It arrived with a distorted “ding” of its electronic bell, but it might as well have been a trumpet fanfare for the scores of riders waiting on it.
For the first time in most of their lives, a streetcar rumbled through downtown Atlanta.
It is not fast. It does not go to many places. And it will not be part of the daily commute for most of the Atlantans who turned out Tuesday for their inaugural ride.
Nonetheless, those who waited their turn for the 2.7 mile loop were there for reasons other than to get from Point A to Point B.
“It’s a very big day,” said Jason Reddick, 33, of Atlanta, who brought his 4-year-old son, Jason II, to the ribbon cutting at Woodruff Park. “This is what Atlanta is missing — real street transportation.”
Reddick sees the streetcar as a “piece of the puzzle” for a city forever measuring itself against its rivals. For once, public transportation was a point of civic pride.
On-board, the excitement settled down to a level commensurate with a crowded ride on public transportation. People shuffled to find handholds and distribute their weight so as not to bump into their neighbor. Most people just silently watched the city go by through wide windows.
Still, it was a first for the city, and riders were eager to be part of it.
“I’m an Atlanta native. I try to do everything I can on the first day, going way, way back,” said south DeKalb resident Jerry Myer Jackson Jr.
Jackson, 66, went to the grand opening of the SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel last year. He also was on hand for the ribbon cuttings at Lenox Square, Greenbriar Mall, and the long-gone icon The Riviera of Atlanta Motor Hotel.
“It’s a giant step. Rail like this is expensive, but it’s an investment in the future, and we all have to believe in it,” he said. “We’ve got to go with more mass transit, no matter what we do.”
City leaders believe the streetcar line will spur development by spreading tourist traffic throughout the corridor from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King Center. As a result, the line runs right through the heart of downtown, with all its colorful grit.
“It’s a running train! Get off the tracks,” a MARTA employee yelled as a group of three men wandered across from Woodruff Park.
“You better watch your (expletive) mouth,” one of the men warned back.
Sophia Barrett, a Detroit native who moved to the metro area eight years ago, said she thinks the streetcar will dress up downtown, making it more attractive for marquee events like another Super Bowl.
“It makes us look better to the world,” she said. “I want the NFL to come here and host one. This will get us there.”
Barrett, like most people who came out to ride the streetcar on its first day, was not concerned with the streetcar’s $98 million cost.
“It takes money to build a city,” she said. “And it’s going to take time to see the benefits of it. Atlanta is catching up.”
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