Atlanta's Streetcar named desire

By Ernie Suggs

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In February, Atlanta was dealt a crushing blow when the Obama administration rejected what might have been an overly ambitious $298.3 million bid for stimulus money for a streetcar system that would have run the length of Peachtree Street.

Four months later, Atlanta is trying again, albeit with scaled-down goals and a bigger financial commitment from the city.

Luz Borrero, the city’s deputy chief operating officer, is preparing to submit a smaller $52 million bid to the U.S. Department of Transportation to build a streetcar line along a downtown loop.

For now, a Peachtree Street segment is out of 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.

“That is a pretty good ratio. We invest $10 million and we win $62 million for a generational project that will transform the look and feel of downtown Atlanta for generations to come,” Borrero said. “This project is a beautiful thing.”

On Wednesday, Borrero will present the plan to the city council’s Finance/Executive Committee.  A pre-application has to be submitted by July 16 and the official submission is due in August.

“I think the project is yet another vital component of expanding transportation options and making the city of Atlanta more livable,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said.

In the initial round of grant requests, Atlanta sought nearly $300 million for a project that would have included the downtown loop in the current plan, as well as the length of Peachtree Street from Five Points to Peachtree Pointe. That proposal would have included 40 stations along 9.2 miles of track.

“It was extremely competitive and there were a lot of worthy projects,” Central Atlanta Progress President A.J. Robinson said. “The pot is smaller this time and we have scaled down, not asking for the moon.”

In that first round, the federal administration had a total of $1.5 billion in available funding, but received more than 1,300 applications requesting more than $56.5 billion.

Georgia municipalities alone submitted more than 20 applications, totaling more than the $1.5 billion. None were chosen.

Streetcar lines were approved in Tucson, Ariz., New Orleans, Portland, Ore., and Dallas.

Borrero admits that the competition was steep for the first round and it didn’t help that Atlanta had not committed to any local funding. She said federal officials were skeptical that Atlanta would have the financial support to maintain the massive project, since no local money was coming in.

“When we had a debriefing, we asked why did they not give us the funds the first time around. The principal reason was the lack of local enthusiasm,” Borrero said. “It is what we call 'skin' in the game. We were putting no money into the project. If we want the federal government to invest, we have to invest.”

So now, the city is asking for less money, investing its own money, seeking partners and thinking smaller.

Atlanta will compete with other major cities for a total of about $460 million of available funds.

The proposed streetcar project could be a boon for the downtown area, particularly along Auburn Avenue, which has been struggling to come up with sustainable retail and business outlets. It would also boost tourism by touching most of downtown’s major attractions, like the World of Coke, CNN, Philips Arena, Georgia State University and the Georgia Aquarium as well as four major hotels.

The system would provide short trips downtown while connecting people to other transportation modes like MARTA.

“This has great meaning, because it does a number of things,” Robinson said. “For many years, we have lacked the ability to connect the energy of the King Center to Centennial Olympic Park. We have struggled with that and the streetcar is a perfect way to do this.”

Robinson and Borrero also said the project would create short- and long-term jobs, as well as boost the economy along the streetcar’s route.

“It has been proven that when you invest in infrastructure, values go up,” Robinson said. “Particularly in the Auburn Avenue corridor. This is a great opportunity to make a major difference.”

Federal studies have shown that recent streetcar programs in several cities have been economic generators. The primary reason is, unlike a bus or trolley route for example, streetcar tracks are permanent. And a fixed project helps ensure commercial visibility and exposure.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city to attract $52 million in federal funding to get an investment that will completely transform the Edgewood/Auburn Avenue district, which has great historical value, but is underdeveloped,” Borrero said. “This project has the ability to create great momentum.”

If Atlanta gets the money for the project, it would take about two years to build and cost about $2.2 million annually to operate.

The bane of any mass transit project is funding operations and maintenance, since the gas tax, which funds road maintenance, can’t fund rail and ticket receipts pay just a fraction of ongoing operation costs.

But Reed said “there’s no doubt” it could be funded.

“People are going to enjoy it and become accustomed to it and it will help build a will to make sure it’s funded,” he said. “Right now it’s just this a drawing board concept. The other thing is, I don’t believe in quitting and losing.”

Staff writer Ariel Hart contributed to this article.