ATLANTA TRANSIT (Marta, Beltline, Peachtree Streetcar, LovJoy Commuter, etc...)

[Uptowngirl]

I'd like to see a real effort made to present Marta with many of the same cultural ties as the London Underground. I think London does a great job with advertising, especially using the stations to advertise media, plays, events in the city.

Start with cleaning Peachtree Center station. Five Points is trashed but I think Peachtree Center station is the crown jewel, at least for right now. Clean it up, don't go all out and spend money to reconstruct the station, just redo the lighting, modern advertisement, wifi access and clean it up.

I have to say, I love the streetcar colors. Please unify the colors with MARTA rail (even if MARTA isn't running the streetcar).

[bryantm3]

i, for one, don't like the new streetcar colours. they look a bit dated (late 90s, 2000s-ish). there are several others on facebook who also seem a bit underwhelmed with the design.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by echinatl

For whatever reason, to me, metro stations in NY, Chicago, and DC (which i ride often as I have a lot of fam in those cities) have a different kind of "old" that I like. I don't know what it is. The old tiles in NY feel like antiques, while the old tiles in marta makes me feel like it's a dirty place.

I think that has to do with the perceived age and character of the a city. You expect a certain grunge from New York and Chicago (I personally think that the DC Metro's style is in it's own category), but for a city like Atlanta that is considered part of the "new" South, people expect something modern that doesn't make them think of the 60s or 70s.

[MNT]

It's all about your perspective. As a child of the 80s I find 60s and 70s architecture fascinating, but I realize it's not for everyone. Some stations have definitely held up better than others; Five Points' red walls make me feel like I'm in a bad 70s science fiction movie but Peachtree Center is great.

The people mentioned on Facebook complaining that the streetcar doesn't "look historic" make me cringe. Cities like New Orleans and Savannah have perfected the fakery of history (fake "trolley" buses in Savannah; new streetcars designed to look like old ones in New Orleans) to a degree that is painful as someone in the design industry. The reason I like Atlanta is that it's forward-looking -- the decision to buy modern streetcars with better accessibility and higher capacity is one such example.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by MNT

It's all about your perspective. As a child of the 80s I find 60s and 70s architecture fascinating, but I realize it's not for everyone. Some stations have definitely held up better than others; Five Points' red walls make me feel like I'm in a bad 70s science fiction movie but Peachtree Center is great.

The people mentioned on Facebook complaining that the streetcar doesn't "look historic" make me cringe. Cities like New Orleans and Savannah have perfected the fakery of history (fake "trolley" buses in Savannah; new streetcars designed to look like old ones in New Orleans) to a degree that is painful as someone in the design industry. The reason I like Atlanta is that it's forward-looking -- the decision to buy modern streetcars with better accessibility and higher capacity is one such example.

Well, IMO, there's a difference between quality 60s/70s architecture and horrible 60s/70s architecture. If buildings constructed in the style typical of the 60s and 70s are well maintained, attended to, and updated appropriately I have no issue.

I LOVE Peachtree Center. There are some stations whose designs are great and iconic. When I walk into Grand Central I expect to enter a huge concourse with high arching ceilings and a cavernous feel... when I enter Peachtree Center, I expect to descend into a rocky core and wonder how I could possible be so deep beneath a city and be able to access rapid transit.

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by MNT

It's all about your perspective. As a child of the 80s I find 60s and 70s architecture fascinating, but I realize it's not for everyone. Some stations have definitely held up better than others; Five Points' red walls make me feel like I'm in a bad 70s science fiction movie but Peachtree Center is great.

The people mentioned on Facebook complaining that the streetcar doesn't "look historic" make me cringe. Cities like New Orleans and Savannah have perfected the fakery of history (fake "trolley" buses in Savannah; new streetcars designed to look like old ones in New Orleans) to a degree that is painful as someone in the design industry. The reason I like Atlanta is that it's forward-looking -- the decision to buy modern streetcars with better accessibility and higher capacity is one such example.

The riverfront and Canal Streetcar criticism is valid but to be fair the St. Charles line in New Orleans is using authentic cars. Having said that (I'm an Atlanta native living in New Orleans for the time being), I wish Atlanta embraced its historic and cultural history a bit more and I wish New Orleans would look to the future a bit more.

