Atlanta — Peachtree Project

Rail Transit Online, March 2007

Mayor Shirley Franklin on Mar. 26 unveiled a vigorous 90-day program to initiate a 20-year plan proposed by the Peachtree Corridor Task Force to remake the city’s main thoroughfare, including construction of a 19-mi. (30.6 km) streetcar system.  The billon-dollar project also proposes a network of parks and plazas, wider sidewalks, improved lighting and burying utility lines.  But the main focus would be the streetcar, costing up to $450 million and running 15 mi. (24.1 km) along Peachtree Street from Brookhaven in the north, through downtown to the Fort McPherson area in the south.  A connecting four-mile (6.4 km) circulator would link major tourist attractions and traffic generators within the downtown area.  About half the funding would be generated by a new special taxing district that would affect all property within the corridor.  The remainder would come from various sources.  Franklin says she supports creation of a new public-private authority to carry the project forward.  Once all the necessary legislation is approved by the city council, the streetcar would be given priority.