3 MARTA expansions- Clifton Corridor, Connect 400 and I-20 East. What order would you prioritize them? (Atlanta: crime, transfer)

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

I had to take DART in Dallas last week from the airport and I saw firsthand how terrible light rail is. It was painfully slow and once we got into downtown it basically turned into a streetcar. We had to wait at lights like we were a car at any other red light. Even away from the city we had to go slow in a lot of places. Like 25 mph slow at times. Then there's also the negative effect on local roads that have to stop traffic. Really appreciate MARTA after that!

The Twin Cities' LRT does that too, but it is still a decent transit system. They just opened their green line service from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul last spring. Huuuge plus! Especially since it goes right through the University of Minnesota area.

They're planning to extend it further on to Eden Prairie in the southwest part of the metro. It isn't MARTA, but for a LRT system, it does the trick. So happy they keep expanding!

Originally Posted by jsvh

I think they can. For example, the city of Atlanta voted to approve MARTA's charter independent of Fulton and DeKalb.

I'm not sure, but I think it could be different for Cumberland as the area isn't a true city like Atlanta, but a district.. CID, to be exact. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If a CID can, in fact, approve MARTA in their district, that'd be super sweet!

Originally Posted by jsvh

Yeah, I don't think people appreciate what an asset MARTA heavy rail is for Atlanta. I was just in Seattle, which turned down (failed to approve match of) federal funds for transit that ended up being the funds that came to MARTA, and for being a metro the same size as Atlanta and having a more densely populated downtown the transit is disappointing. (But they are rapidly starting to build out more transit).

It's a start (for Seattle). From the airport south, you can clearly see them constructing additions.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

But why? Are they afraid that they're going to get electrocuted by the third rail? That the trains will be louder?

The only way this makes sense if they build the stations in a way that completely integrates HRT and LRT, so transferring is just a matter of going up or down some stairs. If you have to completely leave the station and go somewhere else, that's just dumb. It's making the user experience of riding transit worse, affecting the city for generations, to assuage the concerns of people who might just sell their house next month.

[skbl17]

I still think MARTA should get moving on TOD, selling air rights at some of its stations, and allowing in-station retail (a la Hong Kong's MTR). So many MARTA stations' mezzanines are empty husks, with nothing but the Breeze vending machines, the turnstiles, and the restrooms. Dome/GWCC/CNN/Philips (they really need to rename that station) is especially bad; ~85% of the station's interior is void of anything. There's huge tracts of space that could be used for shops and concession stands.

I'd do all that, rake in the huge amounts of dough that will come from those endeavors, then worry about expansions. The AJC article said it best: MARTA has no money to fund expansions at this point. We can't keep leaning on the Feds for expansion money, and the state won't help, HB 170 or not. Sales tax and farebox revenue alone won't do much good on the expansion front. You could sell bonds, but we're talking $3+ billion just to finish I-20, Clifton, and GA 400. Funding is going to be a tall order; MARTA should use all the funding streams it can.

I don't have a specific "order" of which expansion should come first, but when the time comes, I think Clifton should be HRT. With the cost it will take to tunnel under Emory and some of the neighborhoods on Briarcliff, you might as well spend a little bit more and make the line heavy rail.

- skbl17

[arjay57]

I'd prioritize them this way:

1. 400, because you've already got the highway and there are a zillion jobs up that way.

2. South DeKalb, because those folks have been paying and waiting for half a century, like North fulton.

3. Emory, because it is dense and has lots of jobs and it is getting really hard to drive over there.

[AtlantaComment]

Clifton corridor should be the priority. Would vastly improve MARTA's biggest weakness, the extremely limited route network. The Clifton corridor extension would finally move MARTA away from the current weak "+ sign" configuration and would connect various important employment centers which currently have no transit option as well as bringing a new line from Lindbergh to Avondale allowing for more efficient connections vs running everything through Five Points.

Adding CDC, Emory, Emory Hospital, and Dekalb medical to the route network would provide a huge boost to the overall network and would help reduce congestion in that part of Dekalb.

The 400 extension while important, merely extends the existing limited network further north. This needs to be done as there are tons of jobs and residents up there but Clifton should be the priority.

The I-20 extension is similar to 400 in that it is just stretching the network but in this case it is going into a much less economically vibrant area than the 400 extension. This is and should be the lowest priority expansion.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

I'm not sure, but I think it could be different for Cumberland as the area isn't a true city like Atlanta, but a district.. CID, to be exact. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If a CID can, in fact, approve MARTA in their district, that'd be super sweet!

That would require amending the MARTA Act (unless the CoA annexed the CID), and I don't think MARTA would be for building a 10-mile rail extension just to have one stop in Cobb County.

[alco89]

Originally Posted by AtlantaComment

Clifton corridor should be the priority. Would vastly improve MARTA's biggest weakness, the extremely limited route network. The Clifton corridor extension would finally move MARTA away from the current weak "+ sign" configuration and would connect various important employment centers which currently have no transit option as well as bringing a new line from Lindbergh to Avondale allowing for more efficient connections vs running everything through Five Points.

Adding CDC, Emory, Emory Hospital, and Dekalb medical to the route network would provide a huge boost to the overall network and would help reduce congestion in that part of Dekalb.

The 400 extension while important, merely extends the existing limited network further north. This needs to be done as there are tons of jobs and residents up there but Clifton should be the priority.

The I-20 extension is similar to 400 in that it is just stretching the network but in this case it is going into a much less economically vibrant area than the 400 extension. This is and should be the lowest priority expansion.

Completely agree!!!

1. Clifton Corridor - Emory and the CDC have been there way longer than the jobs up in Alpharetta, in addition to the fact that there are NO highways and the 2-lane roads are clogged.
2. 400 - Lots of jobs, but it's relatively new and they already have 400. Though 400 is clogged, why should they get connected before the Clifton Corridor?
3. I-20 East - It's needed, but no where near as much as the other 2.

[HeartofFlorida]

400 all day.

[sedimenjerry]

Every time I look at the roads near Emory it's just a disaster. Yea 400 is bad but a congested highway can still move a lot quicker than a backed up traffic light. And 400 is at least convenient to get to/from. CDC and Emory don't connect well to anywhere except the immediate area. 400 is 2nd choice. 400, 75 and 85 on the northside OTP are some of the worst routes. 400 could really use some help. Also tons of jobs in Roswell and Alpharetta. Lots of reverse commuting.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

But why? Are they afraid that they're going to get electrocuted by the third rail? That the trains will be louder?

MARTA is a little louder and a little uglier than Light Rail. But they already have a freight railroad there, so I don't really understand it.