a cheaper westside expansion for MARTA: elevated trains? (Atlanta, Marietta: apartments, houses)

[bryantm3]

in the northeast and in chicago it's not uncommon to see elevated train lines over streets, utilizing steel beams and undergirding, like this:



the main problem with this sort of rail is generally that it has a very industrial look, and would seem unsightly in many areas of atlanta. however, west midtown is full of old warehouses, and much of the new developments seem to capitalize on that industrial look.

with west midtown likely to need serious transit sometime soon, wouldn't it be worthwhile to consider this sort of cost-cutting measure for west midtown, especially as it is appropriate to the neighbourhood?

[cwkimbro]

2 thoughts for consideration....

We do have this, but the building costs/style have changed. Ours are cement, like near King Memorial Station.

We also need to be careful with terrain. Chicago and NYC are very flat. Atlanta isn't. Whenever MARTA comes up with preliminary engineering for tracks there is a good bit of going back and forth between being above ground, at grade, and below ground....or below ground with a U-channel cement brace. What they are doing is keeping the track more level. The track isn't capable of varying in elevation as rapidly as the land is and maintain speed for the trains. This was initially one benefit of MARTA traveling alongside the RR tracks. Those tracks already leveled the land and picked routes pre-development to keep the land flatter.

Also, from my experiences in NY the areas under the tracks get very dirty too. Occasional bits of grease fall to the street and never really goes away.

[bryantm3]

good thoughts about elevation, i hadn't considered that.

the path i was thinking was along howell mill or northside drive. northside drive has a lot of hills, but howell mill is relatively flat, as it's on a hilltop. it is also relatively close to the railroad tracks, which is probably why they chose that area to put the tracks through, way back when.

the key difference is that ours run alongside railroad tracks or streets, but not over them, unless crossing them. this sort of design would keep both sides of the road free for development.

the rustic look i think would work well for west midtown and castleberry hill, grease and all, but elsewhere i think people would not approve.

i was also thinking that having steel girders over the street would be cheaper than the typical concrete spans, mainly due to the fact that they don't have to be cast like concrete and they would be closer to the road. do you know if this is true?

[bryantm3]

another consideration is that you can add express tracks to a steel system without significantly increasing cost, you just have to make it wider. that might be important if a west midtown line were to have an express portion going to cobb county (eventually).

[arjay57]

I am okay with an elevated line. Is there enough population over there to support a train?

[CCATL]

I'd be for it in general, but as noted, there are things that would have to be worked out before something like that could be implemented. I think another thing to keep in mind is the public backlash. Those are not cheap buildings rent-wise, and elevated subways in NYC are not quiet. They are generally on roads that are a bit wider than Howell Mill as well. Howell Mill is narrow, and if any elevated train is built, it would be coming very close to the first story windows of apartment lining either side of the road. The noise would be ridiculous, and the owners of those buildings will definitely not approve. The apartments in NYC next to an elevated train tend to be MUCH cheaper than anywhere else, and not kept up. There is a reason the majority of elevated subways in Manhattan were removed long ago, with the exception of the 1 train in northern Manhattan. They still exist in the outer boroughs, but again, the buildings there have been there for a long long time, and people moving in knew there would be a train right outside their windows. That's not the case here.

[cqholt]

I don't see elevated rail being built in the area over streetcar lines.

[magnetar]

The MARTA station in my neighborhood is an elevated train... it's just separated from everything around it like it's a freeway. My station isn't on the list for TOD though because the state owns the parking lot, sadly.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by magnetar

The MARTA station in my neighborhood is an elevated train... it's just separated from everything around it like it's a freeway. My station isn't on the list for TOD though because the state owns the parking lot, sadly.

Inman Park/Reynoldstown? Its at at grade station with elevated walkways.

[J2201987]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

with west midtown likely to need serious transit sometime soon, wouldn't it be worthwhile to consider this sort of cost-cutting measure for west midtown, especially as it is appropriate to the neighbourhood?

It's a shame the Brookwood/Northside Drive line never materialized. It would have been easy for expansion into Cobb:



Then again, utilizing the existing Proctor Creek line, it can be diverted east to run elevated along Marietta Blvd, the NS freight tracks, and terminate at Collier Road. Since the Bankhead MARTA station can be expanded to accommodate a 4-car train, it would seem reasonable to support the WM population.