Streetcars in Atlanta
Encyclopedia
Streetcars operated in Atlanta starting with horsecars in 1871; electric streetcar service started in the 1880s. The last streetcar service ended in 1949; the streetcar system was quickly replaced by a trolleybus system
and with buses. In addition to streetcars in Atlanta proper there were also interurban
railways from Atlanta to outlying towns.
After six decades without streetcars, plans emerged for modern streetcars on several routes, starting with a Downtown Loop.
line ran from Downtown Atlanta
to Ponce de Leon Springs
and what is now Virginia Highland.
In 1924, Georgia Power operated the following streetcar lines (see map above):
Source:Georgia Power timetable, 1924
along Edgewood and Auburn avenues to the King Center and will have a stop at MARTA's Peachtree Center Station
. This route was awarded federal funding in October 2010.
, the city's main street
. Originally, the line was to run from the Oakland City
neighborhood through Downtown Atlanta
, Midtown and Buckhead
. However a more recent (2010) pared-down proposal would run between the Arts Center MARTA station in Midtown and the Five Points MARTA station downtown.
trail and connections onto MARTA stations and with the Downtown Loop streetcar. The final list of projects to be funded included 2 routes (maps, p.56-57):
The earlier proposal in March 2011 included two lines that did not make the final list:
Source:
, Lindbergh Center, Atlantic Station
, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Dome
, the AUC
, Turner Field
, Grant Park
, and proceeding eastward along I-20 to South DeKalb Mall. The route originated from the efforts of Reps. John Lewis, Denise Majette
and Cynthia McKinney
, who obtained funding from the Dept. of Transportation for a $2 million dollar feasibility study. The concept no longer appears in proposals from the various Georgia transportation authorities, however the part of the route is now part of the Clifton Corridor
initiative to built either MARTA rail, light rail, and/or bus rapid transit between Lindbergh and Emory and on to Avondale MARTA station
.
founded in 2003 with the mission to bring streetcars back to downtown
Atlanta. ASC's board members include the leaders of Georgia Tech
and Georgia State University
, MARTA
, Georgia World Congress Center
, Buckhead Community Improvement District, Buckhead Coalition, Underground Atlanta
, Central Atlanta Progress
, Woodruff Arts Center
, and many local corporate business leaders as well.
In July 2009, the Atlanta city council approved funding a feasibility study to work out certain details of the proposed streetcar line in time to apply for federal economic-stimulus
funds for the construction of a such a line. However, several council members later expressed doubts over whether the remainder of the funding necessary to bring the project to fruition was likely, particularly during a time of recession.
(TIGER) II funding. The funding represents 8% of the overall TIGER II allotment, and will fund the construction of the downtown loop, not the Peachtree Corridor line, which is now regarded as Phase II of the project.
In May 2011 Siemens
announced that it had won the $17.2 million contract to built the four streetcars that will run on the Downtown Connector line. According to Siemens, the first vehicle was expected to be delivered in September 2012.
They would be based on the company's S70 light rail vehicle platform, built in Sacramento, California
, but with major components, including the propulsion system, assembled at Siemens' Alpharetta plant in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Images of Atlanta Streetcars
Trolleybuses in Atlanta
In Atlanta, Georgia, trolleybuses were a major component of the public transportation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit riders during the period when the system was at its maximum size...
and with buses. In addition to streetcars in Atlanta proper there were also interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
railways from Atlanta to outlying towns.
After six decades without streetcars, plans emerged for modern streetcars on several routes, starting with a Downtown Loop.
Streetcars 1871-1949
Timeline and Streetcar Operators
- 1871 Richard PetersRichard Peters (Atlanta)Richard Peters was an American railroad man and a founder of Atlanta.Grandson of Judge Richard Peters, Jr...
and George AdairGeorge AdairGeorge Washington Adair was an important real-estate developer in post Civil War Atlanta.-Early life:...
run the first streetcars on the Atlanta Street Railway, service to West EndWest End (Atlanta)The West End neighborhood of Atlanta is on the National Register of Historic Places and can be found southwest of Castleberry Hill, east of Westview, west of Adair Park Historic District, and just north of Oakland City... - 1872 West End & Atlanta Street RailroadWest End & Atlanta Street RailroadThe West End & Atlanta Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1872 by Thomas Alexander, M. G. Dobbins, B. J. Wilson, Benjamin H. Broomhead, , J. M. Alexander, James Atkins, J. W. Goldsmith, John M. Harwell and Jonathan Norcross...
