Ideas for the Downtown Connector? (Atlanta, Dallas: tax rates, to move, design)

[atl85]

Nothing will happen with the Connector. There is no money. The most cost effective thing to do would be to create barrier separated local and express traffic lanes. There are too many traffic conflicts with people from 85 S trying to fly over 27 lanes of traffic to exit at North Avenue or even the Williams Street exit. The same problem exists with people from 75 trying to fly over the same 27 lanes to get into the "fast" lanes. Setting up some system in which through traffic can be separated from local traffic would minimize conflict points and therefore reduce some congestion.

I say no to any more outer loops or new highway construction in metro Atlanta. We don't need an outer Perimeter, we don't need to double deck the Connector, and we don't need to connect 675 and 400. Any new money should be heavily invested in transit. There is no other major metro area with such an absence of transit. An outer Perimeter would just encourage people to live even farther out, try to commute into Atlanta daily, create a bunch of congestion and then place pressure on GDOT to widen even more roads to handle the increase in population. No. No. No. Connecting 675 and 400 would require tunneling an expressway, which people will no doubt demand be 12 or 14 lanes wide, underneath some of our most intact intown neighborhoods. No doubt that the contractor will screw up the engineering and there will be all sorts of subsidence problems affecting people's homes for decades.

As far as I am concerned GDOT needs to stop building new highways and expanding capacity. If people want to continue turning down transit proposals they will just have to sit in traffic on what we have.

[blakeas]

the whole problem with the downtown connector going south is I-20 - if you notice it backs up all the way because of people merging onto I-20. since they go down to 1 lane for east and west. along with courtland and north merging.

[arjay57]

It looks like Madrid, Spain is taking a page out of the ATL's playbook and covering over their downtown freeway.

The park here, called Madrid Río, has largely been finished. More than six miles long, it transforms a formerly neglected area in the middle of Spain’s capital. Its creation, in four years, atop a complex network of tunnels dug to bury an intrusive highway, also rejuvenates a long-lost stretch of the Manzanares River, and in so doing knits together neighborhoods that the highway had cut off from the city center.

All around the world, highways are being torn down and waterfronts reclaimed; decades of thinking about cars and cities reversed; new public spaces created.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/ar...-freeways.html

[cqholt]

The Downtown Connector is Atlanta's concert river. It divided east from west and flows thru Midtown and Downtown. I am impressed with the views of the skyline everytime I drive it, not very much.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The Downtown Connector is Atlanta's concert river. It divided east from west and flows thru Midtown and Downtown.

It's so timeless and peaceful to sit by the riverside and watch it flow by.

[Saintmarks]

Dallas is doing this right now, and it isn't costing billions of dollars. Why couldn't Atlanta start with a smaller scale version, instead of Turner Stadium to Brookwood, start with (say) 10th street to 14th connecting GA Tech and midtown.

Woodall Rodgers Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[arjay57]

According to the NYT, Madrid did the whole 6 miles plus dozens of new light rail stations for $5 billion, and completed it in less than ten years. That's what I call taking care of business. Ten years won't get us past the talking stage here in the U.S.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by arjay57

According to the NYT, Madrid did the whole 6 miles plus dozens of new light rail stations for $5 billion, and completed it in less than ten years. That's what I call taking care of business. Ten years won't get us past the talking stage here in the U.S.

10 years won't get past the environmental impact studies. Also, where do we come up with the $5 billion?

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by cest524

Now, as far as the Connector goes, Atlanta needs it to to access Downtown. However, it is an eyesore both on it and off. I read somewhere that people in Downtown and Midtown feel uncomfortable crossing the bridges by foot. Also, most of the bridges and overpasses are nothing more than bare concrete and huge chain-link fences. So, I think the best option to solve this problem is to widen all the overpasses enough so that buildings can be built on each side of the street.

Just convert all the bridges over the Connector to a bridge/park like Georgia Tech did.

georgia tech atlanta ga - Google Maps

You don't even see the Connector below when on the bridge.

georgia tech atlanta ga - Google Maps

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by arjay57

According to the NYT, Madrid did the whole 6 miles plus dozens of new light rail stations for $5 billion, and completed it in less than ten years. That's what I call taking care of business. Ten years won't get us past the talking stage here in the U.S.

We fought and won WWII in less than 4 years. Conceived and landed on the Moon in 8 years. Apparently, in the US, we need to couch everything in terms of a competition.