As the Medlock Park Neighborhood Association blog points out, MARTA has issued its official recommendation for the Clifton Corridor transit, after months and months of open houses and discussion with the surrounding communities.

Light Rail Option 1 would run transit from Lindbergh Center all the way to the Avondale MARTA Station.  As you can see from the map above, there would be 10 above-ground stations, including ones along the way at North Decatur and Clairmont, Suburban Plaza and DeKalb Medical Center.  In the Decatur area, there are also optional stations planned for DeKalb Industrial and at the old DeVry campus on North Arcadia.  A note from MARTA posted on the MANA site, points out that this option “would allow an alternative means of for high-capacity evacuation from the CDC in the event of an emergency situation.”

MANA has posted a more detailed map of Light Rail Option 1 on Google Docs HERE.

According to MARTA’s website, the plan is pending approval from MARTA’s Board of Directors. It will be presented to the MARTA Planning and External Relations Committee on March 26th and to the MARTA Board on April 9th.

And just an FYI: Obviously, the near-future execution of this project is entirely dependent on the outcome of the July T-SPLOST vote.

WIth a cool $700 million allocated to the Clifton Corridor line from LaVista to N. Decatur/Clairmont (or Avondale Station) in the proposed Transportation tax project list, the future is brighter than ever for this transit line!  (admittedly it wasn’t all that bright to begin with…)

Now, that big price-tag and/or the prospect rail to Emory may have gotten your attention, but you may be thinking, “You know, I care about “transit” and I want people to know what I think because, gosh darn it, people like me!  But dinner’s not going to cook itself/I can’t just skip out of work!/ I can’t leave my kids at home alone!  What do I do?”

Well, here’s the answer for you overworked, stressed out, likable folks.

The Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative has posted a narrated presentation on its website that brings you up to speed faster than a high-speed rail project can burn through a billion dollars.  (Sorry, “faster than high-speed rail!” sounded too corny, even for me.)  What are the differences between “heavy rail”, “light rail” and “bus rapid transit”?  It’s all in there!

This is the second of two presentations that CCTI has produced for the interwebs, however its the first time they’ve also included an online survey at the end of the presentation!  So now you can be informed AND let the world (or at least the three project managers listed at the end of the presentation) know what you think about this whole transit from Lindbergh to Emory/Decatur thingy.

Go and survey responsibly!

While many in the Emory area are jazzed that the Clifton Corridor MARTA line was one of the second largest recipiant of transit funds allocated by the Atlanta Transportation Exec Committee, “E” points out in a comment that two smaller projects, which made the list apply specifically to the City of Decatur.

The first: “Decatur to Clifton Corridor ‐ Transit Connectivity and Safety Improvements” would receive $5 million – instead of the $10 million requested.  Here are a few deets from the project submission…

Commerce Drive, Clairemont Avenue and Church Street will be redesigned to provide safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities like sidewalks, bicycle lanes and streetscaping. The intersections of Church/Commerce and Clairemont/Commerce will be reconfigured to reduce vehicular congestion and increase pedestrian safety through the use of roundabouts, narrowed pedestrian crossings and/or improved signal timing. The design of improvements for Church Street and the two intersections at Commerce Avenue will be complete by summer of 2012.

The second: “US 278 (College Avenue) from Adair Street to North Clarendon Avenue ‐ Corridor Improvements“, which spans Decatur, DeKalb and Avondale, would also receive $5 million – instead of the $8,281,000 requested.  A few details that project submission…

The project consists of adding bike lanes, sidewalk, crossings to transit and businesses, infrastructure improvements to shoulders and pavement, as well as enhancements such as street lighting, landscaping. This project will be consistent with all design recommendations in the LCI’s of Avondale and Decatur. The project will also include the realignment of the intersection of Adair at the CSX RR crossing on the west end of the project. The intersecton improvement of College/Covington @ Clarendon will be included on the east end of the project. Improving traffic signal/ITS for the corridor and side streets.