Co. formed, service to West EndWest End (Atlanta)The West End neighborhood of Atlanta is on the National Register of Historic Places and can be found southwest of Castleberry Hill, east of Westview, west of Adair Park Historic District, and just north of Oakland City...
and Westview CemeteryWestview CemeteryWestview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest cemetery in the South East, comprising over , 50% of which is undeveloped. Westview includes the graves of more than 100,000 people.- History:... - 1878 Adair sells out to Peters
- 1879 Gate City Street RailroadGate City Street RailroadThe Gate City Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1881 by Laurent DeGive , Levi B. Nelson , Capt. Augustus M. Reinhardt and John Stephens. In 1884 they built a line which started at the Kimball House and went via Pryor, Wheat and Jackson Streets to Ponce de Leon Springs...
Co. formed, service to Anjier Springs and Ponce de Leon SpringsPonce de Leon SpringsPonce de Leon Springs can refer to:* Ponce de Leon Springs , former springs in Atlanta, Georgia* Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, a park in the Florida panhandle... - 1882 Metropolitan Street Railroad Co. formed, lines to the Confederate Soldiers' HomeConfederate Soldiers' HomeThe first Atlanta Confederate Soldiers' Home was built in 1889 with the support of Henry W. Grady at a cost of $45,000.. It stood on Boulevard in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1901 it burned down...
near Ormewood ParkOrmewood ParkOrmewood Park is a neighborhood located east-southeast within the Downtown Atlanta area of Atlanta, Georgia. Ormewood Park is east of Grant Park, south of Reynoldstown, west of East Atlanta, and north of East Confederate Street....
and to DecaturDecatur, GeorgiaDecatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name... - 1883 Fulton County Street RailroadFulton County Street RailroadThe Fulton County Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1883 by:* James W. English, businessman and once mayor of Atlanta* J. Henry Porter, who was once a city councilman...
Co. formed, lines would include the Nine-Mile CircleNine-Mile CircleThe Nine-Mile Circle was a streetcar line of the Atlanta Street Railway, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from downtown Atlanta to today's Virginia Highland neighborhood as follows:... - 1886 Joel HurtJoel HurtJoel Hurt was an important businessman and developer in Atlanta active in the late 19th century through the early 20th century.Born in Hurtsboro, Alabama Joel Hurt (1850–1926) was an important businessman and developer in Atlanta active in the late 19th century through the early 20th...
forms the Atlanta & Edgewood Street RailroadAtlanta & Edgewood Street RailroadThe Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1886 by Joel Hurt, C. W. Hubner, H. E. W. Palmer, W. P. Inman, Peter Lynch, R. C. Mitchell, Asa Griggs Candler, J. P. McDonald, J. G. Reynolds, A. F. Moreland, and P. H. Harralson...
Co., service out Edgewood Ave. to Hilliard and Highland and to Inman ParkInman ParkInman Park was planned in the late 1880s by Joel Hurt, a civil engineer and real-estate developer who intended to create a rural oasis connected to the city by the first of Atlanta's electric streetcar lines. The East Atlanta Land Company acquired and developed more than 130 acres east of the city... - 1889 Hurt's streetcar - Atlanta's first electric line - begins to run between Five PointsFive Points (Atlanta)Five Points is a district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the primary reference for the downtown area. The name refers to the convergence of Marietta Street, Edgewood Avenue, Decatur Street, and two legs of Peachtree Street Five Points is a district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the...
and Inman ParkInman ParkInman Park was planned in the late 1880s by Joel Hurt, a civil engineer and real-estate developer who intended to create a rural oasis connected to the city by the first of Atlanta's electric streetcar lines. The East Atlanta Land Company acquired and developed more than 130 acres east of the city...
and control of Peter's company passed to son Edward C. PetersEdward C. PetersEdward Conyngham Peters - was an Atlanta real estate developer. He was son of Richard Peters, a founder of the city.Edward inherited Richard's land, railroad and trolley interests in 1889....
