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Well you're the train expert here and the well-connected insider- so why are they doing it that way for Clayton County on the Norfolk Southern corridor?
The commuter rail line could be extended further south – maybe even to Macon. Ashe said the analysis showed that the best option would be to build a separate rail line along the corridor rather than mixing passenger trains with freight trains.
“One of the advantages is that a parallel set of tracks means there are no operational conflicts,” Ashe said. “The cost difference is not material. And we get the advantage of having technological flexibility.”
Is the CSX line any fundamentally different than that? Any reason why they'd have a different approach? They said the cost is not much higher to lay down 2 new RR tracks and have them be dedicated to transit.
Connecting Cobb to Bankhead? That would go down in flames. Even though the area is improving with the announcement of Bellwood Quarry Park and adjacent mixed use developments, it still suffers from stigma from people not near the area.
Cumberland really should be connected to MARTA heavy rail. The green line is the most logical way to do it. Right now, to be realistic, the green line is totally unnecessary. There's one stop that's different from the blue. People ride MARTA to the airport and it goes through several miles of really bad areas.
Some of you are stereotyping people based on the 60s and early 70s. We live in a different world.
New idea I just thought up: when the Green Line gets to Cumberland Blvd @ Cumberland Pkwy, it could have a station there at the mall, then bridge over 285, but then instead of following the RR towards Downtown Smyrna, it could run in a cut and cover tunnel underneath Cumberland Blvd, to a second station underneath Windy Ridge, just on the other side of 41.
That station would directly serve the Battery, plus the Galleria via the pedestrian bridge. Plus BRT along 41.
Then the 3rd, final Cumberland area station would be right around here, at Circle 75 Pkwy:
Oh, and the final station at Circle 75, would have an express BRT link down to Arts Center, as well as an express BRT link across the top end over to Dunwoody and Doraville.
Paces Ferry Rd in Vinings would need a grade separation, but it needs that anyway. And I believe every other road crossing along the CSX between Marietta and Bankhead, is already grade separated.
Nope. Woodland Brook Drive and Paradise Shoals/Heavenly Trail are not grade-separated. But Heavenly Trail is essentially just a loop where people dump mattresses and tires, so I'm not sure why it even exists. Woodland Brook is a fairly busy road.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primaltech
And maybe even extend Moores Mill Rd to there somehow.
Pretty sure that's never happening. I think there is a plan to extend Moore's Mill to Adams Drive, but I doubt it would go down to Marietta Rd.
Well you're the train expert here and the well-connected insider- so why are they doing it that way for Clayton County on the Norfolk Southern corridor?
Is the CSX line any fundamentally different than that? Any reason why they'd have a different approach? They said the cost is not much higher to lay down 2 new RR tracks and have them be dedicated to transit.
The Clayton line isn't 2 new railroad tracks, it's one. There isn't enough space in that corridor to have a triple track line (1 freight plus 2 CRT) so if they keep going that route, we'll be stuck with a glorified Xpress bus on rails. But no, they aren't fundamentally different.
Nope. Woodland Brook Drive and Paradise Shoals/Heavenly Trail are not grade-separated. But Heavenly Trail is essentially just a loop where people dump mattresses and tires, so I'm not sure why it even exists. Woodland Brook is a fairly busy road.
Right. So. The full plan of what I would do with the Green Line (and the MARTA rail system in general) is:
Rename the Dome station to something snazzy like, Centennial District, or something like that. And everything around that area will be getting better and better, more of a great destination, with the Gulch development and everything else around that area.
Possibly rename Vine City station to Vine City/Northside Dr station. (Or leave the name alone.) And it would connect with Northside Dr BRT going up thru West Midtown. And it would get some more TOD developments around it. As well as that new fancy bridge to Mercedes Benz.
Rename Ashby to Washington Park Station, and it would get a little TOD love and improved looking area. And trail connection to the Westside Beltline.
Rename the Bankhead station to Donald Lee Hollowell, or Westside Park, or Proctor Creek, etc. Along with all that nice new TOD and trail connection to the new park. And station enhancements, longer platform, etc. Make it all nice and cleaned up and well-lit around there. (And yes, gentrified a bit.)
Then the new line runs north along Marietta Blvd, either in a U-wall or elevated, hugging around that power station. Then a straight line bridge over W Marietta St and Inman Yard, and that's where the next station could be, with direct access to Huff Rd also. And integrated TOD all around that area. Call it Huff Rd station, or Huff Rd/ Blandtown.
