I live in Sandy Springs, between Spalding Drive and the Chattahoochee River on the east side of Ga. 400, where MARTA is considering expanding its service north from the North Springs Station. While I am not opposed to MARTA’s proposed expansion to north Fulton County, I am opposed to any expansion, particularly heavy rail, east of Ga. 400.
Expanding east would heavily impact multiple neighborhoods, four schools, local roads and traffic. Two public elementary school campuses (Dunwoody Springs and Woodland) back up to the GDOT right-of-way and would have a rail line potentially running through their playgrounds, which could force the schools to relocate.
These views are shared by many of my neighbors. On June 12, two homeowners associations invited MARTA representatives to speak at an evening event we publicized. More than 75 residents attended, representing 11 different neighborhoods in north Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. We conducted a simple survey of attendees on sign-in sheets. A total of 74 surveys were completed; not everyone responded to the survey, or to each question. Survey results, which we shared with MARTA, follow:
1. Do you support heavy-rail expansion of MARTA? “Yes,” 18; “No,” 31; “Maybe,” 18.
2. Do you support expansion on the east or west side of 400? “East,” none; “West,” 68; “Other,” 2, including “middle” and “any.”
3. Do you support a MARTA station at Northridge (Road)? “Yes,” 6; “No,” 45; “Maybe,” 16.
By contrast, if MARTA were to cross over Ga. 400 immediately before or after Spalding Drive to the west side of the highway, we believe MARTA could provide much-needed public transportation to many residents who ride MARTA buses today that circulate along Dunwoody Place/Northridge Road/Roswell Road. Additionally, expansion on the west side could promote transit oriented development and offer the opportunity to rebuild or upgrade older multi-family housing between Spalding Drive and Northridge Road.
Further, we believe there are stronger positives for supporting MARTA expansion west of Ga. 400, including:
• Land use opportunities are greater, including greater options for station location and design.
• Existing transportation and access to/from a proposed Northridge station are more evolved on the west, though some of our neighbors question the need for a station given the proximity to the North Springs station.
• A greater number of current MARTA customers live west of Ga. 400. The northern panhandle of Sandy Springs is the most densely populated portion of the city. If an expanded MARTA route is not sited on the west side, these customers would need to cross the highway to use MARTA.
• Far less National Park Service land in the Chattahoochee River National Recreational Area might be impacted if a rail line ran west of Ga. 400 at the river.
• Sandy Springs supports MARTA expansion and heavy rail, but also prefers a west side orientation to encourage redevelopment.
• Commercial property values on the west would likely have a greater potential for appreciation with MARTA development than residences on the on the east side.
Most long-term residents in this area recall a 1989 resolution by the MARTA board affirming a “west of 400, before or after Spalding Drive” future MARTA expansion, to cross back over Ga. 400 after Holcomb Bridge Road.
This was done around the same time as planning for MARTA’s North Springs Station. It is the agreement upon which residents have bought and sold property and made investments in neighborhoods east of Ga. 400 from Dunwoody to the river over the last 25 years, and it’s why neighbors are upset that MARTA officials now seem to be ignoring that previous agreement.
MARTA officials told residents that nothing has yet been decided, but that as the Project Connect 400 study was started, it was necessary to consider all options to meet federal transportation guidelines.
If the MARTA board of directors would again resolve to expand MARTA from the North Springs station along the west side of Ga. 400, I believe there would be greater community support — from neighbors like me, the cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, and the Fulton County School Board.
Chip Swearngan is president of the Somerset Homeowners Association in Sandy Springs.
