Beltline honesty (Atlanta, Rome, Jackson: how much, neighborhoods, contractor)

[ATLTJL]

I've heard all the platitudes about the Beltline project. I've been hearing them since 2005.

I don't really follow the project at all. Maybe a lot of it is underway, but from where I'm sitting, I haven't noticed much advancement.

Anyway, I don't really want to start a whole thing, but from what I can tell, the Beltline is an idea with some support, but nowhere near what it really needs. At least that's what it looks like to me, but I don't really know.

So my question is this:

Is the Beltline a pipe dream, or is this thing really going to happen? When I say the Beltline, I don't mean a couple of new parks...I mean the whole project, are we going to have 22 miles of green space served by a transit system that goes around the entire thing, or not?

[bryantm3]

go to monroe drive and look north, right north of the intersection of 10th and monroe. they've already completed the walking and biking path, and they're continuing it on the other side of monroe.

not much has happened on the west side, from what i can tell.

the rail is a while off. it has to get funding from taxes or federal grants, which could happen this july. vote yes for the t-splost bill!

[atltechdude]

they say they've raised like 60 million in private investment and 20 million in federal funds, so I don't think it is a pipe dream, though I admit I don't know how much everything planned will cost.

[cwkimbro]

Well ... it isn't a pipe dream at all and it is well underway.

What people need to understand is it is a $3 billion project and will take alot of time to complete... even longer thanks to the recession.

Of that $3b only $1b is actually for transit. Much of the costs are actually in the green way and park building. More importantly (and overlooked) alot of the cost is the environmental cleansing of older industrial tracks to make it suitable for redevelopment, so alot of the private development in the corridor is made possible by the beltline. That development is also help paying for it via the tax allocation districts and increasing the amount of taxable property (more housing units = more units to tax = more people to help pay for the project).

With that said...

It is also an ambitious project planned to happen over 30 years. I think we have to open ourselves up to the idea that it might not succeed in everything it sets out to do, but that doesn't mean it can't accomplish alot. Inversely... who knows after 30 or 40 years maybe it will be much much more.

[testa50]

For the rail portion, various releases have hinted at the idea that the initial phase will connect to the downtown streetcar (sometimes they have more than hinted at it). I think the first thing we're going to see is the streetcar extended along Jackson, up to Irwin, and over to the Beltline. That's a major project in and of itself, but at that point you'll have direct streetcar access from North Highland to downtown, which is pretty significant.

I have to assume (or hope) that in the linear parks portion of the project they are going ahead and establishing final elevations for the streetcar. That way, once funding for the streetcar comes along, all you have to do is lay stone and build track, rather than getting a civil contractor to do major dirtwork. That would make everything a hell of a lot easier and cheaper to construct.

[George Chong]

Have you seen the completed "skate park" off of North Avenue? What a transformation! It is simply gorgeous!

Historic Fourth Ward Park (http://beltline.org/BeltLineBasics/Maps/HistoricFourthWardPark/tabid/3872/Default.aspx - broken link)

Northeast Atlanta BeltLine Photos (http://beltline.org/ResourceLibrary/Photos/NortheastAtlantaBeltLinePhotos/tabid/4022/Default.aspx - broken link)

And with all the rain in January - lots of progress has been made along the Inman Park/Old Fourth Ward portion too.

[residinghere2007]

You should go to the beltline site and sign up for their updates. I agree with the poster above who said not much is happening on the Westside but in other areas there is progress in regards to the trails and green spaces. I have been to a few of their meetings as well regarding west Atlanta. Personally I feel there is not as much of a push here on the Westside, which is why the project is not progressing as rapidly as other areas, but there have been some trails made in West End which connect to neighborhoods near West End like Ashview, there was a trail completed last year in that area.

[tonygeorgia]

It will.get millions of $$$$ if the tax bill passes

[waronxmas]

Patience is the key. The very idea was formulated in 1999 and wasn't turned into a workable plan until 2006. It's a tired analogy, but seriously, Rome wasn't built in a day. The type of changes the Beltline will bring from transit, to brownfield clean up, to new housing, to parks will take a very long time as these sorts of projects take a very long time. With that said, if you haven't noticed all of the work already done on the Beltline you are downplaying how much you haven't been paying attention...

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I've heard all the platitudes about the Beltline project. I've been hearing them since 2005.

I don't really follow the project at all. Maybe a lot of it is underway, but from where I'm sitting, I haven't noticed much advancement.

Obviously. You must not follow the local news either, because the Old Fourth Ward portion (park only, not rail yet) connecting to North Avenue was just completed and was all over the local news websites at the end of last week.

It's not a pipe dream, it is happening, and some portions are done and open to the public.