be nice to see a line between Emory's main campus and its new campus at NDH and 85.

No kidding. As it stands their only real connection is two-lane Briarcliff Road. Pathetic.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Iconographer

No kidding. As it stands their only real connection is two-lane Briarcliff Road. Pathetic.

It probably drives the folks with transit planning degrees crazy, but I don't have a problem with hooking up short, heavily traveled corridors like that, and then filling in as demand grows.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by mrkim2911

So can anyone give good ballpark numbers on exactly how much Clifton rail vs. the entire beltline will cost?

Don't know about the beltline, but the last estimate I saw was 1.9 billion for the entire Clifton corridor. The city of Atlanta stretch is about half of the mileage. Not sure how much of the cost.

[cqholt]

More MARTA website updated with new information

Including Summary of Technical Analysis
http://www.itsmarta.com/uploadedFile...ary_052918.pdf

Project Programming Assumptions
The original project list contained estimated project budgets (both capital and operations and
maintenance, or O&M), which were based on a cost-per-mile approach. The programming assumptions
also included estimates related to local and federal dollars. Both the project budgets and funding
assumptions utilized existing conditions, programs, and projects from peer transit systems and staff
input. The following provides an overview:
Funding

• ART projects are funded locally.
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects under $150M are funded locally.
• BRT projects above $150M are split 50% local, 50% federal.
• Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects are split 50% local, 50% federal, except for the Atlanta Streetcar
  East Extension project, which is funded locally.
• Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) projects are split 50% local, 50% federal.
• All other projects are funded locally.

The general rule of thumb is that most capital projects (i.e. high dollar amount) are assumed to be
funded with 50% local money and 50% with federal money. Most smaller scale projects are assumed to
be funded with 100% local money.
It was assumed that the More MARTA projects would generate a 30% farebox recovery rate.
Capital Costs by mode

• ART = $2.5M/mile
• BRT = $25M/mile
• Freeway BRT = $15M/mile
• LRT on BeltLine = $55M/mile
• LRT off of BeltLine = $75M/mile
• LRT w/ tunnels = $200M/mile
• HRT = $250M/mile

Operations and maintenance (O&M) costs are budgeted for twenty years. This is industry standard for
transit expansion programs and is a requirement for any individual project pursuing federal funding.

[Zanarkand A East]

Exciting times. Can't wait to see more heavy rail in South DeKalb though.

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by Zanarkand A East

Exciting times. Can't wait to see more heavy rail in South DeKalb though.

Or anywhere really. They need to expand the heavy rail and add more stations ASAP

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Zanarkand A East

Exciting times. Can't wait to see more heavy rail in South DeKalb though.

DeKalb unfortunately thought it more important to invest in roads first, although I fear they will take the North Fulton route and cheap out to BRT-heavy network.

[fourthwarden]

The Campbelton Road corridor is set to receive over $420 Mil. in total transit funds between future ART, BRT, and LRT services. While I'm certain that the corridor does deserve that amount of spending, I can't help but compare it to other corridors that saw their proposed streetcar & light rail service postponed in favor of less expensive options.


Instead, what I would, like to see would be the shift of the money being set aside for the Campbelton Light Rail Line to an otherwise unserved project.


Specifically, I would suggest reallocating the light rail funds to the Southside BeltLine, bridging the gap between the S-Concept light rail sections from Murphy Ave to Irwin through the southeastern city. This would represent roughly 6 miles, or ~$330 Mil. by MARTA's own per-mile estimates. That leaves a $66.3 Mil. shortfall from the funding MARTA is planning for the Campbellton Line. I would be surprised if this gap could be closed if the project was paired directly with ABI's built-out of the Southside trail, allowing both MARTA and ABI to share land-working, infrastructure, and construction contracting costs. Further funding could come directly from ABI to help finish the route, since they are, as an organization, supposed to be funding transit as well as the trail and parks.


This would provide additional high-capacity service to the SE side of the city, allow riders to bypass the potentially slow inner-core of the city while trying to access the east side, allow cross-connectivity between the Northside and Capitol Bus Rapid Transit lines, and ensure that the BeltLine itself would be far more complete, all while still allowing high-capacity transit to be implemented in the Campbellton Rd corridor in the form of Bus Rapid Transit.