Why is MARTA ignoring the need for transit in west midtown and buckhead? (Atlanta: appointed, employment)

[bryantm3]

we've heard about rapid transit projects for the clifton corridor, 400 north, south dekalb, and now clayton county. what i want to know is, where is the discussion for rapid transit in west midtown and buckhead?

i'm specifically talking about the peachtree road corridor from 400 to midtown, and along tech parkway, howell mill, and 17th street in west midtown.

concept 3 recommended high-capacity rapid rail in these areas years ago, yet there has been no discussion of transit in these areas, besides the beltline streetcar plans, which certainly don't count as high-capacity or rapid.

according to the ARC, these areas combined have over 30,000 jobs. and population density is even higher than employment density in these areas. where's the discussion for heavy and light rail in these corridors? why isn't it happening?

[LovelySummer]

I live off Peachtree and prefer the current situation. Maybe others do as well and don't want rail running through the community. I moved from Chicago. I am not in a rush to re-simulate it. I prefer the park areas and beauty to rail lines and ppl all over the place waiting for transit.

[cqholt]

Peachtree has a high frequency bus route that serves the corridor well. It's very popular among those who do not have a choice other than transit. West Midtown has several bus routes that connect to the stations in midtown, but not used a lot by residents. This reason is why rail based transit is being built, when bus service could serve the same route, because demand riders and white people in Atlanta do not like to ride a bus. The area is too built up for hrt and tunneling is too expensive.

[Atlanta_BD]

Unless you have to travel only down Peachtree or Piedmont or Northside, using MARTA to travel throughout Buckhead is a miserable experience.

The bus coverage and connectivity in Buckhead is awful, coupled with not having enough sidewalks. Transit in Buckhead definitely needs to be improved, even if they just added a couple more bus routes that connect the existing ones.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

Unless you have to travel only down Peachtree or Piedmont or Northside, using MARTA to travel throughout Buckhead is a miserable experience.

The bus coverage and connectivity in Buckhead is awful, coupled with not having enough sidewalks. Transit in Buckhead definitely needs to be improved, even if they just added a couple more bus routes that better connect the existing ones.

People wouldn't ride the buses, unless it was their only option. Look at any bus in buckhead and you don't see local residents, but people going to work. Demand riders have a stigma against riding buses.

[Gulch]

If you're expecting HRT under Peachtree and Howell Mill, prepare to be disappointed because that isn't happening. Any rail transit in those areas will have to be LRT/Streetcar.

[jsvh]

Buckhead already has pretty good MARTA coverage. West Midtown and Peachtree corridor are part of the Beltline / Streetcar LRT plan.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

we've heard about rapid transit projects for the clifton corridor, 400 north, south dekalb, and now clayton county. what i want to know is, where is the discussion for rapid transit in west midtown and buckhead? ... concept 3 recommended high-capacity rapid rail in these areas years ago, yet there has been no discussion of transit in these areas, besides the beltline streetcar plans, which certainly don't count as high-capacity or rapid.

I'm curious to know your definition of high-capacity or rapid. The Streetcar vehicles can go 55mph and hold 195 passengers. The Beltline route will be far more separated from traffic than the downtown line. It's going to be my neighborhood's connection to the rest of the city, too, but it seems like a good choice for further in-town connectivity.

[joey86]

Originally Posted by magnetar

The Streetcar vehicles can go 55mph and hold 195 passengers. The Beltline route will be far more separated from traffic than the downtown line.

Those two points make the coming Beltline rail so much more exciting than the Downtown line.

[cwkimbro]

Well the Concept3 Peachtree St/Rd Plans were for a streetcar.... not rapid service.

Buckhead has two HRT stops fairly well positioned to many employers, but not easily reachable to some parts and not easily reachable to the Buckhead Village (but not impossible to get to!)

The ultimate problem with the Peachtree Rd corridor between Midtown and Buckhead village and CBD is a complete lack density. With the exception of some areas that will be serviceable through the Beltline corridor, the only density is the lots directly on the street itself. That isn't much to generate ridership for pricier service. It isn't just the buildings right behind a station that matter, but what the neighborhoods behind it is like too.

The other point we need to consider here... The downtown streetcar, as a circulator, is mainly happening through local matching funds in part provided by the Downtown CID. For better Buckhead circulation there really needs to be more leadership with financial backing to fund such a thing in that area. At this time they are funding the Buc. That is primarily targeted at connecting a few dozen high value office properties.

The Buckhead Village would be an ideal location for an HRT station with the potential the area has. The problem I see is two-fold: 1) No easy way to physically build it, 2) There is no easy way make that a part of a larger line, which leads to transfer/service issues.

Either way the first places to start would be an increase in circulator service and/or finding ways of making Marta route 110 more of a premium bus service or light-BRT.


Now Midtown West is more complicated. There actually has been talk of such service, but in the form of an LRT route. The 17th street bridge was made with transit only lanes capable of supporting the foundation for tracks. The fact that Cobb is considering putting its resources into BRT won't help it much.

The Beltline corridor goes through part of the area. The Beltline service to a MARTA station is likely to be pretty good.