Atlanta approves long-range streetcar plan

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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On December 8, 2015, the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) received approval from the Atlanta City Council on the Atlanta BeltLine/Atlanta Streetcar System Plan (SSP).

 

The SSP is an amendment to the Connect Atlanta Plan. Prior to the adoption of the SSP by city council, ABI received unanimous approval from the council’s Community Development/Human Resources Committee on the Streetcar System Plan.

The SSP consists of a 50-plus mile streetcar system throughout Atlanta, which includes five crosstown routes, in addition to the 22-miles of streetcar along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. The SSP will also serve as framework for a potential Fulton County special-purpose local-option sales tax referendum in 2016 and is a necessary requirement for any major transit project seeking federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration.
This action by the city council now enables the city to apply for large scale federal transportation funding.

“Transit is at the heart of the Atlanta BeltLine,” stated Paul Morris, ABI president and chief executive officer. “Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., the city of Atlanta and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority have worked collaboratively to advance transit on the Atlanta BeltLine and in the city, through planning studies and the federal process and today’s action by the city council is significant in helping us to continue to move forward.”

The Atlanta SSP is the culmination of a multiyear planning effort undertaken by ABI that engaged citizens throughout Atlanta. This plan outlines the public’s desire for more transit service in Atlanta and establishes the planning framework for future streetcar connectivity – around the BeltLine and along critical crosstown corridors.

The Atlanta SSP will provide the roadmap for integrating the Atlanta Streetcar and the Atlanta BeltLine as Atlanta’s modern streetcar network is being built.

 

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