The urban planner who helped inspired Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to support a proposed streetcar system along Peachtree Street said today the project should be downsized.

Andres Duany said at a meeting of the Midtown Alliance the current proposal is too long to be economically viable. Duany supported a mile-line route in Midtown that a task force appointed by the mayor expanded to include downtown Atlanta and tourist destinations east and west of the central business district.

"It's the only part of the streetcar that's going to work," Duany said of his initial proposal. "The rest will give the streetcar a bad name because it doesn't work. Ridership drops will be cataclysmic."

Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who represents the area, said after Duany's remarks that he would support scaling down the project to get it started.

"It's more important that we have a solid first step with the Peachtree Streetcar that creates one transit piece, with MARTA and the Beltline," Hall said.

The Beltline is a proposed 22-mile loop of transit and trails around intown Atlanta.

Atlanta's plan for Beltline funding was derailed by a recent state Supreme Court ruling.

In 2002, Duany energized the streetcar debate in Atlanta by saying a streetcar system is the best way to spark development along Midtown's Miracle Mile, the stretch of Peachtree from the Woodruff Arts Center to the Fox Theatre.

The current streetcar plan would cost about $190 million. Atlanta would pay nearly $50 million of that amount. Atlanta's share could come from the sale of bonds discussed at City Hall to support development.