Tag: Atlanta Streetcar
Atlanta BeltLine’s proposed rail is at a crossroads
Is Atlanta BeltLine rail transit the path toward a more functional, equitable city—or another expensive boondoggle waiting to happen? Weighing both sides of a very passionate debate.
Commentary: Connecting MARTA’s proposed light rail to the current Atlanta Streetcar is a mistake
Back in November, voters overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase to fund transit expansion in the City of Atlanta. MARTA just released its ideal expansion plans, which include bus rapid transit crisscrossing the city, late night and weekend bus service, and 21 miles of light rail. But there is a fatal flaw: the light rail infrastructure goes through one of the most congested part of town, the downtown path of the Atlanta Streetcar.
A modest proposal to get Amazon’s HQ2 in Atlanta: Make stuff up
Atlanta really, really, wants to be the site of Amazon’s HQ2, but we've got some problems that could halt that. How do we fix our issues before the Amazon delegation arrives to inspect our city? Like a steel plate over a pothole, let's cover 'em up.
Will voters decide to double down on the Atlanta Streetcar?
Streetcar boosters believe the referendums, if approved, could shift the conversation away from its early troubles. When the first trolley rolled out in December 2014, the project was already more than a year and a half behind schedule, and construction costs had ballooned from an estimated $69 million to more than $98 million, with federal grants covering less than half the price tag.
Commentary: It’s Memorial Day Weekend, Atlanta Streetcar is operating only one trolley, and that’s a problem.
Yesterday, I walked to work past the giant electronic billboard above 218 Peachtree Street and glimpsed an ad for the Atlanta Streetcar. It’s a modified version of a promotion that aired in Times Square...
The Atlanta Streetcar is being promoted to New York tourists
It might seem wise to invest in a campaign targeting people most likely to ride the Atlanta Streetcar: you know, Atlantans. But thankfully the city has done something more effective: keeping the streetcar fare-free through the end of this year.
Once again, Atlanta is ranked No. 1 for income inequality
The richest Atlanta households earn almost 20 times more than the city’s poorest residents: $288,159 compared to $14,988.
Two modest openings could herald bigger things for historic Sweet Auburn
The two new projects—both, by the way, on the Atlanta Streetcar line—represent the kind of everyday amenities that are needed by the people who live in the area year-round, not just tourists.
Six lessons from riding the Atlanta Streetcar for eight weeks
Boosters say the streetcar will transport more people around downtown, connect riders to the larger MARTA system, and bring business to struggling areas of town. If they want to come close to that, here are six things they should consider doing based on my experience commuting by the Atlanta Streetcar for the past eight weeks.
February 2015: A streetcar leaves us wanting
The first time I took the Atlanta Streetcar, on its third day of operation, I waited alone at the Peachtree Center stop across from the Ellis Hotel. It was raining, but the shelter kept me dry. The stop is about two blocks from our downtown office, and I wanted to check out for myself the project that took almost three years and $98 million to build.