Then you've got a long stretch of inexpensive and ideal corridor, with the former Tilford Yard ROW. Minimal bridges/tunnels needed for a while. The next station, at Marietta Rd, would be Hills Park station, or Hills Park/ Crest Lawn. Tons of new dense TOD development all around there. Maybe mid-rise office towers.
Then the Bolton station, or Bolton/Riverside station, at Marietta Rd @ Adams Dr. Lots of dense residential TOD, retail/food halls, nice public park, trails, the works around there. Maybe a good amount of park&ride at this station, as the last stop in the city. (The others would have very limited parking, if any.)
Then a short bridge over Bolton Rd, and a bridge over the river, and it would run under Atlanta Rd. Then the line would cruise all thru Vinings along the RR corridor with no stops, in a shallow cut and cover tunnel. It would run under Woodland Brook and Paradise Shoals. It would run under Paces Ferry Rd. A station there would be cool, but would probably be opposed by that wealthy Vinings Village community.
Then there would be the 3 stations in Cobb, all near each other in the Cumberland area, but all on different key corridors. The first one would be at the mall and would serve buses from Cumberland Pkwy and Spring Rd and the circulators, and would serve potential commuter rail from Marietta. It would be like Cobb's commuter rail hub/terminus station.
Then it runs under Cumberland Blvd, under across 41, with the second station being right there at the front of the Battery where Windy Ridge is straight, where the Double Tree is. Everything around there would be all re-developed and densified and improved. Then the Circle 75 station, built into that steep area between Crescent Pkwy and Windy Ridge.
Meanwhile, the other end of the Green Line would run out to Tucker, via Emory/Clairmont, N Druid Hills, and Northlake. With lots of development along with all those stations.
The west Blue Line would run out to Six Flags, via new stations at 285 (Adamsville Station), and Fulton Industrial @ MLK.
The Gold Line would run to a new station at Jimmy Carter, as planned.
South of the airport, the Red/Gold lines would run south to a new station in the Riverdale Rd area near 285, then maybe they'd split back out, with one line as a commuter park&ride station for I-85, and the other for S Fulton Pkwy, both slightly OTP. Or something like that.
The overall vision being, all 4 of the lines would extend OTP, on both ends (even if just slightly.) And all 4 of the lines would be useful and quality. The whole system would make sense. Accessing key attractions from the whole metro area via transit would be something closer to feasible.
And there would be a Krog St infill. And Mechanicsville infill. And BRT from Indian Creek to Stonecrest.
I dunno, just a thought.
Quote:
Pretty sure that's never happening. I think there is a plan to extend Moore's Mill to Adams Drive, but I doubt it would go down to Marietta Rd.
Extending that road to Adams Dr would be perfect, with a new stoplight there. That would give the Moore's Mill corridor better access to a potential HRT or CRT station at Bolton. As well as give better access to the Atlanta Rd and Marietta Blvd corridors.
Extending that road to Adams Dr would be perfect, with a new stoplight there.
The last plan I heard was for Moore's Mill to meet Adams where Adams makes the 180-degree turn, and for the short stretch of Adams north of that to be removed. Adams itself is not capable of handling much through traffic (trust me, I drive on it all the time and it sucks), so it's not really a good road to count on for a grid connection.
Quote:
That would give the Moore's Mill corridor better access to a potential HRT or CRT station at Bolton. As well as give better access to the Atlanta Rd and Marietta Blvd corridors.
Where are you talking about for this station? The one you mentioned at Adams and Marietta?
Cumberland really should be connected to MARTA heavy rail. The green line is the most logical way to do it. Right now, to be realistic, the green line is totally unnecessary. There's one stop that's different from the blue. People ride MARTA to the airport and it goes through several miles of really bad areas.
Some of you are stereotyping people based on the 60s and early 70s. We live in a different world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primaltech
New idea I just thought up: when the Green Line gets to Cumberland Blvd @ Cumberland Pkwy, it could have a station there at the mall, then bridge over 285, but then instead of following the RR towards Downtown Smyrna, it could run in a cut and cover tunnel underneath Cumberland Blvd, to a second station underneath Windy Ridge, just on the other side of 41.
That station would directly serve the Battery, plus the Galleria via the pedestrian bridge. Plus BRT along 41.
Then the 3rd, final Cumberland area station would be right around here, at Circle 75 Pkwy:
That one could serve commuters coming from I-75 and the express lanes, like via a tunnel ramp into a park&ride garage.
