Quote:
Originally Posted by Street Advocate
Northwest corridor descriptions (there’s two options)
Northwest Regional Light Rail Transit Corridor - Marietta BLVD. / North Avenue LRT
High speed/frequent LRT service with limited stations.
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I don't think light rail will serve Cobb well, especially if they try to share the right of way with traffic.
Given downtown Marietta is 17 miles from the Arts Center station, this reminds me of the blue line in Los Angeles. When they originally built this line in 1990, they estimated it would accommodate 5,000 riders in a given day. It now accommodates 90,000 riders daily, and it over capacity. I concede that Cobb will likely have less ridership than Los Angeles, but with a partial exclusive right of way, it takes 58 minutes to go 22 miles. I gather from this that a ride from Marietta to Arts Center would take 50 minutes on LRT.
Using the timing of MARTA from North Springs to Arts Center (13 miles, 19 minutes), I think HRT will be much faster (timing would be 32 minutes) and would have a much higher capacity. The main issue would be building the line from I-75 to the Arts Center Station (using the spur/implement they built into the MARTA tunnel north of the Arts Center Station).
The other feasible option in my mind is commuter rail along the state owned line from Dalton to Atlanta, which might be more economical.
I know, I know, some want to see suburban people suffer and not have access to quality transit, but I think if Cobb is willing to pay for transit, they should get something respectable and with respectable travel times compared to car. I almost think the people picking LRT are doing so because they want this to fail.
Additionally, the references to 'City Hall East' make me think this information is outdated.
This website has some great info, although it is not run by any official government entity, just an advocacy group. They do not suggest LRT as a link to Cobb.
https://transit4cobb.org/