The rebirth of an ill-fated MARTA-expansion effort from earlier this year (Senator Brandon Beach’s SB 330, which would have raised funds throughout Fulton and Dekalb Counties for MARTA expansion) as a City-of-Atlanta-only measure presents Atlantans with a unique opportunity to ensure that MARTA rail expansion plans are crafted with an eye to supporting and improving the urban experience in in-town Atlanta. While MARTA’s expansion plans for the Red and Blue Lines in the northern and eastern suburbs (respectively) would be immensely beneficial in their own right, it could be argued that MARTA’s original $8 billion pitch was a bit light on proposed improvements in the urban core. The delay in getting buy-in from Fulton and Dekalb outside of the City could therefore end up as a blessing in disguise for MARTA patrons within Atlanta proper — if we seize the opportunity for a public dialogue on in-town MARTA expansion which will allow us to arrive at a set of transit-expansion projects which will provide the most benefit.

To that end, a proposal for consideration in that debate: why not leverage MARTA’s existing, estimable heavy-rail system, and extend the Green Line spur which currently terminates at Bankhead Station into a full loop?

Construction Phases

This proposal consists of 3 phases:

Phase 1: Establishing a new in-fill station on the Red and Gold Lines at Armour Yard.

Armour Station would be situated just south of Peachtree Creek on the existing Red/Gold Lines, and on the western edge of MARTA’s Armour Yard rail depot. A quick glance at the Google Map for the area also shows that it is also located at the intersection with the east-west CSX rail corridor which, on the east side, is intended to serve as the guideline for MARTA’s Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative (more on that below). That location would make Armour Station the ideal transfer point at which to link a new Green Line loop with the Red and Gold Lines.

Phase 2: On the west side, connecting the Green Line from Bankhead Station to Armour Station along the Amtrak rail corridor.

The five-mile corridor for extending the Green Line along the Amtrak rail line on the west side of midtown Atlanta.

Phase 2 would extend the west side Green Line such that its route proceeds north from the current western terminus of the line at Bankhead Station, along the eastern edge of Westside Reservoir Park. The first new station north of Bankhead would be located at the northeastern edge of the park (and just east of Inman Yard). The line would then turn east along the Amtrak rail corridor, stopping at 3 new stations at Howell Mill / 14th Street, Atlantic Station, and the Brookwood Interchange, before arriving at Armour Station. The entire segment, from Bankhead to Armour, would amount to about 5 miles.

Phase 3: On the east side, following the Clifton Road Corridor plan to connect the Green Line from Armour Station to Avondale Station.

The existing locally-preferred alternative (LPA) for the Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative calls for light rail, rather than heavy rail. However, with the prospect of establishing a single, continuous loop connecting Emory University and other highlights of the corridor directly with downtown and west midtown, perhaps that decision should be re-evaluated. This plan envisages such a re-evaluation, with 5 new Green Line stations situated along the 7-mile route from Armour to Avondale, and the extension of Green Line heavy rail service along existing tracks from Avondale to the current eastern terminus of the Green Line at Edgewood/Candler Park.

It should be noted that most of the Clifton Corridor route currently lies outside the boundaries of the City of Atlanta, so the realization of Phase 3 and the construction of the eastern Green Line loop would likely be deferred until Dekalb County passes the half-percent sales tax necessary to fund MARTA expansion. Phases 1 and 2, however, lie entirely within Atlanta city limits, and thus could potentially be included in the list of expansion projects MARTA will present to the city later this spring.

Route and Stations

Here is a map summarizing the full Green Line Loop plan. Some high-level notes:

It was laid out on top of a Google Map of the region, so the intent is to show station locations roughly in line with where said stations might actually be placed.

The map also shows a number of other potential transit initiatives, both those which are already proposed or in the works (such as Beltline light rail and streetcars and the I-20 East Busway) and a few which are more speculative (like the busway extending along I-75 from Brookwood to the Galleria).

This map is a part of a larger MARTA-expansion proposal for the region, which can be found here. The proposal is entirely unofficial, and encompasses some ideas (such as the new heavy-rail line along the northern Perimeter and into Cobb County) which are likely far removed from present consideration. However, in the spirit of the regional transit debate alluded to previously, it weaves together a number of current, proposed, and speculative projects in a way which seeks to further the cause of transit expansion in the Atlanta region.

The following are some additional notes regarding new Green Line MARTA rail stations which this plan would see constructed:

West-side Stations (Phases 1 and 2)

Reservoir Park Station

Bellwood Quarry at Westside Reservoir Park (attribution: by Lincolnh — CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32555473)

The first segment of the Green Line extension on the west side would run alongside the segment of the CSX rail corridor situated between the eastern edge of Westside Reservoir Park (currently under construction) and Marietta Boulevard. Reservoir Park Station would be located near the northeastern corner of the park, close to the intersection of Marietta Boulevard and Lois Street. This station would mark the point at which the line would turn away from paralleling the CSX rail corridor, and would turn eastward along the Amtrak rail corridor toward Armour Yard.

