BATBlog
Expect Beltline rail to exceed $2.8 billion
The price tag is likely to be Beltline rail’s undoing. But neither the city nor MARTA profess to have a good idea of what that price tag will be. So we came up with a low-ball estimate. “Low ball” doesn’t always mean “low.”
GSU Law Review: Parkway fight holds lessons for Beltline rail
The Georgia State Law Review has insightful article on Beltline transit and the role that advocacy groups have played in molding Atlanta.
Beltline rail panned by experts for 20 years
Beltline rail followed an unusual path to get this far down the track. Each time a closer look identified problems or planners proposed putting resources toward more viable projects, rail enthusiasts pressed to keep the dream alive.
Short doc on Atlanta transit, walkability
This eight-minute video from The Daily Conversation nicely describes Atlanta transit woes and the embrace by many residents of a less car-centric vision for the inner city.
Bob Amick: Beltline rail bad for business
“Entrepreneurs are close observers of the lay of the land around them,” famed restaurateur Bob Amick writes. “Those of us who run restaurants and other customer-facing businesses are always on the lookout for threats and opportunities. It’s pretty clear to me which of those the Beltline streetcar is.”
Mobility solutions take a hit in Cobb County
As transit advocates brace for changes that might emerge from a new administration, an election result closer to home in Cobb County is likely to have a more immediate impact.
A very familiar streetcar story in Seattle
Seattle’s underperforming South Lake Union Streetcar has a lot in common with the unpopular Atlanta Streetcar.
When $230 million becomes $2.5 billion
The $230 million Streetcar Extension East, which includes the first phase of the Beltline streetcar, is enveloped in controversy. That’s just the tip of the dollar-berg
A desire named streetcar
Most Atlantans agree that we need a greener, more equitable, more connected city. But, over the last two decades, Beltline streetcar advocates have poured their aspirations into a single project — at the expense of others.
Beltline streetcar grass track adds incremental cost
Putting lipstick on a pig can be a bit of challenge. But it won’t break the bank. That’s our takeaway from a June report by a MARTA consultant on a proposal to use a grass track bed for the Beltline streetcar.
Dickens clarifies Beltline rail stand
Mayor Andre Dickens insisted last week that he’d like to see the Beltline streetcar built. But he also warned that the 22-mile rail loop might not be affordable. Check out the mayor’s most extensive comments yet on the controversial rail project.
Don’t let a streetcar roll over the Beltline Arboretum
Trees Atlanta’s Beltline Arboretum has a won praise as an ecosystem restoration project. Now, it’s threatened by the Beltline Streetcar.
New Lime bike spotlights micromobility access
The world’s largest scooter and e-bike rental company has soft-launched a new accessibility-friendly e-bike in Atlanta.
I-285 transit moves forward, bit-by-bit
It could connect intown residents to major employment centers along I-285 and visa-versa. The impact on the inner metro area’s congestion, pollution, equity and development patterns could be significant.
Mythbuster 4: Beltline rail is just the start of a streetcar system
In 2014, Atlanta Beltline Inc. came up with the Atlanta Streetcar System as a way to justify Beltline rail. Events since have rendered the plan obsolete, leaving the case it made for the Beltline loop in tatters.
Pedaling at windmills
A look in pictures and words of Better Atlanta Transit’s investigation — via bicycle — of the amazing bicycle infrastructure in Ultrecht and Rotterdam.
8 micromobilty lessons from Holland
After a fact-finding (and fun-finding) mission to the Netherlands, Walter Brown brings eight lessons about bicycle mobility back to Atlanta.
Atlanta’s e-bike vouchers wildly popular
In a sign that Atlantans are embracing micromobility, nearly 9,000 residents applied over the course of one week for just 700 e-bike vouchers. The program may soon expand to meet demand.
Our Five Points lesson — Atlanta needs a mobility plan
The controversy over MARTA’s Five Points Station revamp is doing us all at least one favor. It’s exposed the absolute mess that passes for mobility planning in Atlanta.