Having said all of that the New Orleans streetcars are unbearably slow.

[Tuckerman]

Having said all of that the New Orleans streetcars are unbearably slow.[/QUOTE]

Walking is just a bit slower tan the NO streetcars. Nut they are purposively a relic a past history. The ATL streetcar assumes there never were any here.

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by Tuckerman

Having said all of that the New Orleans streetcars are unbearably slow.

Walking is just a bit slower tan the NO streetcars. Nut they are purposively a relic a past history. The ATL streetcar assumes there never were any here.[/QUOTE]

The problem with the New Orleans streetcars is the same problem with the San Fran trolly. They are primarily for tourists first and foremost. If you have somewhere to be (like a job) you can forget it.

[MNT]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

The problem with the New Orleans streetcars is the same problem with the San Fran trolly. They are primarily for tourists first and foremost. If you have somewhere to be (like a job) you can forget it.

Yeah, exactly. Designed for tourists, yet when I lived there I always saw people riding it (slowly) to work. The St. Charles green cars are one thing (though I say put them in a museum) but the red streetcars designed to look old are just silly. That's what I'm happy about with Atlanta's approach.

[1lifealex]

Streetcar and Beltline extension http://beltlineorg.wpengine.netdna-c...ort-022514.pdf

[thebigATL]

Looking at this video closely, I found they layout of the next phase "ain't that something" but i'm not sure, unless they'd updated it.

[thebigATL]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNL86k_2EfY[youtube]

[echinatl]

^^^^
1. What?
2. That video is almost 5 years old?

[thebigATL]

Originally Posted by echinatl

^^^^
1. What?
2. That video is almost 5 years old?

but i'm not sure, unless they'd updated it. read closely

[daharris80]

Originally Posted by thebigATL

but i'm not sure, unless they'd updated it. read closely

Its not updated. The layout they show in this video is not even the same as the future expansion layout in the more recent documents distributed and linked above. The layout in the video shows the peachtree street streetcar that they wanted to build with $300 million in stimulus money they did not receive.

If anything is interesting about this is the fact that the Peachtree street portion is not included in any phase of the new planning documents.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

Walking is just a bit slower tan the NO streetcars. Nut they are purposively a relic a past history. The ATL streetcar assumes there never were any here. The problem with the New Orleans streetcars is the same problem with the San Fran trolly. They are primarily for tourists first and foremost. If you have somewhere to be (like a job) you can forget it.

Maybe I just have never ridden them during rush hour, but the times I used them on the St. Charles Line they made it much easier to get around and were much faster than walking.

[1lifealex]

If anything is interesting about this is the fact that the Peachtree street portion is not included in any phase of the new planning documents.[/QUOTE]That's not true did you read the report in full it's included in phase 4

[daharris80]

Originally Posted by 1lifealex

That's not true did you read the report in full it's included in phase 4

I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll cross my fingers and hope for phase 4. It would be incredible to have a 60 mile streetcar system.

[smArTaLlone]

In coming years, the goal is to expand the streetcar's initial downtown loop into a 63-mile network of streetcar/light-rail transit lines. The three main players are the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Beltline. Seems appropriate, as more than one-third of the network — or 22 miles — would be built within the Betline corridor. The Final Report builds upon the Beltline's 2030 plan, released with pretty visuals late last year.

http://atlanta.curbed.com/archives/2...eport.php#more

[thebigATL]

This week, the Saporta Report takes an in-depth look at the Atlanta Beltline/ Streetcar System Plan's four phases and, like us, is peeved to find the Peachtree Streetcar so far down the list. "I believe that streetcar lines must first be built in corridors where they can prove their value — where they can attract the most riders and stimulate lively urban developments that encourage walkability," Maria Saporta writes. "A Peachtree Streetcar could help create a seamless central commercial spine that would rival any other business-retail-residential district in the region." A Beltline transit official explains the project pecking order was determined by five "guiding principles" — project readiness, practicality and ridership, equity, financial options and development impact. Hmm
from atlanta.curbed.com