COMMUNITY
Sandy Springs plans to support MARTA rail extension on west side of Ga. 400
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During their Dec. 3 work session, the Sandy Springs City Council said they’d support a MARTA extension with any new stations and rail lines on the west side of Ga. 400.
BY DAN WHISENHUNT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
MARTA is asking cities to go on record about whether they support extending service north of the Chattahoochee River and beyond the North Springs station. During a work session on Dec. 3, Sandy Springs City Council sounded ready to support the extension, provided MARTA keeps any new stations and rail lines on the west side of Ga. 400. “We are totally united it should be on the west side,” Mayor Eva Galambos said during the work session. MARTA is examining building a line on the east side of Ga. 400, and that’s stirred up residents living in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody neighborhoods that could be affected by the construction. There’s a proposal for a station at Northridge Road, and MARTA is considering adding other stations farther north as the transit system extends the north line to Alpharetta. MARTA is examining three options: bus rapid transit, light rail and extending the current heavy rail line north from Sandy Springs. The agency is considering adding stations at Northridge Road, Holcomb
Bridge Road, Mansell Road, North Point Mall, Old Milton Parkway and Windward Parkway. The reason MARTA is looking at a rail line east of Ga. 400 is simple: cost. Each crossing of Ga. 400 is projected to add a few hundred thousand dollars to the expense. If the train crosses to the west side of Ga. 400, it will at some point have to return to the east side. Preliminary estimates show the bus option is expected to cost about $460 million, compared with $1.8 billion for light rail and $1.6 billion for heavy rail. The heavy rail option is less expensive than light rail because the heavy rail extends the current line. Some Sandy Springs residents spoke during public comments prior to the Dec. 3 City Council meeting and said they were against work on the east side of Ga. 400. City Council members said they would support a resolution in favor of the extension on the west side and suggested adding language that would make it clear that the council means both the new stations and any new rail lines.
ITSMARTA.COM
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