; Fulton County Street RR Co. begins its Nine-Mile CircleNine-Mile CircleThe Nine-Mile Circle was a streetcar line of the Atlanta Street Railway, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from downtown Atlanta to today's Virginia Highland neighborhood as follows:...
line to what is now Virginia Highland, powered by the electric Thomson-Houston system. - 1890 Atlanta, West End & McPherson Barracks Ry. Co. begins powered by the electric SpragueSpragueSprague is a surname of English origin, from the northern Middle English Spragge, either a personal name or a byname meaning "lively", a metathesized and voiced form of Spark, a Northern English surname from the Old Norse byname or personal name Sparkr ‘sprightly’, ‘vivacious’.- Places :Canada*...
system - 1891 Law passed requiring segregationRacial segregation in the United StatesRacial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
on streetcars "as much as practicable" and at the enforcement of streetcar conductors. Prior to this, it was common for Black and white passengers to sit next to each other on streetcars. - 1891 (May) Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway CompanyAtlanta Consolidated Street Railway CompanyThe Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway was an attempt by Joel Hurt to take over the various Atlanta streetcar systems.Incorporated in May 1891, Hurt began negotiations to consolidate widely overlapping competing companies. On September 21 the titles of the following were conveyed to the...
formed instigating the Second Battle of Atlanta - 1892 Atlanta City Street Railway Co. begins powered by the electric Detroit system
- 1902 All street railways consolidated as Georgia Railway and Power Company
- 1916 Atlanta transit strike of 1916 began at 6pm on Saturday, September 30 and ended that Monday evening, but the strike started after sundown those three days so the city wasn't completely paralyzed
- 1924 The Beeler Report issued to advise the financially ailing company
- 1926 Peak of passenger service (96,794,273)
- 1937 Trackless trolleysTrolleybuses in AtlantaIn Atlanta, Georgia, trolleybuses were a major component of the public transportation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit riders during the period when the system was at its maximum size...
introduced - 1949 Georgia PowerGeorgia PowerGeorgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the largest of the four electric utilities that are owned and operated by Southern Company....
runs its last streetcar, leaving only trackless trolleys and buses
Routes
From 1889-1901, the famed Nine-Mile CircleNine-Mile Circle
The Nine-Mile Circle was a streetcar line of the Atlanta Street Railway, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from downtown Atlanta to today's Virginia Highland neighborhood as follows:...
line ran from Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
to Ponce de Leon Springs
Ponce de Leon Springs (Atlanta)
Ponce de Leon Springs were natural springs located on the site of the future Ponce City Market in Atlanta, where Ponce de Leon Avenue crosses the BeltLine, and where the Old Fourth Ward, Virginia Highland, Midtown and Poncey-Highland neighborhoods of Atlanta meet.In the 1860s, trips to the springs...
and what is now Virginia Highland.
In 1924, Georgia Power operated the following streetcar lines (see map above):
- 1 Decatur St.-Marietta St.
- 2 Ponce de Leon-West View (east terminus: Ponce at East Lake Rd.)
- 3 Boulevard-West Hunter
- 4 Inman Park-Georgia Ave. (alternative eastern termini: McLendon at Clifton and Emory)
- 5 Highland-South Pryor (north terminus: Virginia Ave. at N. Highland Ave.)
- 6 Forrest-Capitol (Forrest Ave. is now Ralph McGill Blvd.) (north terminus: Boulevard at Orme Cir.)
- 7 West Peachtree-East Hunter
- 8 Howell Mill Road-East Fair
- 10 Peachtree-Whitehall
- 11 Luckie-Woodward
- 12 Copper-Pine
- 13 Irwin-West Fair St.
- 14 Orme St.-Magnolia St.
