MARTA On My Mind

For my first post, I find it very suiting that it is about my two favorite urban matters, transit and sustainable development. Last week, MARTA released  renderings of futuristic-looking stations that combine heavy rail stations and mixed-used developments. Along with releasing these renderings, the transit provider also released a statement that they were interested in developing on top of MARTA stations at Lenox, the Arts Center, Midtown, and North Avenue stops. MARTA would provide developers a 99-year lease to develop mixed-used centers on top of these stations. MARTA's aim in doing this is to increase ridership, increase development around stations, and make stations more appealing to citizens in the area. Below are the renderings MARTA has released to the public:






(Photos Credit: 11Alive)

I think by encouraging development on and around their stations, MARTA is reinventing what transit is in and throughout Atlanta. Historically, MARTA's bus and rail service has been commuter-oriented meaning that the purpose of its routes and lines were to transport workers in and out of Atlanta's commercial cores. But after surviving the Great Recession without going bankrupt, MARTA needed to readdress what kind of service it is to Atlantans.

Under the leadership of its new CEO Keith Parker, the last few years has transformed the company from one on the verge of financial ruin to now being on the cusp of its first expansion in over 30 years. MARTA is now envisioning itself as a service integral to our daily lives rather than just a way to take us to work. Working with the Atlanta Beltline and the Atlanta Streetcar, MARTA is now focusing on becoming a service that functions within the lives of an average Atlantan. This means MARTA needs to become a convenience rather than a hassle.

By creating mixed-used developments around the stations that service the Midtown and Buckhead community, MARTA will be making an extremely smart move. Atlanta's music and arts district and largest commercial district are currently experiencing the most population growth within the city limits. Young adults are flocking to these hip, urban area not only to start their careers but to also start families now. With improving schools, a strong police presence, and its modern and cool cultures, people are finding that they can both live and work in the same community in Midtown and Buckhead. These young adults want walkable, bikable, friendly communities where they do not need a car to get around everywhere. By building these mixed-use centers around MARTA stations in these areas, people will find themselves using rail to not only go to work but to also visit a friend or meet up with co-workers after work or even to have a nice night out. The more shops, groceries, restaurants, and businesses MARTA can build around and on their stations, the more these new citizens will find MARTA an integral part of their life.

In addition to making their stations centers of commerce, business, and community, MARTA can optimize smart transit in around these stops by adding circulatory bus routes through transit-deprived areas surrounding Midtown and Buckhead. For instance, Virginia Highlands is serviced with MARTA buses that work on a commute-oriented route that takes buses on a one-way route in and out of the neighborhood. While this transit serves the community, it does not optimize its ability to become an integral part of the residents' lives. By adding a circulating bus route throughout Virginia Highlands to the Midtown stations, MARTA will be providing Virginia Highland residents with more direct access to Midtown. While this does not seem like a huge deal, when you consider the benefits of providing a regular, consistent bus service between a major residential area, a major business center, a major commercial center, and heavy rail transit to the greater area, ridership could increase dramatically in this area.

Recently, the Saporta Report published a piece by a Tech Grad student on the benefits of adding circulatory bus routes to transit-deprived areas like the Virginia Highland, Little Five Points, and the Westside, where the community is near major transit, but not within a reasonable walking distance to utilize it. Circulating buses provide residents a way to use public transportation in this "final mile" of their journey. It cuts the walking distance between to something more reasonable, and since the buses travel on more consistent schedules on circulatory routes, using transit becomes a plausible alternative to driving.

Creating mixed-used developments around MARTA stations will make the system more dynamic and useful, and by attaching more circulating bus routes like the Stinger, Atlantic Station Shuttle, and the Buc to these stations from transit-deprived areas, they will provide the system with more consistent riders. MARTA would create a culture of usefulness by bridging the gap between transit and actual communities, and suddenly for the first successful time in Atlanta's history, transit would be an integrated part of the average citizen's life.

MARTA has a huge opportunity in developing the land on and around the Lenox, Arts Center, Midtown, and North Avenue rail stations. These mixed-used developments will be the catalyst of expanding and using alternative transit in Atlanta. These developments will also be Atlanta's reattempt on making public transportation more of a regular occurrence in its citizens lives (s/o to Underground's ideals), so here's to hoping for a new kind of Atlanta! Here's to MARTA's resurgence!