According to Thomas Wheatley, Atlanta is planning on purchasing Siemans S70s to run downtown streetcar route, instead of the used vehicles that were first proposed.  Why?

Wheatley explains that unlike the original option the new cars will also be able to run along the Beltline (if connected) and has lower floor doors that makes them more accessible to the handicapped and senior citizens.  These changes have actually convinced a city council-member to switch to supporting the streetcar, after opposing it last year.

Photo of Siemans S70 in Houston

This morning the AJC features some quality knee-jerk reaction on the Atlanta streetcar from WSB’s Channel 2 Action News’ Triple Team Traffic member Mark Arum.  It reads like something from The Vent…

I can’t tell you how many times I have been stuck with no way to get between [Centennial Park and MLK Center]. It seems every time I want to head over to the King Center from the Park, my car is broken. And there are no cabs. And my bike has a flat tire. And I’ve got a cramp in my thigh so I can’t walk. The kicker to the trolley folly, is that the city will need to kick in an additional $25 million to complete the project.

…Listen, trolleys were great at the turn of the century. And so were typewriters. But I don’t think we’d be better off relying on either right now.

If you have time, head over to youtube.com and search “Simpsons Monorail”. Hopefully you’ll find the irony somewhat therapeutic.

OK, so all of Atlanta’s traffic solutions should be based on Mr. Arum’s personal experiences in Atlanta.  Got it.  And anything “great” in 1900 is crap now.  Got it.  Oh, and there’s some sort of irony I’m missing.

OK. So what SHOULD we be spending $25 million on?

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So by now, you’ve probably seen the AJC’s Sunday front page story, “Pricey streetcar won’t ease traffic“.  Sorry for my slightly delayed reaction to this.  I needed to do a few mental calisthenics before tackling this word-count monster.

So, it looks like the title of this article is based on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s ranking of area transportation projects relieving traffic congestion.  According to the AJC, the streetcar came in “dead-last” (no editorializing there!) in this category.  What ranked higher?  Well, much more expensive and pipe-dreamy projects like a #3 billion light-rail line from Kennesaw to Decatur (!) and a Ponce de Leon streetcar, which came in at $133 million.

But before we get into the man/woman-on-the-street banter, which gives real sass to the article (ex. “I think it’ll be great, It’s hard to get people to come back to Auburn.” / “…foolishness…It’s not going to spur development, it’s not going to spur anything,”), I’m still left wondering why we’re suddenly holding the streetcar to promises of immediate traffic congestion relief when I’ve never heard any such argument given.

Where was it ever stated that easing congestion required a one-pronged solution and should be done at any cost?

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A recent op-ed in the Washington Examiner by Marc Scribner criticizes the Federal Government’s recent TIGER II grants – which included $47 million awarded Atlanta’s streetcar project – for spending more money on rail and bicycle projects than on roads.  Here’s a snippet to get your dander up…

A debate between Smart Growth and traffic efficiency advocates has raged for decades in the transportation policy community. Since the early 1990s, federal transportation planning has been dominated by the Smart Growth set. They claim they just want to level the playing field for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.

However, there is one major problem: Most Americans prefer to drive. In essence, Smart Growth advocates are attacking a problem that is greatly overstated—a lack of non-auto infrastructure and access—and making the far more serious congestion problem significantly worse.

Smart Growth proponents have much to be thankful for, as less than a third of TIGER II’s $600 million in grants went to road projects. In fact, more money went to livability – enhancing projects such as rail transit and bicycle trails – than to roads. But grants were not evenly distributed. Five of the least cost effective projects received one-fifth of total funding.

Downtown Atlanta Streetcar $47,667,777

Sugar House Streetcar (Salt Lake City) $26,000,000

New Haven Downtown Crossing $16,000,000

Razorback Regional Greenway (NW Arkansas) $15,000,000

Warehouse District Complete Streets Project (Peoria, Illinois) – $10,000,000

$47 mil to be precise on how “big ‘ol”.  Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood…

“We’re here today because you all have your act together,”…”People have to come together around a common agenda, list the priorities and then start working on them. And this community knows how to do it.

“I hope soon the state will take your lead and become a model for it,”

You gotta give Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed credit for this one.  He focused the greedy and scattered Peachtree Streetcar effort and got the city some cash.  The AJC reports that construction on the streetcar should begin in 2012 and be operational by 2013.

Whether downtown Atlanta is ready for a streetcar or a streetcar is ready for downtown Atlanta is yet to be seen.

Photo above courtesy of Kwanza Hall