- 15 Piedmont-Washington
- 16 Pine Street (see route 12) (eastern terminus: Ponce de Leon Park)
- 17 Main Decatur
- 18 South Decatur-East Lake
- 19 River Line
- 20 College Park & Hapeville
- 21 Stewart Ave. (see route 1)
- 22 English Ave.-Soldiers' Home
- 23 Buckhead & Oglethorpe
- 24 McDaniel St.
Source:Georgia Power timetable, 1924
Former interurban lines
Georgia Railway and Power Company ran lines on private rights-of-way from Atlanta to:- MariettaMarietta- Places :*Marietta, Georgia, a suburban city located in Atlanta Metropolitan Area*Marietta, Illinois*Marietta, Indiana*Marietta, Minnesota*Marietta, Mississippi*Marietta, New York*Marietta, North Carolina*Marietta, Ohio*Marietta, Oklahoma, in Love County...
, the 16-mile Atlanta Northern line, from 1905-1947 - HopewellHopewell, Fulton County, GeorgiaHopewell is an unincorporated community in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. It lies at an elevation of 1122 feet ....
and Stone MountainStone MountainStone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet amsl and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground at its longest point into Gwinnett County...
, 16 miles, 1913-1947 - College ParkCollege Park, GeorgiaCollege Park is a city located partly in Fulton County, Georgia and partially in Clayton County, Georgia, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,942...
and FairburnFairburn, GeorgiaFairburn is a city in Fulton County, Georgia. The population was 12,950 at the 2010 census.- History :Fairburn is located along a railroad line and was once the county seat for Campbell County, Georgia, starting in 1870...
Downtown Loop
A line that is to run from Centennial Olympic ParkCentennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park is a 21 acre public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA that is owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The park was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial...
along Edgewood and Auburn avenues to the King Center and will have a stop at MARTA's Peachtree Center Station
Peachtree Center (MARTA station)
Peachtree Center station is an underground Train station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is the deepest station in the MARTA rail system, at below Peachtree Street. It serves the Peachtree Center area of downtown Atlanta, and is the...
. This route was awarded federal funding in October 2010.
Peachtree
A much longer route along Peachtree StreetPeachtree Street
Peachtree Street is the main street of Atlanta. The city grew up around the street, and many of its historical and municipal buildings are or were located along it...
, the city's main street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
. Originally, the line was to run from the Oakland City
Oakland City (Atlanta)
Oakland City is a neighborhood in southwestern Atlanta, Georgia, just southwest across the BeltLine from West End and Adair Park.Oakland City was incorporated as a city in 1894 and annexed to Atlanta in 1910....
neighborhood through Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
, Midtown and Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
. However a more recent (2010) pared-down proposal would run between the Arts Center MARTA station in Midtown and the Five Points MARTA station downtown.
BeltLine routes
In July 2012, there will be a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax (SPLOST) to fund traffic and road improvements. If approved, the tax will fund several streetcar routes along portions of the BeltLineBeltline
The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...
trail and connections onto MARTA stations and with the Downtown Loop streetcar. The final list of projects to be funded included 2 routes (maps, p.56-57):
- Midtown to Northeast: from North Ave. MARTA station (1) east along North Ave. to the BeltLineBeltlineThe Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...
, then north along BeltLine to 10th and Monroe (southeast corner of Piedmont ParkPiedmont ParkPiedmont Park is a urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's farm and residence...
) (2) and south to Edgewood St. (3) and connection to the Downtown streetcar at its eastern terminus (which would be extended from it current proposed terminus at Jackson St.) - Downtown/Midtown to Southwest:
- branch from North Ave. station to Luckie St. (4)
- branch from the western terminus of the Downtown streetcar at Centennial Olympic ParkCentennial Olympic ParkCentennial Olympic Park is a 21 acre public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA that is owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The park was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial...
/CNN to Luckie St. (4) - from Luckie St. (4) along North Avenue, Northside Drive, out Donald L. Hollowell Parkway to the BankheadBankhead (Atlanta)Bankhead is an Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood located west of downtown Atlanta. It's surrounded by Grove Park to the west, Washington Park and Hunter Hills to the South, Midtown West to the East and Northeast . It is also flanked by Rockdale to the Northwest. At its center is MARTA's Bankhead...
neighborhood (5), then south along the BeltLine to Abernathy and Cascade in West EndWest End (Atlanta)The West End neighborhood of Atlanta is on the National Register of Historic Places and can be found southwest of Castleberry Hill, east of Westview, west of Adair Park Historic District, and just north of Oakland City...
