It's Time To Cut The Commute

Atlanta Railroads in the early 1900's

Atlanta was built on rails. If you ever travel downtown, you might notice the cities complicated street grid. Unlike most major U.S. city street grids which run North-South like in New York or Philadephia, if you look at Atlanta's old CBD, you will find that it sits sideways on the street grid. This is because when the city was first built, it was built up around the connection of several train lines. So the adjacent development mirrored the diagonal nature of those railroads. The railroads then continued out from the heart of what is now "underground" Atlanta and moved outward in all major directions. The railroads basically sprawled out in each direction from Atlanta.

Atlanta Interstate in the 1970's Just South of Downtown

In the 1960's, another road was then built from the heart of Atlanta and has also sprawled out from its core. The interstate bulldozed its way right through the center of our city, and from the interstate, suburban development has enveloped the city of Atlanta. Suburbs sprang up as if from nowhere, and these new smaller, closer communities became and still are an enticing reason to move to Atlanta. But with population growth comes more congestion, and so now the small towns like Lawrenceville, Roswell, Conyers, Kennesaw, and Douglasville are mini metropolises of traffic and car mayhem. 

So what's the connection between the old railroads and the lifeline of our city, the interstate? The answer lies in the maps. Along every major interstate and highway in Atlanta, a railroad runs parallel with it. Coincidence? I think not! The highway developers of the 60's and 70's purposefully built the interstate right next to the rail and rail towns already built. It was the best way to provide a route in and out of Atlanta in connection with the other nearest cities. So as the rails that built Atlanta began losing its prestige and importance, the interstates took its centerpiece place. The novelty of driving your own car wherever you needed it became the defining characteristic of new Atlanta development. Walk-ability and smart development took the bench while new roads and single family homes became the new norm. The integral part of this system was the road that connected them all: the interstate. The interstate was our new rail, our new connection between work and home.

But today at the end of 2014 this driving novelty has worn off. With 4.5 million people living within the 10 county metro region and an expected 2.5 million more people to come by 2040, we have found out that our transportation system isn't flawless. Traffic backups are now a defining characteristic of life in Atlanta. Everyone complains about it, everyone hates it, and everyone has been stuck in it, but what has anyone done about it? Absolutely nothing! When the housing boom of the 1990's and early 2000's took hold of the city, our government officials did no planning to prevent the congestion that continued to grow everyday. Their mentality was to build, build, build, and people bought into the new, newer, and newest communities they were building. But never did they offer the suburbanites an alternative to driving. The new developments came along with a garage and a driveway because automobiles are the only way to successfully get around Metro Atlanta now-a-days. So it is not surprising that a 30 minute commute takes over two hours during rush hour. It's just the "norm" or a part of life in suburban Atlanta.

But this norm isn't attractive. When Northerners consider moving their homes and business south to Atlanta, they love everything about our lifestyle except the lack of transportation options. They want to take the subway, the commute train, or the bus because they know how efficient and easy public transportation can be, and they (like any normal person) despise traffic. It is not appealing to millennials looking to start their small business or family, it is not appealing to the elderly who want to retire in peace, and it is not appealing to white-collared workers because it takes away from their free time. Traffic has become one of the main deterrents to moving and living in Atlanta. So if Atlanta wants to continue to grow and expand, we can no longer ignore this traffic problem.

If you are asking, what are metro leaders doing now to help alleviate this problem, there is some good news. Suburban cities such as Suwanee, Woodstock, and Marietta are developing their communities into live, work, play communities where ideally you can have a home, go to work, and have a nice lifestyle in the town centers they have developed. All new development in these cities are now directed at this more sustainable and smarter growth pattern. The success these cities have had with this concept is now being transplanted in more suburban communities across the metro, but this has done little to help the Cobb or Gwinnett commuter who depends on the interstate daily to get to work and back. Interstate-dependent Counties and GDOT leaders have pushed for expanded HOT lanes (toll lanes) outside of the Perimeter. On these HOT lanes, GDOT can move commute buses back and forth from major work hubs and residential hubs, but the lack of advertisement, the lack of bus stations, the complicated system maps, and the interstate traffic they can't avoid have made these commute buses less successful.

But instead of blaming government officials for our traffic woes, its time to take some of the blame ourselves. Suburban counties could have MARTA service, but instead residents have voted down joining the system every time (except for now Clayton County). In 2012, when we could have provided city planners extra funds to fix our transportation system, the Metro area voted no to TSPLOST. Every time the government has offered an alternative to traffic and the interstate, Metro Atlanta has said no. So while we can complain and groan about the traffic and the smog and the waste of time, we also have to take responsibility for the predicament we are currently in.

