Over the course of two public meetings last week, MARTA officials detailed plans for the first extension of the Atlanta Streetcar’s original, 2.7-mile loop. Now an explanatory video is easily accessible (above, for instance) that shows exactly what the transit agency has in mind.
As compiled by engineering firm Kimley-Horn, the five-minute clip paints a clear picture of how the current 12-stop streetcar system would be expanded as it connects downtown to the Eastside Trail and then to Ponce City Market’s doorstep.
Service would be provided in both directions, heading east from Jackson Street (where the current loop ends) along Edgewood Avenue. There, it would turn north on Randolph Street and Auburn Avenue, before entering the BeltLine corridor at Irwin Street. Five new stops are proposed in current plans.
MARTA says the next step is a final design phase that’s expected to last into 2024. Between then and 2027, MARTA expects the process of construction, testing, and commissioning of the new streetcar system to unfold. Sometime in 2027, the expanded system would open to the public, according to the transit agency.
The above video illustrates in technicolor how that system would operate as it slices through Sweet Auburn and Old Fourth Ward before entering the BeltLine corridor. For additional context on video highlights, see the image gallery above.
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