Mayor Dickens is on the right track

The arguments against them are numerous.

They assume it would cost $230 million (and probably much more) for just a 2.3-mile segment. There are other options, much less intrusive, but at a very low cost. Dickens suggested one: driverless modules.

Streetcars made sense in the 19th and 20th centuries. But since then, transportation technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, as evidenced by the mayor’s suggestion.

Credit: document

Credit: document

Additionally, the mayor recently announced plans to build four new MARTA stations, create a new bus rapid transit line between the redeveloped community of Bowen Homes and the Ponce City Market, and add several more miles of paved trails on the Beltline itself. All this received wide approval, although Dickens did not say a word about the streetcar.

Coming back to that, if a 2.3-mile rail line cost at least $230 million, it would be mind-boggling what a streetcar would cost that would cover the entire 22-mile loop of the Beltline. Additionally, it is estimated that such a project would take more than a decade. Want to bet on this?

Of course, if the already existing downtown streetcar proves popular, that could provide impetus for its expansion. The sad fact, however, is that it travels almost riderless on a daily basis. If you’re wondering about the financial implications, consider this: Streetcar operating expenses for 2022 were about $5 million, while fare revenue was just over $35,000. , forcing taxpayers to pay the difference. Any extension would force taxpayers to dig deeper into their pockets.

And it’s not just because modern transportation alternatives leave trams in the dust. Since the Beltline’s creation, the area around it has been completely transformed. Prudence dictates that developments should be taken into account before embarking on a massive and extremely disruptive undertaking.

How disruptive? Because of the large footprint of the streetcar, the city would have to invoke eminent domain to gobble up nearby private property, putting homes and small businesses at risk. Many of these companies have already expressed concern that this would cause their revenues to drop dramatically, by as much as 50 percent.

It would also result in the felling of hundreds of trees and the desecration of entire swathes of meadows that are home to, among other species, butterflies. Does this seem like a good idea at a time when green spaces are coveted?

Even more worrying is the likely degradation of the Beltline itself caused by the laying of rails right next to it, at a time when it is exploding with users. If there is one criticism of the Beltline, it is that it poses a danger to pedestrians and joggers trying to avoid being run over by skateboarders, cyclists and motorized vehicles. reckless people who pass at full speed. The fact that walkers/runners are on a separate path from wheeled vehicles merits careful consideration. Yet adding a light rail over the existing Beltline would prevent this from happening and make an already difficult situation worse.

The other card streetcar advocates like to play is to equate it with diversity and equity. Frankly, it’s stupid. An extravagant streetcar intended to serve some of our wealthiest neighborhoods on the Eastside is hardly fair.

City Councilwoman Marci Overstreet, who represents southwest Atlanta, came to the same conclusion. She would like to see the aforementioned $230 million instead go toward urgent transportation needs in her own district, which even lacks sidewalks in some areas.

Let us remember that transportation is a means to an end, not the end itself. If underserved communities that rely on transit can get better service at lower cost and less destruction than what streetcars provide, isn’t that worth looking into? That’s apparently what the mayor thinks.

And, when it comes to diversity, one only needs to drive the Beltline on any given day to witness diversity in all its glory. There is no reason to think that a tram could improve it. In fact, the opposite might turn out to be the case.

Most of us want more and better public transportation to alleviate Atlanta’s notorious traffic jams, as I’m sure the mayor does.

Many of the arguments against and in favor of an alternative to building a Beltline light rail have only recently been put forward and studied. The fact that the mayor is examining them closely is a testament to his wisdom and deserves our applause. That’s what you should do.

Jay Miller, a semi-retired attorney who lives in Atlanta, is an active supporter of Better Atlanta Transit.