A few years ago, the Georgia Department of Transportation began looking at the Northern Arc of I-285 through the Revive 285 process. As a member of the Community Action Committee, the two most significant factors from those discussions about trips on 285 were:
1) The significant number of daily trips from Lawrenceville to the Perimeter employment center. One only has to observe I-285 during rush hour to know many hundreds of east and west trips are generated along the Northern Arc. The interstate system through the metro area is radial to the center of Atlanta, as are many of the arterial surface streets. I-285 connects development nodes on the radial routes.
2) Many of the trips on I-285 are “local,” people using the interstate to go from one radial arterial to another — for example, from Ashford-Dunwoody to Chamblee-Dunwoody roads.
How can we enhance transportation system capacity to serve one of the largest economic engines in the Southeast? My proposal is to provide frontage roads on both sides of I - 285 to reduce the congestion caused by local trips; place a monorail transit system within the frontage road system to reduce right-of-way acquisition costs; reinvent MARTA, and extend the MARTA rail system.
Some specifics:
• Establish a frontage road system from the Doraville MARTA station to the Cumberland Mall/Cobb Galleria area. Much of this system already exists. Are there gaps? Yes. But it can be designated, advertised and expanded as such now.
• The monorail system would provide a rapid transit connection from Doraville to the Galleria. Monorails are supported by single support columns that could be placed in the same right-of-way as the frontage road and are generally elevated above cross streets and traffic. Disney moves over 150,000 people per day by monorail on a 13.6-mile system. A similar 24-kilometer system will serve the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Further studies should determine whether this is the most cost-effective system.
LRT (light rail transit) and BRT (bus rapid transit) generally require some sort of dedicated lane. They are either consuming a lane that would be otherwise be used by cars and trucks, or are subject to the delays of the roadway system. For LRT or BRT to run within the frontage road system would require significant intersection improvements as well as a widened right of way to accommodate dedicated lanes.
• It’s time to reinvent MARTA. Remove the 1-cent sales tax in Fulton and DeKalb counties and replace it with a truly dedicated state tax or user fee across the 10-county metro area for major transportation improvements. As part of the reinvention, MARTA should be absorbed by a state agency with authority to operate transit beyond Fulton and DeKalb.
• Extend MARTA rail lines in the heavy demand corridors — the north line to Alpharetta, and the northeast line to Gwinnett Mall. These routes serve the heavily traveled Ga. 400 and I-85 corridors. The extensions would connect to the monorail at Doraville and Dunwoody to provide east-west access across the Northern Arc.
In summary, widening I–285 appears to be a practical impossibility. Getting local trips off I-285 preserves the available capacity for longer trips. Transit provides a cost-efficient alternative for those who can effectively use it.
None of the above will be easy. There will be huge political, jurisdictional, environmental and cost issues. But nothing gets done unless you start. It’s time to start.
Gordon Jackson is a retired transportation consultant and past president of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association.