Howell Mill Station (on map: “HM”)

Westside Provisions District near Howell Mill Road and 14th Street (attribution: by Wally Gobetz — CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/9214270801/)

Howell Mill Station, located near the intersection of Howell Mill and 14th Street, would provide quality rapid-transit access on the Green Line to the burgeoning urban developments (such as the Westside Provisions District) in the neighborhood just northwest of Georgia Tech.

Millennium Gate Station (on map: “MG”)

Millennium Gate near Atlantic Station on 17th Street (attribution: by s4squ4tch — CC BY-NC 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/s4squ4tch/3605358597)

Millennium Gate Station would likely be located near the intersection of 17th Street and 18th Street — “behind” the Millennium Gate monument (pictured above), from the perspective of 17th Street. It would be easily walkable from Atlantic Station, from the profusion of relatively-recently-constructed housing around Millennium Gate itself, and from IKEA Atlanta. As with Howell Mill Station, such an alignment would furnish quality transit access to an already-thriving living and shopping district, and allow MARTA to “walk into” a ready-made constituency of new riders, including nearby residents, regular patrons of nearby businesses, and employees of businesses located in Atlantic Station’s office space.

Brookwood Station (on map: “B”)

Amtrak Atlanta Station (attribution: by kuknauf — CC BY-ND 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/69258414@N08/24822263589)

Brookwood Station would be located on Peachtree Street just north of the Brookwood Interchange and the Peachtree Street bridge over I-85, and as closely as possible to Amtrak’s Peachtree Station. Transit access to Amtrak in Atlanta is sorely lacking as a feature of Atlanta’s current transportation system design, and this station would ideally be constructed in order to provide a direct connection between the MARTA Green Line station and the Amtrak rail station. It would also help improve the transit accessibility of destinations lining Peachtree Street in northern midtown.

Armour Station (on map: “A”)

A rendering of the Armour Yards development, courtesy of the website for said development (http://armouryards.com). See the MARTA train in the background? Why not build a stop there to provide the development with easy transit access?

Armour Station would be key to connecting the new Green Line Loop to the Red and Gold Lines on the north side, and would likely become the transfer point connecting MARTA’s heavy rail network with the to-be-constructed Beltline light rail loop as well. Situated near Armour Yard (where the Red/Gold Lines intersect with the east/west CSX rail line which is to serve as the guideway for the Clifton Road Corridor through Emory University), the station would also serve to jump-start the nascent redevelopment of the neighborhoods near Armour Drive and Monroe Drive straddling I-85 north of the Brookwood Interchange, by providing convenient transit access to an area where current transportation options — both public and private — are somewhat lacking.

East-side Stations (Phase 3)

As stated previously, construction of the eastern segment of the Green Line Loop (connecting Armour Station to Avondale Station by way of Emory University) would likely depend on Dekalb County first approving the 0.5% sales tax needed to fund MARTA expansion in the county outside of City of Atlanta city limits. For that reason, the eastern segment — which would effectively become the realization of the Clifton Road Corridor Transit Initiative — would likely constitute a later phase of the Green Line Loop project, initiated after work begins on the west-side phase connecting Bankhead and Armour Stations.

(Because the hypothetical stations described below are (a) intended for a later phase of the Green Line Loop project and (b) already the subject of an existing MARTA plan (albeit one which assumes a different transit technology), the descriptions here are provided in somewhat lesser detail.)

Cheshire Bridge Station

Cheshire Bridge Station would be the first station on the Green Line Loop east of Armour Station, located on Cheshire Bridge Road just south of Peachtree Creek.

Sage Hill Station

Sage Hill Station would be situated near the intersection of Briarcliff Road and Clifton Road, near the Sage Hill Shopping Center located just northwest of Emory University.

Emory Station

The exact location of Emory Station would presumably be chosen following consultation with the administration of Emory University and the CDC, but said location would probably be selected at some point along the existing rail corridor running through Emory University. One possibility might be a location near the intersection of Clifton Road and Haygood Drive.

Clairmont Station

Clairmont Station would be located just east of Emory University, near the intersection of Clairmont Road and North Decatur Road. At this point, the Green Line alignment would break away from the CSX rail corridor to run along North Decatur Road to the east.

Sycamore Station

Sycamore Station would be situated in the vicinity of the star-shaped intersection of North Decatur Road, Church Street, and Sycamore Drive, likely wedged between Suburban Plaza shopping center and Dekalb Medical Center. From there, the eastern segment of the Green Line Loop would follow Sycamore Drive southward toward Avondale Station, before turning west along the existing Blue Line to complete the new Green Line Loop.

Summary

Extending MARTA’s existing Green Line from a stubbed line (with only one station — Bankhead — not already served by the Blue Line) into the loop depicted and described above would furnish high-quality, rapid-transit services to a number of Atlanta’s most vibrant in-town neighborhoods. Establishing convenient, walkable transit access in the flourishing live-work-play districts of northwest midtown (Phase 2), then linking them directly with the Clifton Corridor communities which constitute one of Atlanta’s busiest employment centers (Phase 3), promises to bring aboard significant numbers of new MARTA riders. In doing so, this expansion may offer MARTA and the City of Atlanta among the best possible returns on their joint investment in Atlanta’s transit system. For that reason, it would be highly beneficial for MARTA and the City of Atlanta to pursue this alignment for further study, and to open a conversation among the public at large as to its potential benefits and drawbacks.