/WestviewWestview (Atlanta)Westview is a historic intown neighborhood located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. It is named for the Westview Cemetery that borders the neighborhood to the northwest...
(6).
The earlier proposal in March 2011 included two lines that did not make the final list:
- Bankhead MARTABankhead (MARTA station)Bankhead is an elevated metro station in the MARTA rail system and the western terminus of the Green Line , which was originally planned to serve points north beyond Bankhead such as Perry Homes. It is the only station served exclusively by the Green Line. This stations primarily serves the...
to Midtown: From Bankhead MARTA station north along the BeltLine, then east along 17th St. past Atlantic StationAtlantic StationAtlantic Station is a large brownfield redevelopment project at the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic Station is being master developed by AIG Global Real Estate and local development partner Jacoby Development, Inc...
to Arts Center MARTA stationArts Center (MARTA station)The Arts Center Station is an underground metro station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system.... - Armour Yard to Midtown: From Armour Yard (proposed new transit station near I-85/Monroe exit), south along the BeltLine, then west along North Ave.
Source:
C-Loop (abandoned concept)
In 2005, MARTA analyzed - in addition to the BeltLine - the "C-Loop" ("C"-shaped rail line) linking Emory UniversityEmory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, Lindbergh Center, Atlantic Station
Atlantic Station
Atlantic Station is a large brownfield redevelopment project at the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic Station is being master developed by AIG Global Real Estate and local development partner Jacoby Development, Inc...
, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
, the AUC
Atlanta University Center
The Atlanta University Center Consortium is the largest contiguous consortium of African Americans in higher education in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and universities in southwest Atlanta, Georgia...
, Turner Field
Turner Field
Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
, Grant Park
Grant Park
Grant Park may refer to:Parks*Grant Park , Georgia, USA*Grant Park , Illinois, USA*Grant Park , Oregon, USACommunities*Grant Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a neighborhood*Grant Park, Illinois, USA, a village...
, and proceeding eastward along I-20 to South DeKalb Mall. The route originated from the efforts of Reps. John Lewis, Denise Majette
Denise Majette
Denise L. Majette is a Democratic U.S. politician from the state of Georgia.Born in Brooklyn, she attended Yale University and completed a Juris Doctor degree at Duke University in 1979...
and Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, who obtained funding from the Dept. of Transportation for a $2 million dollar feasibility study. The concept no longer appears in proposals from the various Georgia transportation authorities, however the part of the route is now part of the Clifton Corridor
Clifton Corridor
The Clifton Corridor is a proposed public transportation corridor in and near Atlanta, Georgia. It stretches from Lindbergh Center eastwards, following the existing CSX rail corridor to Emory University, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur via Suburban Plaza on N. Decatur...
initiative to built either MARTA rail, light rail, and/or bus rapid transit between Lindbergh and Emory and on to Avondale MARTA station
Avondale (MARTA station)
Avondale is an at-grade train station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system . It serves Avondale Estates, Georgia , Clarkston, and the communities of Druid Hills, Scottsdale, Tucker, Northlake and North Decatur...
.
Northern Crescent
In June 2011 the Gwinnett, Cobb, and North Fulton Chambers of Commerce held a summit to promote light rail transit in the northern metropolitan area. It was especially remarkable in light of decades-long opposition to rapid transit in the area. Proposed routes (see map) would form a "W" and connect:
- KennesawKennesaw, GeorgiaKennesaw is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It had a population of 29,783 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1887, Kennesaw has a past surrounded with railroad history...
, MariettaMarietta, GeorgiaMarietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
and the Cumberland edge city with the Arts Center MARTA Station along I-75 - AlpharettaAlpharetta, Georgia-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,854 people, 13,911 households, and 8,916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,631.6 people per square mile . There were 14,670 housing units at an average density of 686.7 per square mile...
with the Dunwoody MARTA Station along Georgia 400 - The Suwannee area in Gwinnett with the Doraville MARTA Station
- Doraville, Dunwoody, and the Cumberland area in an arc along the northern Perimeter
Atlanta Streetcar, Inc.
