To be fair, Maria Saporta broke this story first, way back on June 14th, but the AJC just reminded me that I still hadn’t mentioned it.

After being completely ignored by the Feds for saying “Yes, you can have the privilege of funding the entire cost of our Peachtree streetcar.”, Atlanta’s back at the Fed’s door asking for streetcar money.  But this time when asking for stimulus money, the city has shelved the more aggressive Peachtree streetcar line and pledged actual cash to cover a portion of the project’s cost.  From the AJC…

…the new plan, which calls for 2.6 miles of track from Centennial Olympic Park to the King Center, along historic Auburn Avenue. The project would be connected to MARTA and is estimated to draw more than 2,330 daily riders, including tourists and Georgia State University students.

The total price tag would be $72 million, with the city and Central Atlanta Progress’ Downtown Community Improvement District each providing $10 million, Borrero said.

My initial reaction was “Oh great, a tourist trolley.”, but then, prompted by CL’s Thomas Wheatley, I considered the struggling/transitional neighborhoods it would pass through and began to favor it over the Peachtree line.  But really which is better, a streetcar that revitalizes a neighborhood or one that strengthens connections along the city’s densest corridor?

Rendering of Peachtree streetcar courtesy of Peachtree Corridor Partnership