Also that would allow 2 stations for the stadium, for better crowd flow control.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primaltech
Right. So. The full plan of what I would do with the Green Line (and the MARTA rail system in general) is:
Rename the Dome station to something snazzy like, Centennial District, or something like that. And everything around that area will be getting better and better, more of a great destination, with the Gulch development and everything else around that area.
Possibly rename Vine City station to Vine City/Northside Dr station. (Or leave the name alone.) And it would connect with Northside Dr BRT going up thru West Midtown. And it would get some more TOD developments around it. As well as that new fancy bridge to Mercedes Benz.
Rename Ashby to Washington Park Station, and it would get a little TOD love and improved looking area. And trail connection to the Westside Beltline.
Rename the Bankhead station to Donald Lee Hollowell, or Westside Park, or Proctor Creek, etc. Along with all that nice new TOD and trail connection to the new park. And station enhancements, longer platform, etc. Make it all nice and cleaned up and well-lit around there. (And yes, gentrified a bit.)
Then the new line runs north along Marietta Blvd, either in a U-wall or elevated, hugging around that power station. Then a straight line bridge over W Marietta St and Inman Yard, and that's where the next station could be, with direct access to Huff Rd also. And integrated TOD all around that area. Call it Huff Rd station, or Huff Rd/ Blandtown.
Then you've got a long stretch of inexpensive and ideal corridor, with the former Tilford Yard ROW. Minimal bridges/tunnels needed for a while. The next station, at Marietta Rd, would be Hills Park station, or Hills Park/ Crest Lawn. Tons of new dense TOD development all around there. Maybe mid-rise office towers.
Then the Bolton station, or Bolton/Riverside station, at Marietta Rd @ Adams Dr. Lots of dense residential TOD, retail/food halls, nice public park, trails, the works around there. Maybe a good amount of park&ride at this station, as the last stop in the city. (The others would have very limited parking, if any.)
Then a short bridge over Bolton Rd, and a bridge over the river, and it would run under Atlanta Rd. Then the line would cruise all thru Vinings along the RR corridor with no stops, in a shallow cut and cover tunnel. It would run under Woodland Brook and Paradise Shoals. It would run under Paces Ferry Rd. A station there would be cool, but would probably be opposed by that wealthy Vinings Village community.
Then there would be the 3 stations in Cobb, all near each other in the Cumberland area, but all on different key corridors. The first one would be at the mall and would serve buses from Cumberland Pkwy and Spring Rd and the circulators, and would serve potential commuter rail from Marietta. It would be like Cobb's commuter rail hub/terminus station.
Then it runs under Cumberland Blvd, under across 41, with the second station being right there at the front of the Battery where Windy Ridge is straight, where the Double Tree is. Everything around there would be all re-developed and densified and improved. Then the Circle 75 station, built into that steep area between Crescent Pkwy and Windy Ridge.
Meanwhile, the other end of the Green Line would run out to Tucker, via Emory/Clairmont, N Druid Hills, and Northlake. With lots of development along with all those stations.
The west Blue Line would run out to Six Flags, via new stations at 285 (Adamsville Station), and Fulton Industrial @ MLK.
The Gold Line would run to a new station at Jimmy Carter, as planned.
South of the airport, the Red/Gold lines would run south to a new station in the Riverdale Rd area near 285, then maybe they'd split back out, with one line as a commuter park&ride station for I-85, and the other for S Fulton Pkwy, both slightly OTP. Or something like that.
The overall vision being, all 4 of the lines would extend OTP, on both ends (even if just slightly.) And all 4 of the lines would be useful and quality. The whole system would make sense. Accessing key attractions from the whole metro area via transit would be something closer to feasible.
And there would be a Krog St infill. And Mechanicsville infill. And BRT from Indian Creek to Stonecrest.
I dunno, just a thought.
Extending that road to Adams Dr would be perfect, with a new stoplight there. That would give the Moore's Mill corridor better access to a potential HRT or CRT station at Bolton. As well as give better access to the Atlanta Rd and Marietta Blvd corridors.
I would love to see nothing more than Cumberland Edge City and the CTC connected to Atlanta via a Green Line extension, but building HRT is very expensive and we have little to 0 funding for something like this.
Rename Ashby to Washington Park Station, and it would get a little TOD love and improved looking area. And trail connection to the Westside Beltline.
or 'historic westside village' maybe?
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