What's the plausibility of building a light rail/monorail from Dunwoody to the Battery?

[arjay57]

I could actually see this happening. If those boys up in Dunwoody and Cobb decide they want to build a light rail line up to the Battery, they will jump on it with both feet and get it done.

Take a look at the Battery itself. Everybody said it couldn't be done, but they took a piece of wilderness and 36 months later, bam!, you've basically got a whole new city.

It's just a matter of them deciding whether they want to do it.

[Datdudebrah]

Originally Posted by primaltech

I wish they could just draw a line and cut the area of Cobb County in half, with one half being South Cobb, Cumberland/Vinings/Smyrna, the city of Marietta, and the I-75 corridor out to Town Center, and the the other half being the conservative northwestern and northeastern parts of the county, and just call the former the 'MARTA district', and put the vote to them only.

Well wish no more. Cobb has that option and has since the general assembly passed the transit splost legislation back in 2018 or so. But it's up to them to put it up for a vote.

[Prickly Pear]

Didn’t South Cobb just incorporate into Mableton?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Didn’t South Cobb just incorporate into Mableton?

Yep. After being approved by at least a slight majority of area residents, Mableton is now an incorporated municipality.

City of Mableton

[Born 2 Roll]

What's the plausibility of building a light rail/monorail from Dunwoody to the Battery?

At this particular point in time, I don’t know if the construction of a high-capacity rail line between Dunwoody and The Battery would be all that plausible.

The State of Georgia looks to be wanting to move forward with plans to eventually implement some kind of BRT (bus rapid transit) or express bus service along the Top End I-285 Perimeter corridor. (We’ll see how that works out.)

Eventually (I’m talking what looks to be decades into the future at this point), I think that a high-capacity transit link could be built along the Top End I-285 Perimeter corridor just simply because the Top End I-285 Perimeter roadway is the only major east-west arterial route for several miles in any direction on the Northside.

Though, I think that a high-capacity transit link between the Cumberland area and the Airport by way of Midtown and Downtown Atlanta likely would be the priority for implementing high-capacity rail transit service in the Cumberland area before implementing a high-capacity transit link between Cumberland and the Perimeter Center area (including Dunwoody).

I also think that there will have to be a way of funding such future high-capacity rail transit service that will be far more financially effective and financially and politically viable than just simply attempting to expand the current 1% MARTA sales tax to Cobb County through a voter referendum in that jurisdiction that historically has been highly averse to the idea of paying 1% to join MARTA.

Especially as metro Atlanta’s population continues to increase sharply on a noticeably very limited arterial road network, I think that the State of Georgia eventually will have to get involved and take the lead on expanding the Atlanta region’s high-capacity transit network to accommodate the growing population.

And I think that Georgia state government will have to partner closely with the private sector to fund the high-capacity transit infrastructure that will be needed to accommodate the metro Atlanta and North Georgia region’s fast-growing population.

I think that methods that continue to be unconventional for funding high-capacity transit in North America (like TIF or Tax Increment Financing along with TADs or Tax Allocation Districts, TOD/Transit Oriented Development-funded transit infrastructure and funding from extensive private sponsorships) very likely will have to be used to deliver much needed future high-capacity rail transit expansion projects like a potential (if not eventually likely) high-capacity rail line between a popular regional destination like The Battery and an important suburban community like Dunwoody.

[jetgraphics]

Here's a nice suspended railway in Dortmund. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv8MTufKRQQ

[arjay57]

Assuming they decide to do it, here's a projected timetable.

[jetgraphics]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Assuming they decide to do it, here's a projected timetable.

Which illustrates the reason why you never, ever want government to subsidize rail transit.
Far better to NOT take taxes.
Grant a tax exemption to all private enterprise rail mass transit, and watch how fast it gets built and moving passengers.
Capital will pour in seeking tax exempt profits.