Hey, so i thought itd be fun to come up with some new names for some of the MARTA stations. The lines were built in the 80s so some of the names have become a bit outdated since then. Also, it could help with the revival of some of areas immediately surrounding the station.
One thing Ive noticed - In atlanta, some the stations are named after the
major attraction nearby. In most other cities, the stations are named after the
nieghborhoods or districts that they are in, and at each stop the loudspeaker says "Exit For..." and lists the destinations (i.e. Dome, King Center, GWCC, etc.). I know MARTA does this at some stations but there is no reason for the stations to be named after the destination.
Also, half of MARTA's money must go to capital improvements, so dont gimme any grief about how they have no money to do this!
Old Name: West Lake
New Name: Mozley Park
Mozley Park is a historic nieghborhood and park. renaming would help the neighborhood's comeback.
Old Name: Ashby
New Name: Washington Park
Same reason as above!
Old Name: Bankhead
New Name: Midtown West
Whose idea was it to name this station Bankhead, with the reputation that area has?! Either of these new names would help the renissance of the new "Midtown West" and give the district some much-needed identity.
Old Name: Garnett
New Name: Castleberry Hill
What does Garnett even mean? The street its on??!! Where is the creativity! This would help with identity and revitalization.
Old Name: Lakewood/Ft. McPherson
New Name: Lakewood Heights
Ft. McPherson is closing. Lakewood Heights is the name of the neighborhood, am I correct on this?
Old Name: Dome/GWCC/Phillips Arena/CNN Center
New Name: Centennial Olympic Park
This area will become a residential development hotspot once the market picks up. If we name the station, maybe it will catch on as a name for the whole area - think Grant Park (the park) and Grant Park (the neighborhood).
Old Name: Georgia State
New Name: Georgia State University OR East Downtown OR Downtown
If they are going to name it after GSU, they might as well use the whole name. East Downtown would also be good. Also, there is no "Downtown" station, but the other 2 major business distrcits have a namesake station (Midtown and Buckhead.)
Old Name: King Memorial
New Name: Old Fourth Ward/Cabbagetown
The "East Side" is booming and is ground zero for gentrification in Atlanta. These neighborhoods should have a shared MARTA station just like the other East Side neighborhoods. Also would help with revival.
Old Name: East Lake
New Name: Kirkwood/Oakhurst
This station isnt in East Lake, its near East Lake road, which confuses people. Also, We can continue the "East Side" trend of the shared MARTA station. Also, may help with revival.
Old Name: Avondale
New Name: Avondale Estates
MARTA is so lazy! Go with the official name!
Old Name: Airport
New Name: Named after the new development at the old Ford Plant
"Airport" is sooo generic.
Old Name: Civic Center
New Name: SoNo
Again, "Civic Center" is so generic. Plus, love it or hate it, the city is trying to push the SoNo name. This could give the area the identity and really make the name stick.
Old Name: North Avenue
New Name: Georgia Tech
GSU gets its own station, but GT doesnt? Some may say its not close enough, but all you have to do is cross the bridge and youre at the stadium - its pretty close to the edge of campus, but its still campus!
Also, whats with naming after roads??
Old Name: Arts Center
New Name: The Arts District
This has a much more cosmopolitan sound to it.
Old Name: Lindbergh Center
New Name: Lindbergh
People seem to refer to this area as simply Lindbergh, especially with the new development. naming it simply "Lindbergh" sounds more organic.
Old Name: Lenox
New Name: Lenox Square
This is one of the "better of the bad" names... Its ok if it stays Lenox, but Lenox Square sounds more official. Not sure if they even have the rights to use it tho.
Old Name: Brookhaven/Oglethorpe University
New Name: Brookhaven
I think itd make sense to drop the ogelthorpe u. its barely even walking distance. Plus, Brookhaven is big enough area that it shouldnt have to share.
Old Name: Medical Center
New Name: Pill Hill
This is a nickname for the area, no one calls it Medical Center. Plus, if this area densifies with some mixed use, it could catch on with developers (i.e. Pill Hill Village).
OPTION 1
Old Name: Sandy Springs
New Name: Perimeter Center
A business district as large as Perimeter Center should really have a namesake station. With this option, you would rename North Springs into
Sandy Springs, so that way the city has a station too. Dunwoody would remain unchanged.
OR
OPTION 2
Old Name: Dunwoody
New Name: Perimeter Center
You would then rename Sandy Springs into
Dunwoody and North Springs into
Sandy Springs. This used to make a lot more sense before Dunwoody became a city, because the Sandy Springs station is just as close to Dunwoody village as the current Dunwoody station. The problem is the Sandy Springs station isnt in Dunwoody - its in Sandy Springs.
OR
OPTION 3
Do nothing. The setup is not bad, but Perimeter Center still wouldnt have a namesake station.
Let me know what you think!