Atlanta Streetcar, Inc. (ASC) is a non-profit organizationOrganization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
founded in 2003 with the mission to bring streetcars back to downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Atlanta. ASC's board members include the leaders of Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
and Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
, MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...
, Georgia World Congress Center
Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 3.9 million ft2 and hosts more than a million visitors each year. At the time opened in 1976 the Georgia World Congress Center was the first state...
, Buckhead Community Improvement District, Buckhead Coalition, Underground Atlanta
Underground Atlanta
Underground Atlanta is a shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the intersection of the east and west MARTA rail lines. First opened in 1969, it takes advantage of the viaducts built over the city's many railroad tracks...
, Central Atlanta Progress
Central Atlanta Progress
Central Atlanta Progress , founded in 1941, is a private, not-for-profit corporation that strives to create a robust economic climate for downtown Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. The Board of Directors includes business leaders from the Atlanta area...
, Woodruff Arts Center
Woodruff Arts Center
Woodruff Arts Center is a major visual and performing arts center located in Atlanta. The center houses four arts divisions in one campus and not-for-profit organization...
, and many local corporate business leaders as well.
Peachtree Corridor Partnership
In the summer of 2007, a new privately funded group called the Peachtree Corridor Partnership was formed, with the goal of determining how best to move forward the proposed rebuilding of Peachtree Street as a more attractive and pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare. The addition of a modern streetcar line was (and remains) one of the main components of the proposed transformation of the corridor, so many of the board members of ASC became members of the Peachtree Corridor Task Force, and the partnership eventually replaced the function of ASC as the organization advocating for a streetcar line along Peachtree Street.In July 2009, the Atlanta city council approved funding a feasibility study to work out certain details of the proposed streetcar line in time to apply for federal economic-stimulus
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
funds for the construction of a such a line. However, several council members later expressed doubts over whether the remainder of the funding necessary to bring the project to fruition was likely, particularly during a time of recession.
Downtown Loop route funded
In September 2010, it was announced that Phase I of the Atlanta Streetcar Project had received $47 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic RecoveryTransportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery is a supplementary discretionary grant program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009...
(TIGER) II funding. The funding represents 8% of the overall TIGER II allotment, and will fund the construction of the downtown loop, not the Peachtree Corridor line, which is now regarded as Phase II of the project.
In May 2011 Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
announced that it had won the $17.2 million contract to built the four streetcars that will run on the Downtown Connector line. According to Siemens, the first vehicle was expected to be delivered in September 2012.
They would be based on the company's S70 light rail vehicle platform, built in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, but with major components, including the propulsion system, assembled at Siemens' Alpharetta plant in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
See also
- Nine-Mile CircleNine-Mile CircleThe Nine-Mile Circle was a streetcar line of the Atlanta Street Railway, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from downtown Atlanta to today's Virginia Highland neighborhood as follows:...
streetcar line to Virginia Highland - Timeline of mass transit in AtlantaTimeline of mass transit in AtlantaTimeline of mass transit in Atlanta:*1871 Richard Peters and George Adair run the first streetcars on the Atlanta Street Railway Company*1872 West End & Atlanta Street Railroad Company formed*1878 Adair sells out to Peters...
- Trolleybuses in AtlantaTrolleybuses in AtlantaIn Atlanta, Georgia, trolleybuses were a major component of the public transportation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit riders during the period when the system was at its maximum size...
Streetcars 1871-1949
Atlanta's Streetcars of the Nineteenth Century: a forum for identification and documentationImages of Atlanta Streetcars
Current proposed streetcar system
- Atlanta Streetcar
- Peachtree Corridor Partnership homepage
- Environmental Assessment for the Atlanta Streetcar, prepared by the City of Atlanta and MARTA for the US DOT
- Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., "Citywide Briefing on Transit Implementation Strategy & Transportation Investment Act Projects", Feb 17, 2011