Salt Lake City Commuter Rail (a system Atlanta can model itself after)

A solution to the congestion, I believe, lies in our past. Along every major suburban corridor in Atlanta, an old but still important freight railroad runs through each corridor. The same rails that I mentioned at the start of this post that first brought business and prosperity to Atlanta can once again do the same. Adding commuter trains and train service to suburban communities on these railroads will help alleviate traffic congestion from the interstate. Both the interstate and the railroad runs through or near major Atlanta work hubs such as Buckhead, Midtown, Downtown, and the airport, so providing Atlantans an alternative to the highway with the final destination being the same will draw thousands off the highway and onto commuter trains. Also, the commuter trains will be able to connect Atlantans to all the other major urban corridors throughout the city. For instance, the same railroad that travels through Carrrolton, GA also runs through Athens, GA. Providing Metro Atlantans with this kind of connectivity in public transportation for a low cost will increase business and help build a strong economy dependent of gas prices and cars. The benefits outweigh any drawbacks from providing commuter rail service to Metro Atlanta.

This being it's time to cut the commute. Commuter trains can provide direct transportation access to all of Atlanta's major centers on both sides of the Perimeter, its rail corridors are located in Atlanta's most densely populated areas and are located near millions of residents, and its service can cut commute times in half by offering an alternative to the automobile, the interstate, and the traffic. We can no longer afford to depend entirely on one transportation mode. By establishing a private-public partnership with county governments and and the business community called "Friends of the Commuter Train," the government can gain support for bringing commuter rail to entire metro, but in the end, the only way we can bring an alternative to the interstate is through the community. If Atlantans, the everyday people, demand an alternative, someone will provide. Whether this happens through a government-owned transportation system or through a private company, it doesn't matter, but if Atlantans demand for commuter rail, we will receive. We own this city in addition to its destiny, so it is up to us to call for more action, more options, and more change to the urban metropolis we call home. It's time to cut the commute, and we can do this through our past: through trains.  

Making Downtown Small Town

Recently, CNN published an article on "6 Reasons To Love Atlanta." In this article, they had a section describing Atlanta as a "city of small towns," and then, they detailed some of our city's most special and unique neighborhoods. In this section, they also pointed out another blatant fact: the lack of strong community and belonging in Downtown Atlanta. While our downtown lacks the heavy density and boisterousness of other Central Business Districts across North America, underneath its tired facade, a small town from another time still exists. I believe Central Atlanta Progress can recapture the spirit that built and created the big city of Atlanta through building on a new kind of concept: the one that Downtown is a small town.

Broad Street in Downtown Atlanta

When you look across our entire metro, you will find small towns and little municipalities splattered across the ten counties that make up our region. And it doesn't matter if you live in an edge city such as Woodstock or in the urban core like in Midtown, each city and neighborhood shares a strong community bond and tight culture that is characteristic of the small towns CNN refers to except at the heart of the region in Downtown. Downtown does have a community and culture, but not one that is going to attract others to come live, work, and play there. But luckily, this is something that can be fixed by city planners and developers, and something that will instigate innovation from the people who chose to inhabit Downtown.

 

A Fairlie-Poplar Street Ripe for Redevelopment

So, one way to build a small town feel in Downtown is to create the "small town" which is actually easy since one already exists! The Fairlie-Poplar neighborhood houses Atlanta's old CBD and is registered as a National Register Historic District. Its quaint tree-lined streets and architecturally-significant buildings serve as a hidden treasure underneath the towering skyscrapers that surrounds the neighborhood. The neighborhood has been partially redeveloped on the east side where there are a few Georgia State academic buildings, housing, and the redeveloped Broad Street. But on the west side, Fairlie-Poplar remains a relative dormant district with parking garages taking the place of what could be office space, residential buildings, shops, and restaurants. The city can make this neighborhood an Atlanta hot spot for both millennials and families by firstly making it more friendly to people. By closing off some small streets and alleys to cars, and making them only accessible to pedestrians, bikers, and streetcars, the city can create a sense of shared place. Also, by opening up and creating more street front property, the city can attract both small businesses looking for a trendy place to set up shop as well as big-name businesses interested in getting a share of the economic booms from redeveloped urban cores. Finally, by redeveloping the parking garages and surface lots of West Fairlie-Poplar into new businesses and homes, the city can reconnect the Luckie-Marietta district home to the award-winning Centennial Olympic Park with the rest of Downtown through what would be the newly-bustling Fairlie-Poplar district.

Georgia State in Downtown

Another way Central Atlanta Progress can build up Downtown is by creating a university town. Recently, Georgia State has been quickly buying up and redeveloping a lot of land in Downtown Atlanta. Under the direction of President Mark Becker, Georgia State is determined to create a more residential university-like campus. But due to its location next to Atlanta's CBD, this is a hard task to accomplish for GSU. For city government, the benefits of having a large university at the hands of its biggest employers would be abundant. The city could reoccupy all of its Downtown skyscrapers with businesses interested in benefiting from young, educated, cheaper employees. Georgia State would attract more students interested in getting work-place experience with so many top-tier companies right at its door step, and the city would benefit because more people and more businesses means more tax revenue and less vacant lots. Partnering with Georgia State to create what would be the first-ever American university town in a downtown will help rebuild Downtown by setting a fuse to the area with creativity, innovation, education, and business.

