“I just hope something gets done,” he said. He thinks rapid buses could work if done right. Steve Routt, another area resident, was disappointed with the decision, but he said he understands the financial reasons behind it. “I think it’s a better use of resources,” he said. Ryan Janco, who lives near Lindbergh, said he’s encouraged that MARTA is going with bus rapid transit over light rail. Reaction to MARTA’s plans was mixed at a public meeting at Emory University. The line would operate mostly in regular traffic, but it would have special features - such as technology that gives buses priority at stoplights - to keep passengers moving. MARTA must still decide whether to add an “arterial rapid transit” line along Clairmont Road to Decatur station. MARTA Project Manager Bryan Hobbs said those statistics would make light rail “the least likely to get federal funding.” The Atlanta-only portion of the bus rapid transit line - from Lindbergh to Clifton Road - is expected to cost $550 million to $700 million. Operating expenses for rail also would be significantly higher - as much as $25.7 million annually versus up to $8.9 million for rapid buses. Travel from Lindbergh to Avondale would take 29 minutes by rail and 31 minutes by bus.īut a rail line would cost up to $2.9 billion, compared with a maximum of $1.3 billion for bus rapid transit, according to MARTA. A light-rail line would operate 100% in its own right of way, compared with 97% for a rapid bus line. The agency says rapid buses and light rail would perform about the same, according to its analysis. On Monday, MARTA announced light rail is no longer an option. It narrowed the list to one rail and two bus options in November. Last summer it released six possible light-rail and four rapid bus routes for public comment. Last year MARTA announced it would revisit its longtime plans for rail along the corridor, adding bus rapid transit to the mix of possibilities. That jump-started the project, as did willingness by key stakeholders such as Emory to consider bus rapid transit. Though a formal agreement has not been reached, CSX has recently expressed a new willingness to allow MARTA to use its right of way. And $100 million of the funding was contingent on financial support from other unidentified sources. Two years later, MARTA produced a project list that included 29 miles of light rail, including 4 miles along the Clifton Corridor.īut its plan only included $350 million for the project - not nearly enough to build it. In 2016, Atlanta voters approved a 40-year, $2.5 billion sales tax to pay for transit expansion. MARTA also struggled to find the local money needed to match federal grants. So MARTA proposed tunneling its line beneath Clifton Road, which would have disrupted businesses and residents in the area. But CSX was reluctant to grant access to its right of way. In 2012 the agency approved plans to build a light-rail line from Lindbergh to the Emory/CDC area. MARTA has been working on plans for the Clifton Corridor for a long time. “It is very clear from the city (of Atlanta) and MARTA leadership that this is an important project, and we’re continuing to work on it,” MARTA spokesman Greg Giuffrida said. Extending it to Avondale as planned would require funding from DeKalb County, which has not advanced a plan to pay for transit improvements. Even if Atlanta advances the project soon, the line likely would stop at the Emory/CDC area in Atlanta for now.
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