Proposed Clifton Corridor Route Would Almost Bypass Decatur Entirely
Decatur Metro | May 9, 2013
Rail lovers and transit wonks take note.
At Monday’s City Commission meeting, Commissioner Scott Drake mentioned a revision under consideration by the Clifton Corridor committee that “wasn’t on the table a month ago”.
The committee is now considering an option that would extend the transit line all the way down North Decatur to Suburban Plaza, instead of the previous plan to tunnel under Clair/emont Ave/Rd and then turn east onto Scott Boulevard to Suburban Plaza. While the changed route would be less costly (no tunneling/shorter route), it would limit the impact the transit line would have on Decatur to just that little North Decatur/Superior Ave nub at the north end of the city.
Commissioner Drake said that there’s one more meeting of this committee before it pushes forward with a final plan.
Without a direct connection to downtown Decatur, it’s easy to see how the committee might not see the cost-benefit of extending the transit line barely into Decatur and just turn left and head right on out of the city again.
Latest from Decaturish
The Wal-Mart express.
+1
Looking at the map via the link, this makes a lot of sense. Still links to Decatur via the Avondale MARTA station and feeder bus routes. Less tunnel = less expensive, plus the added political benefit of removing a lot of homeowner opposition on Clairmont and Scott. I’m curious as to how the park and ride will work at the intersection of N. Decatur and Clairmont- are they building a new parking structure?
The Clinton Corridor? Have things gotten so bad that we’ve had to bring him (or her) in to mediate?
Damn you!! (Shakes fist)
So, they are considering running light rail along N. Decatur all the way up to Suburban? I wonder what that means for the section of N. Decatur between Clairmont and the Medlock/Scott intersection? Will they want to take out some lanes of vehicle traffic to run the light rail or will they want to keep four lanes and then condemn more property to widen the road? (Sorry if I sound alarmist, I am one of the homeowners in the “nub.”)
There is no turn lane in the middle of N. Decatur Road and there’s barely enough room for four lanes. All of the big construction dump trucks barreling through here recently are always straddling the lane boundaries because they don’t fit. I would *much* rather hear light-rail out my window than the current four lanes of traffic. Am rather fond of my front yard, though.
I should amend my comment: There isn’t a median or middle lane on Scott, either, where the train would have run at grade. I would hope whichever route they take we would be replacing some car-centric infrastrucure with transit and not just adding to. Obviously it’s a more pressing concern to me *now.*
Worst-case scenario, though, is that the corridor transit plan doesn’t happen at all and a deteriorating situation keeps getting worse.
The doubtful, street-running extension is a wonderful smokescreen over past screw-ups. If built, it would be a sacrifice by all.
Yes, I’m concerned of this too. I’m just east of the nub outside of Decatur city and hope there aren’t plans to bring more asphalt closer to my house (four lanes PLUS light rail?! NO!)
I think it is a mistake to not go down Clairemont to downtown. That is our hub and the whole city would benefit.
Instead, anyone who wants to take light rail from Decatur to Emory (there are a lot of us) have to start at Avondale station and go a roundabout way to Clifton. This will add probably 15 minutes to transit time.
I can’t see that there will be many people in Decatur who will want to do this, except for those that live very close to the route.
Or you walk or bike a mile or less to North Decatur. Or take a bus. Or catch a ride. Or create a local shuttle.
The same way most of Atlanta does that has NO access to Marta right in the middle of their town square.
If you’re MARTA, you want to connect people who live on east side of the city to Clifton so bypassing Decatur doesn’t matter.
If you’re a Decatur official, you want to connect your residents to Clifton since this will increase our quality of life. This route will not achieve that objective for most residents. It will be a lot easier and faster for me to keep biking to work, drive, or even take the Cliff shuttle from downtown, than to take this roundabout light rail.
If you live in Decatur you want to be connected to work quickly and easily. This achieves neither. So while this route may be politically palatable and achieve MARTA’s aims, it is probably not the best for our residents.
Sorry to break this to you, but Downtown Decatur is not the center of the Universe. The point is to create connections for people who have NONE, many of these areas (DeKalb Medical, Emory, Sage Hill, N Decatur and Clairmont) barely have busses, much less a whole train station right in the center of town with two more easy to get to ones on the East and West sides, The point is not to give Decatur more options because you are not 100% happy with what you have, it is to give transport to people and places that have no options. If you ride a bike, you can ride it to Suburban and get a train if you work along the new train line, it is still far shorter than riding to Lindbergh. Most of the people they are trying to get on this line are not commuting from Decatur to Emory, they are commuting from Norcross to DeKalb Medical or Decatur to Chamblee, Midtown or Downtown
Decatur is the center of my universe, with the other center being Clifton. That’s why I want them connected.
