MARTA to roll out bus rapid transit on Memorial Drive

It’s not new rail, but... it’s something?

Straphangers will have a new transit option in DeKalb on Wednesday once MARTA rolls out its Bus Rapid Transit line along Memorial Drive outside the perimeter. From the AJC:

So what makes it special? The buses on the new “Q” routes — the Q Express, route 521, and the Q Limited, route 520 — can trigger green lights as well as special lights that let only the bus go through. At two intersections MARTA and the state Department of Transportation have constructed pull-out lanes only for the buses, where they can get out from behind traffic.

It’s not like the gold standard of BRT, routes like those in Ottawa and Cleveland, which have their own dedicated lanes. That’s because the gold standard costs its weight in gold to build, considering the land that has to be bought and the construction required to create an extra lane.

Instead, on Atlanta’s BRT route, in two places the small “queue jump” lanes will allow the bus to get ahead of traffic as it drives along Memorial. That’s southbound at the intersection with Rockbridge Road, and in both directions at the intersection with Rays Road.