• City Council approval of any new alignment of MLK • A Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review and the establishment of a “green lights” committee • A multimodal level-of-service analysis • Consideration of a streetcar extension along MLK • The combination of the transportation decision-making process with the land use decision-making process A Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review must be carried out to discover the full extent of transportation impacts that any proposed realignment will have on the entire region. Currently, only a transportation impact analysis has been required of any road infrastructure changes related to the stadium. However, the MLK corridor is of regional importance, and any changes to MLK must be considered at a more regional scale. The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 authorized the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to establish procedures for reviewing large-scale projects, such as the new Atlanta Falcons stadium and the MultiModal Passenger Terminal. These procedures aim to improve communication between the different agencies and developers involved in a large development and to reveal, assess, and resolve potential conflicts before they arise. An important element of the DRI is that local governments’ maintain full autonomy in deciding whether or not a development moves forward. In addition to providing a regional perspective on major infrastructure projects, a DRI provides the first step in establishing a “green light” committee. Such a committee establishes an ongoing line of communication between the developers and the various public agencies needed to make the project a reality. A similar committee should be established to coordinate efforts between the new stadium, the MultiModal Passenger Terminal, and other projects in the area, and a DRI that includes these projects would be the first step in bringing the diverse range of interested parties together.
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Figure 3.1.1. Proposed Atlanta Falcons Stadium Site Plan, Main Concourse Level, showing displacement of MLK and the further extension of existing barrier from the neighborhoods