Maps of future rapid transit routes in southern cities.
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texasboy - that will be the first installment of commuter rail service in Atlanta / GA. The line will eventually go to Macon, but for now will use simple train stops along a fairly underdeveloped part of metro Atlanta. But this line is actually receiving state funding mainly because it will go to Macon, additionally the next line scheduled is to Athens. Most of the other lines will most likely never be adopted. Also texasboy - in case of any misundersanding, none of this is inter-city transit, it is commuter rail such as the Dallas - Ft Worth line or I believe the Miami - W Palm Beach line.
Style - the C Loop is the green highlighed line. It is to use rail ROW from Emory Univ. to Lindbergh MARTA station, then an undetermined route through the westside of Atlanta, likely combined with the Beltline and running along Northside Pkwy by Atlantic Station. From there it would navigate through city streets to the Atlanta University complex & south of the city to Grant Park. There it will go by just a few blocks from my house (as Beltline will only be a half mile) & continue along I-20. It is possible that this portion will be combined into the MARTA East Line extension - where transit service to Lithonia is proposed. This latter part may be BRT.
Style - the C Loop is the green highlighed line. It is to use rail ROW from Emory Univ. to Lindbergh MARTA station, then an undetermined route through the westside of Atlanta, likely combined with the Beltline and running along Northside Pkwy by Atlantic Station. From there it would navigate through city streets to the Atlanta University complex & south of the city to Grant Park. There it will go by just a few blocks from my house (as Beltline will only be a half mile) & continue along I-20. It is possible that this portion will be combined into the MARTA East Line extension - where transit service to Lithonia is proposed. This latter part may be BRT.
are there any plans on expanding the heavy rail network or are they making the streetcar line their main priority? honestly, i would think that the days of heavy rail in atlanta are over with or would the extensions continue to be heavy rail?TheBrad said:
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texasboy said:
The Steetcar is not a MARTA proposal/project but the intent is that it would build ridership for MARTA by making it easier to go from one neighborhood to the next without a car. The Beltline is being studied by the City of Atlanta and is a very dynamic proposal.
As for heavy rail.......It should be expanded in some places, the fact that it was not built out as planned is why it is so dysfunctional.
TTA Regional Rail in Raleigh/Durham
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Unless the project gets killed, this will hopefully be just the start of rail transit in the Triangle area.
Note that there are two large gaps with no stops in the line: one between NW Cary and Triangle Metro Center, and the other between North RTP and Alston Ave. While it's nice to have long segments without stops because it makes the end-to-end journey faster, by putting stops in largely undeveloped areas you give developers a blank slate with cheap land so they can pursue TOD however they see fit.
Unless the project gets killed, this will hopefully be just the start of rail transit in the Triangle area.
Note that there are two large gaps with no stops in the line: one between NW Cary and Triangle Metro Center, and the other between North RTP and Alston Ave. While it's nice to have long segments without stops because it makes the end-to-end journey faster, by putting stops in largely undeveloped areas you give developers a blank slate with cheap land so they can pursue TOD however they see fit.
The initial TTA segment, from 9th Street in Durham to Government Center in Raleigh will cover 28 miles with 12 stations. They say that it will open in 2008, but I'd guess mid-2009 is a more realistic projection if they get the traffic projection fiasco sorted out. Extensions to Duke Medical in Durham and Spring Forest Rd in Raleigh will be constructed at a later date (2011?)
There has been a major investment study regarding the corridor from Triangle Metro Center to Chapel Hill, and one of the options was an extension of the DMU-based Regional Rail line. Service to RDU airport is also being considered; direct DMU service is not possible but one option being considered is building an RDU peoplemover and then extending it three miles to Triangle Metro Center.
Raleigh may not be that big of a city (340,000 people, was it?) but the metro area has over a million people, and we have our share of traffic problems as the whole area is quickly turning into a raleigh-cary-morrisville-durham megalopolis of sprawl. The regional buses running between the cities usually end up significantly behind schedule at rush hour because of traffic jams on I-40 and NC54, and the delays are expected to get massively worse as more of the state's highway funds are shifted to the "economically disadvantaged" counties down east. If they build the rail system, I say let the folks down east have the highway money. It doesn't bother me too much that our highways go to hell at rush hour every day. That's what needs to happen for people to second guess our completely auto-dependant development patterns.
There has been a major investment study regarding the corridor from Triangle Metro Center to Chapel Hill, and one of the options was an extension of the DMU-based Regional Rail line. Service to RDU airport is also being considered; direct DMU service is not possible but one option being considered is building an RDU peoplemover and then extending it three miles to Triangle Metro Center.
Raleigh may not be that big of a city (340,000 people, was it?) but the metro area has over a million people, and we have our share of traffic problems as the whole area is quickly turning into a raleigh-cary-morrisville-durham megalopolis of sprawl. The regional buses running between the cities usually end up significantly behind schedule at rush hour because of traffic jams on I-40 and NC54, and the delays are expected to get massively worse as more of the state's highway funds are shifted to the "economically disadvantaged" counties down east. If they build the rail system, I say let the folks down east have the highway money. It doesn't bother me too much that our highways go to hell at rush hour every day. That's what needs to happen for people to second guess our completely auto-dependant development patterns.
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