Of course, these projects have to survive tinkering (or complete revision) by the full 21 member roundtable and still pass the 2012 public referendum before they have a chance to be built, but at this stage, it’s better to still be on the list than off!

Thanks to Ken Edelstein of Green Building Chronicle for helping me locate these projects this morning.  He’s got a great synopsis of the transit “winners” and “losers” in the transportation penny sales tax game over on his site.  (Spoiler Alert: The Clifton Corridor is a “winner”, though it will still have to figure out how to bridge a $400 million shortfall if approved)

Green Building Chronicle reports that the 5 member Atlanta Transportation Roundtable (which I like to call “Floyd & Co.”) allocated 58% of funding from the potential 1-cent sales tax to transit at this morning’s meeting.

However, the current project list is still $445 million over its $6.1 billion target, so some projects – be it road or rail – will need to be cut.  They plan to make those final cuts Monday at 1pm, according to the Chronicle.

Still on the list with a $700 million allocation is the Clifton Corridor line, which would mostly like have the largest potential impact on Decatur area residents, linking the Emory area to Lindbergh MARTA station with either light rail, heavy rail or a bus line.  Another new DeKalb project JUST added to the list is a $250 million down-payment to extend the MARTA blue line east past Indian Creek Station out I-20.

Here’s a PDF of the current project list, courtesy of the ARC.

In related news, Green Building Chronicle also reported yesterday from a Clifton Corridor public workshop last night and came back with a bunch of really interesting tidbits about the project, including which questions are still unanswered and which hurdles it still must be overcome.  Here’s a great little blurb…

The new line would break away from MARTA’s heavy rail line south of Lindbergh Station at the Armour Yard maintenance facility and follow an existing CSX right-of-way across I-85, Cheshire Bridge Road and Briarcliff Road, then on past the CDC, Emory and the VA Medical Center.

A key remaining decision is which technology to use: Heavy-rail would allow MARTA trains to be routed toward Emory on a spur, without requiring transfers. But heavy rail is more expensive and technically difficult, so it would have to stop at North Decatur and Clairmont roads. Most of a heavy rail line would likely be underground.

Light rail or bus-rapid transit would carry fewer passengers and would require MARTA rail riders to transfer at Lindbergh Station. But those two options would allow for more stops and could continue along Scott Boulevard toward the DeKalb Medical Center before hooking down to the Avondale Station. Most of light-rail or bus-rapid-transit line would likely be at grade.

The thorniest issue that came up at last night’s workshop revolved around the residential area between Cheshire Bridge Avenue and Briarcliff Road. Neighborhood organizations there actually favor the project — so long as it ends up being light-rail line, which would do more to serve the residents, rather than heavy rail, which would simply go under the neighborhoods and have fewer stops.

Also of note to those that have expressed concern that the project isn’t currently fully funded by the tax: the Chronicle notes that it’s not that farfetched to think that Emory and other big area employers might pick up part of the tab to have the line built.

Over the last couple months as the 2012 Transportation Sales Tax project list has grown and shrunk, and many of the projects that might affect Decatur in large and small ways have fallen by the wayside.  However, one remains.  And while proceeds from an approved 2012 transportation sales tax probably won’t bring transit into the Decatur city limits, a transit line connecting the “Clifton Corridor” to the Lindbergh MARTA Station would have a big impact on all area residents.

Today, Emory officially stated its support for the Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative and vocally urged the Emory community via email to contact members of the Transportation Roundtable – “especially those representing DeKalb County—CEO Burrell Ellis and Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd” – and express support for the project, prior to Thursday when the list will be further reduced to match projected revenues from the tax.

During a recent MARTA open house on the potential transit line, some Druid Hills and Va-Hi residents expressed concerns, though since most of the line would travel along the current CSX right-of-way, intrusion is minimal considering its length and the area’s population density.

The Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative’s Facebook page notes that if selected, light rail could be elevated above the CSX right of way or at street level.  There has also been recent talk of tunneling the line, regardless of whether its heavy rail, light rail or rapid bus.

View a larger PDF of the map above HERE.