I am only talking about the usefulness of this proposed line as it pertains to me and the other people like me who live in Decatur and work on Clifton.
That is exactly the point, MARTA is not building this line for you, you are the least of their worries and the least needy of the thousands of people this line is being built for. When planning billion dollar transit routes they have to look at the big picture, not one person’s already easy and short commute.
Your point, while valid, is also not the only consideration, but, regarding your point, transit equity and sprawl aren’t very compatible.
I am glad we agree that this line will not be useful to most Decatur residents who work on Clifton Rd.
e – the reality is, to make transit work we need to connect dense population centers (Decatur) to large employment centers.
from a planning, urban design point of view it is a gigantic mistake NOT to hit the center of Decatur. Its kind of an urban planning 101 principle.
Agreed! I think having it where they’ve planned will give more options to low income folks who don’t have the choice of driving or taking transit.
Who recalls when they first raised the possibility of light rail down Clairemont? Mayor Floyd took to the gazebo on the square and, in a timeless posture of Southern defiance, vowed, “Not now. Not ever!”
It was classic.
Decatur has MARTA. No one notice the giant train station on the square?
Why not run the line all the way down c-mont to Commerce, turn left, knock out that crap in the block with McDonald’s and shoot down Church to suburban plaza?I like the rest of the proposal though. Running out to Suburban Plaza is inspired.
Or, all the way down c-mont, RIGHT onto commerce (hello AIA/Devry), Continue on commerce to Howard, left onto Howard, take over E. Howard between N. McDonough and Trinity (no one else is using that), continue up Howard to where the CSX line is on the same grade (roughly) and oh look at all that gorgeous unused right of way all the way to Avondale station.
Or maybe not…
I like the idea that most of the annoining construction would not affect city residents. I also like the idea that homeowners in the northern part of the city would be able to walk to two transit stops. This selling point, along with being able to walk or bike to Walmart and other soon to be built shopping and entertainment establishments, should increase our property values. I feel for homeowners living along North Decatur Road. My only suggestion is that the ultimate ending point be at the Avondale station or extending to the DFM and ending at the station to the east of Avondale. But since this construction is years away, no need to worry or celebrate.
Some of you may find this ironic, funny, or deeply satisfying but I’ve run out of gas in an area of unincorporated Decatur just south of Flat Shoals Road. An old white man, with Romney stickers on a gas guzzling work van in the middle of an all black neighborhood with Marta buses going by every 15 minutes. One more thing, I’m only a few blocks pfrom a Walmart. Thank God I have such a beautiful, understanding, thoughtful and very, very beautiful wife who is bringing me gas.
What I would find surprising, if I saw you on the side of the road, is an old work van with Romney stickers. Don’t think I’ve ever seen any except on SUVs and Lexuses, etc.
Chris, i would be far less worried about to donning those stickers on Flat Shoals, and far more in Oakhurst–it’s dangerous here in Liberalistan
I’ll bite. Going out on a limb here, but just maybe is it possible that the whole wold of darker skinned people don’t hate older white men as much as many people’s fear and paranoia lead them to believe, and actually wish no harm to you, or harbor any death wish for people they’ve never met regardless of what sticker is on their car? Crazy, I know.
Well said.
“but just maybe is it possible that the whole wold of darker skinned people don’t hate older white men as much as many people’s fear and paranoia lead them to believe…”
But maybe they do. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!
Instigator!
People may very well be out to get you personally, but it probably has nothing to do with the fact that you are white/beige/cream colored/tan/or maybe even kind of pink.
Mr. B: I think you are confounding two issues—race and crime. If you were mugged that day, it was most likely unrelated to your color, bumper stickers, former profession, height, baldness, and accent. The foremost factor was probably whatever the ambient crime rate was there, local policing, lighting, and isolation. You could have been black, white, or polka-dotted and you would have had a similar chance of being mugged being broken down in that area with whatever crime rate was there. Your age might have played a role although you still look pretty strong and healthy; the elderly are more often preyed upon. Your make of car would play a role if you were sighted by criminals looking for certain vehicles or vehicle parts.
Now in terms of attracting local ridicule………..that’s another story. But Romney stickers are going to do that anywhere in the few, but real, deep blue zones of Georgia.
I’m pretty sure there haven’t been MARTA buses running every 15 minutes on any line since the ’90s… (Which is a big part of our problem.)
Has to go to Avondale station so people driving in from the burbs and riding the train to avoid the traffic bottleneck at Emory have somewhere to park.
Is that an attempt at humor?