Confirming the recommendation of its executive
committee, the Atlanta Streetcar Inc. board of directors on Jan. 20 voted to
hire a consulting team led by HDR Inc. to conduct a feasibility study on a
proposed eight-mile (12.9 km) streetcar line along Peachtree Street from
downtown Atlanta to Buckhead. This was the board’s first meeting, which was
opened by the ringing of a traditional streetcar bell. HDR’s project
director will be Charlie Hales, who was a Portland city commissioner and a
major booster of that city’s downtown streetcar. State Sen. Tommie Williams
attended the board meeting to announce he would co-sponsor a bill in the
legislature that would put Georgia at the forefront of obtaining federal
funding for streetcars. “People come to Portland just to ride the
streetcar,” Williams said. “I can't imagine people coming to Atlanta just to
ride the bus.”
