Monday, July 19, 2010
Transit Atlanta downtown train terminal gets another push...
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 1:35 PM
- HOK
- BIG DREAMS Everyone loves pre-Great Recession artist sketches
The project — planned for the Gulch, that 16-acre parking lot near Philips Arena and the Georgia Dome — would boast facilities for all modes of transportation, including bus service and showers for commuter cyclists. The mammoth station could feature eight tracks for MARTA, commuter and intercity trains, and could handle as many as 400 buses.
Even more important, the terminal would become the "new front door" to the city and a magnet for redevelopment. It'd also be a key part of Central Atlanta Progress' "Green Line," the downtown civic booster's land-use plan that re-imagines the historic yet ho-hum section of the city as a park-filled, pedestrian friendly wonderland.
Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who represents the area, said the terminal could be similar to an "Atlantic Station" for downtown. Hell, maybe it could even include a casino to boost nightlife and give conventioneers somewhere else to go besides strip clubs.
Sounds exciting! But how realistic is it?
The way this project appears, you'd think we had high demand for office and condo space and that banks are begging to finance projects. You'd think we weren't crawling our way out of a terrible recession.
And even if the economy's recovered by the time work crews break ground, the project, once in motion, would have to compete with all the other "next big developments." Think the shuttered General Motors plant in Doraville, Fort McPherson in Southwest Atlanta, the Aerotropolis near the airport, and the Beltline. Competition for new tenants and federal cash will be fierce.
The train terminal would have an advantage because of the transit component, but even that's in jeopardy. Congress has threatened to pull funding for the long-planned, still-unbuilt commuter rail line that would serve the station.
Officials and private partners have lots of work until anything tangible starts happening. (They also deserve some applause for sitting around a table and actually agreeing to something. According to sources familiar with the project, that in itself was a first.)
Maybe it's because I'm a callous, heartless bastard who's been let down by promises to boost transit and revitalize the heart of the city. But I just hope I don't have to read another article in five years about the "long-planned downtown train terminal."
And to make this post not totally depressing on a Monday back at work, we've added the pretty artist's sketch from Central Atlanta Progress' "Green Line" plan. In the one above, you're basking in the "view looking north west from Centennial Olympic Park Drive at Philips Drive and New Wall Street."
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
This terminal looks like a great plan for a city that already has well-funded transit, heavy bike use for commuting and a good plan for dealing with a very visible homeless population downtown. But...
- Downtown Atlanta has no series of separate bike lanes on the streets to allow masses of people to commute and get sweaty and need showers.
- MARTA and other transit systems are struggling financially without sustainable, dedicated funding.
- While eating lunch at Reuben's on Broad Street this Saturday (get the cold pastrami with a side of slaw -- so good), I noticed that half the people that passed by the window were obviously homeless.
Sounds like someone wants to get a gold star even though they haven't done their homework.
My plan for the gulch: turn it into the biggest urban, community garden in the country and surround it with affordable, low-rise condos.
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Question for the file, Thomas - how does one prevent downtown commuter showers from being as disgusting as an average downtown restroom?
Why does it have to be like that, Andisheh, and why do we accept the unacceptable?
I was thinking more of a produce-y kinda garden. But botanical stuff could be part of the Atlanta Gulch Garden (TM). I just wonder how much mulch it takes to fill the gulch.
Gulch mulch. A rhyme for a song I really don't want to write.
Why would a parking garage be needed for a botanical garden? Wouldn't there be plenty of spaces (except during big events)? Wouldn't mass transit adequately serve the venue? And most importantly, could an older woman be bamboozled into donating $16 million for a parking garage for the Botanical Garden?
Real question is why is the cyclist depicted using the crosswalk? Looks like the creator of the rendering thinks that sidewalks are bike lanes.
About your disgusting bathrooms comment, why not design showers comparable to APT's, those self cleaning toilets of the future? I'm not saying I wouldn't bring sandals dorm style, but if they were that clean I'd use em!
I'd imagine the showers would probably be part of a public-private partnership.
Cities across the U.S. have quality "bike depots" that boast showers and bike parking for commuters. I've heard cool things about Chicago's. There's even one sponsored by McDonald's!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_…
The PATH Foundation's 20-year plan includes a similar facility at Centennial Olympic Park. It'd include bike parking and refreshments. There aren't plans for showers just yet, however.
A couple of points, mainly in reply to the first comment:
MARTA would benefit from commuter rail, because some people who would ride commuter rail into Five Points would then take MARTA to their office (e. g., at North Avenue, Midtown, or Arts Center).
Commuter rail would give Downtown a competitive advantage over other markets, and that's a good thing.
Very few of the Broad Street panhandlers are "homeless"; these con men have been there for years, honing their stories about some current "emergency". (Give to effective charities, not panhandlers.)
BPJ, good points. I'll mention, though, that the benefit to MARTA you note would be a ridership increase. And increases in ridership have not equaled increases in funding. A boost in riders without a plan for providing dedicated, increased funding to the system will be of limited value.
RE: the Broad St panhandlers, whether they are homeless or not is irrelevant to the point that vagrancy is a very visible problem downtown -- one that will continue to hinder the ability for the area to attract new residents and business patrons.
The status of vagrants as homeless or not is, however, important when it comes to building effective plans to offer adequate aid to the needy alongside adequate policing/enforcement of panhandling laws.
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