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Above: Avenue streetcar stop on the BeltLine. Opposite page: A graphic showing the option to turn a portion of Irwin Street at the BeltLine into a pedestrian plaza.

By Dyana Bagby

The Atlanta Streetcar extension from Downtown to the Atlanta BeltLine and Ponce City Market is expected to start construction in 2024 and be completed by 2027, according to preliminary plans revealed in September by MARTA.

The “Streetcar East Extension” would be the streetcar’s first extension of its nearly 3-mile Downtown loop. It would also be the first stretch of transit along the Atlanta Beltline, an original component of the massive project begun nearly 20 years ago and expected to be completed by 2030.

The streetcar extension is planned to run nearly a mile down Edgewood Avenue, up to Randolph Street, along Auburn Avenue to Irwin Street where it will connect with the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. From Irwin Street the streetcar route would continue north to Ponce City Market. Five stop locations are planned.

Downtown vehicular congestion has continually impeded operation of the streetcar. MARTA and city officials plan to close a section of Irwin Street where it crosses with the Beltline to vehicular traffic for one week in October (dates had not been set at press time). The idea is to collect data on how traffic is impacted at the notoriously congested intersection where Irwin intersects with Sampson and Krog streets. Bicyclists, pedestrians, and other Beltline users will be able to access Irwin Street.

The one-week study will also deliver data to support the streetcar having its own lane to avoid sitting in car traffic. One option is to eventually turn the stretch of Irwin between Krog and Auburn/Sampson into a plaza with no vehicle access, except for the streetcar.

“A big part of improving operations for transit is to provide dedicated right of way,” said John Saxton with ATLDOT during a Sept. 13 virtual meeting about the project.

“We know that it’s also a political decision,” he said. “I would encourage you to reach out and let your elected representatives know that you think it’s it’s a worthwhile exercise and you support the opportunity to dedicate right of way for transit operations, both for this project and other MARTA projects.”

Atlanta City Councilmember Amir Farokhi, whose district includes the rapidly growing and gentrifying Old Fourth Ward, said at the Sept. 13 meeting that the eastward expansion of the streetcar is a “transformative” project.

“The question with transit is oftentimes a chicken and egg one,” he said. “Well, the chicken has laid the egg on the east side and so expand the streetcar out toward Ponce City Market holds a lot of promise from a ridership perspective.”

Design for the extension is just 30% complete. Cost for the project is estimated to be between $176 million to $215 million. Funding to pay for the project will come from the 2016 More MARTA referendum when voters approved a half-penny sales tax for transit. Costs for another More MARTA project, the Summerhill bus rapid transit line, have ballooned and stalled the project.

Greenspaces, trees, cycle tracks, pedestrian safety and construction time were also discussed at the virtual meeting attended by more than 200 people.

Ridership numbers were also questioned. MARTA has pre-pandemic numbers but is still compiling postpandemic numbers.

Josh Rowan, MARTA’s deputy general manager and former ATLDOT commissioner, said millions of people are continuing to move to Atlanta and “transit will continue to play a vital and increasingly vital role in how we move people throughout our city.”

“If we look at potentially the region being seven, eight million people, our systems are not going to be effective if we continue to rely on single-use vehicles,” Rowan said.

In other BeltLine news: ■ Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and PATH Foundation recently selected a route for the final segment of the Northwest Trail. The trail will run alongside Peachtree Park Drive and Bennett Street in Buckhead.

■ ABI is seeking bids from companies to build two segments of the Southside Trail. The two trail segments, known as Segments 4 and 5, are between Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue and will include reconstruction of the United Avenue bridge.

■ Cincar Consulting Group (C2G) was hired to create an updated plan that will lay out the steps needed to complete the 22mile multi-use trail loop by 2030. The updated “strategic implementation plan” is a comprehensive work plan that includes completing trails, transit preparedness, parks, affordable housing, economic development, public art and historic preservation.

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