I swear, I’m not being paid or reimbursed in any way by a “streetcar mafia” for all of my recent posts concerning rail transportation.

In a study by the Brooking Institution, that was recently reported in the AJC [h/t: InDecatur], Atlanta ranked midway among the 30 largest cities in terms of “walkability”. But don’t thank downtown for that ranking, thank Decatur…along with Atlantic Station, Buckhead and Midtown.

Here’s the cutesy Decatur blurb… “Here, parents sip lattes while kids dance in the misty fountain at the center of the town square. Traffic jams do happen — in strollers. And shoppers sauntering down the latern-lined sidewalks aren’t just on a first-name basis with each other. Jake means ice cream. Eddie means music. And Twain means billiards and beer”

In addition to the rankings (which always get press, along with seemingly endless mentions on this blog), the study concludes that rail (not buses) is a key component of promoting walkable neighborhoods.

Take it away AJC…

“The survey underscored the link between walkable areas and rail transit, finding that 65 percent of the pedestrian meccas were situated along the tracks. It concluded that metro areas not experiencing this type of development might want to consider investments in rail.

And Leinberger noted that Atlanta could do more with special zoning districts around MARTA stops to encourage development. “You have a tremendous resource in Atlanta with MARTA,” he said. “But you haven’t taken enough advantage of development within walking distance of those stations.”