Also, by looking and following the example of their partner to the north, Downtown can become the center they desire to be. Redeveloping its parks, adding green space, adding more streetfronts, extending sidewalks, and making the area have a sense of togetherness and place, Midtown has been able to create itself as a hip place for people to move and live in. Whether in Atlantic Station, Crescent Street, or Piedmont Park, Midtown has created itself into a place people want to be. Its re-creation and hip lifestyle has made Midtown the small town 20-somethings move to in order to escape the suburbs they grew up in. Downtown can do the same by investing in its image and its actual streets.

Downtown Atlanta: Ready for a Facelift for the People? 

Finally, I believe Central Atlanta Progress can reinvigorate Downtown as a small town with culture, activity, and life by doing something rare now-a-days: by going to the people. Atlantans know what they want. People are willing to drive over an hour to be in the places they like. (For instance, I have suburban friends who now choose to drive 40 minutes to go Atlantic Station to shop and hang out over the Mall of Georgia every time!) By going public and letting the people remodel the city they call home, Atlanta city government has a sure-fire way to build the ideal community. Its time to let us in, and let Atlantans choose what they want instead of trying to build what you think we want! By letting the citizens reclaim Downtown, Downtown will become the best small town of all. It will become the citizens' treasured small town in the city of small towns.

Streetcar Breaking News: There Is None

System Map with connections at MARTA Peachtree Center Station

Atlanta Streetcar in the Streets at Night (Testing Phase)

Old Atlanta Streetcars in Demolition Yard: Soon to be Back in Service!

Unsurprisingly, the Atlanta Streetcar's official opening to the public has been delayed once again. This Saturday, December 6th, was suppose to be opening day for the public just in time for the SEC Championship, but according to the AJC, issues and delays with the federal government has once again delayed the eagerly anticipated streetcar. This comes after the reports that the streetcar was suppose to open in November (by the latest), then in fall (sometime), then in the June, then in the late spring of 2014. Now, the city government is promising that the streetcar would be open by December 31, 2014 by the latest... sounds like another broken promise to me?

Whoever is in charge of the Atlanta Streetcar (Atlanta City government and MARTA apparently) has been doing in my honest opinion a horrendous job in the designing, construction, communication, and planning behind the new transit system. Problems have plagued the streetcar from its beginning. After receiving a $1 million TIGER grant from the federal government, the running of this agency has been disappointing to say the least. 

Firstly, the design of the 2.7 mile stretch around Downtown Atlanta seems illogical. Recently, Darin, the ATL Urbanist, pointed out some major flaws in the streetcar's route. At one end of the route, the streetcar turns around in the heavily trafficked Farlie-Poplar/Centennial Olympic Park area. During Falcons games and other major events downtown, the streets, parking garages, and surface lots are full of cars parked or finding parking for their respective event. The streets are packed, and the logistics of moving a 200-ton streetcar through these streets seem to have been forgotten. On the other end of the route, the streetcar turns around near an exit to the downtown connector. This means cars here will be mostly outflow traffic and that speeds here will be higher due to the need to speed up to drive on the highway. With slower moving streetcars and increased pedestrian movement moving, this area can become a real hazard for both drivers and pedestrians.       

Secondly, while it is true the streetcar's construction is complete, the construction process was long, slow, delayed, and sometimes detrimental to local businesses. Here, the agency did an excellent job keeping residents, business owners, and invested interests up-to-date with construction movement, it still did not make up for the fact the its construction was delayed. Last year's snow were partially a problem, but the streetcar agency themselves stated that the weather only caused about a two-week delay. Hopefully when the streetcar expands to the Beltline and North Avenue in the future, construction will be more organized, systematic, and efficient. 

In addition, the Atlanta Streetcar Organization's communication and planning with the public has been less than stellar. In a city, where residents are truly interested and invested in their communities, the organization has done little to engage and interact with the community. While their Streetcar Socials have been a hit, communication between the organization and residents has been inadequate. For instance on their website, their FAQ section says, "Updated as of October 2014." With the approach of the grand opening, the agency should be open and public for questions from the community and region, but instead they are acting like the FBI only releasing certain facts in their press releases which has done privately through the AJC or local news organization. In the future, the Atlanta Streetcar should be more open and forthcoming in agency developments and progress instead of secretive and not informing (may I remind everyone of the surprise testing period they announced last May).

And while the Atlanta Streetcar has had more than its fair share of problems that I am not afraid to rant and comment about it, I believe it is still integral to our city's future. It will connect all the major tourist centers, parks, office areas, and GSU in Downtown Atlanta. Its small 2.7mile route reconnect Atlanta's Central Business District with the Sweet Auburn and MLK neighborhoods which the city has promised to do since the building of the downtown connector. Also, this 2.7 mile loop will the serve as the base for a greater network of streetcar routes the city hopes to add to its infrastructure. It symbolizes both the progress of the future and the inefficiency and issues of the past. So I can't wait to ride the Atlanta Streetcar before December 31, 2014.