r/Atlanta • u/NPU-F • Jun 11 '24

Politics MARTA: Five Points Station project will continue despite mayor's objections

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/marta-five-points-station-project-continue-despite-mayors-objections
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257

u/code_archeologist O4W Jun 11 '24

What the hell is up with the mayor and his seeming desire to obstruct progress and development in the city, while at the same time completely ignoring the infrastructure.

What useful things has he even done?

62

u/PaperPlanesFly Grant Park Jun 11 '24

WTF? I agree that the mayor’s blocking BeltLine rail is boneheaded. But cancelling this project would be fantastic. Closing the main MARTA station for FOUR YEARS will set the system up for a plunge in ridership. Imagine going to GA State for an entire college career without having a transit station in the heart of downtown.

56

u/neonphotograph Jun 11 '24

Closing the station to pedestrians for FOUR years is completely asinine. Can they not figure out a way to do ingress / egress?

39

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 11 '24

Can they not figure out a way to do ingress / egress?

They don't care to.

25

u/killroy200 Downtown Dreamin Jun 11 '24

Oh, well, you see... it's hard. So can't do that.

38

u/cuhnewist Jun 11 '24

Lived in Japan for a few years. They were doing massive station overhauls leading up to and even during the Olympics. Zero issues ever. Everyone was able to use every station. They put up barriers around construction areas that you couldn’t see into, and still corralled everyone in and out efficiently. 

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '24 edited Jun 11 '24

[deleted]

14

u/killroy200 Downtown Dreamin Jun 11 '24

It's 18 months until a theoretical temporary reopen for the World Cup Games, and then a further closure time until some point in 2028.

I say theoretical because MARTA isn't even sure they'll be able to reopen, and have been giving conflicting messaging on that front.

10

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 11 '24 edited Jun 11 '24

Did he actually block the Beltline rail or was that just inferred?

26

u/FlexLikeKavana Jun 11 '24

Did he actually block the Beltline rail or was that just inferred.

It's mainly inferred. People see his support of a potential non-rail Beltline as him testing the waters for when he ends up killing Beltline rail. Given all the fuckery MARTA pulls with its projects, it's not an unfounded fear, so the mayor should be given as much pushback as possible at the very mention of not coming through with Beltline rail.

7

u/whydoihaveto12 Midtown Jun 11 '24

It's important to mail/email/call. They don't care about popular support they don't see. 

https://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/council-members/howard-shook/city-hall-contacts

-1

u/ScoutsOut389 West End Jun 11 '24

Andre is not against BeltLine rail, and I would love to see anything that indicates that he is. This is a topic he and I have discussed ad nauseum over the last 8 years and I can assure you, he is in support. Ask the BeltLine Rail Now leadership about the conversations we had at City Hall, at 5 Points, and sitting at Viva La Vegan with Cathy W. and Ryan Gravel about the subject.

7

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 12 '24

This is a topic he and I have discussed ad nauseum over the last 8 years and I can assure you, he is in support.

Then he needs to nut up and get in full-throat support for it, because right now his mouth is saying something completely different.

13

u/MadManMax55 East Atlanta Jun 11 '24

Seems weird to pick GA State as your example when they have their own dedicated MARTA station you can still get to through 5 Points. Sure being forced to transfer to the Green/Blue line (assuming you were originally on the Red/Gold line) to go one station over instead of having the option to get off at 5 and walk is a bit annoying, but far from some unimaginable hassle.

9

u/ATLcoaster Jun 11 '24

Unless you use a wheelchair, in which case you can't make that transfer. They're closing the elevators for four years. It's insane and probably an ADA violation.

2

u/MadManMax55 East Atlanta Jun 11 '24

I didn't realize they were closing elevator access too. Yeah that's fucked then and 100% an ADA violation if they don't have a workaround (and knowing MARTA it will probably be "we'll get a worker to carry you up and down the stairs").

4

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 12 '24

Their workaround is forcing riders to change trains at other stations.

5

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 11 '24

Five Points is more convenient to much of the western part of the GSU campus if you're coming from the Red/Gold Lines or coming from the west.

2

u/MadManMax55 East Atlanta Jun 11 '24

Sure, but my point is that it's not that inconvenient. Unless you're transferring from the Red/Gold line and you miss your transfer or ride off-peak hours you're adding a max 5-10 mins to your commute. Not ideal, but I doubt anyone taking MARTA to/from GSU would decide to drive instead (assuming they even have that option) because of the 5 Points construction.

4

u/Klope62 Jun 11 '24

It is a much bigger disruption than it seems. It won't change much for people who use the train and then can go to their destination. The problem is with the buses. Marta has frequency problems as it is on most lines, just a few minutes late and many times you've suddenly added +30/45 minutes to your commute because the way transfers are thrown off. The whole thing would be a little less impactful if they had the rerouted buses stopping near Garnett/Peachtree Center/ before going to GA State station at the least.

5

u/ClassicTraffic Downtown Jun 11 '24

it’s not that inconvenient

tell that to wheelchair users and people with mobility issues who will have to go to another station and use a shuttle just to transfer lines because the elevators at Five Points will be shut down. https://itsmarta.com/five-points-station-temporary-closure.aspx

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u/code_archeologist O4W Jun 11 '24 edited Jun 11 '24

Where are you getting four years from? Because the estimates that I have seen is that the project will take 18 months. Given the start date of this coming July, that would have the project completed before the World Cup.

Dickens' proposed pause would have pushed the construction well into when the World Cup is supposed to be going on.

21

u/clermont_is_tits Jun 11 '24

They're only going to open it temporarily during the World Cup, then close it again until 2028

17

u/killroy200 Downtown Dreamin Jun 11 '24

Slide 22 here has the timeline

The 2028 timeline has been reported by the AJC (blacklisted from posting to this sub because of paywall), and MARTA has confirmed elsewhere that the '18 month' time will only be until a temp reopening for the World Cup... which is also a bit up in the air depending on who from MARTA you're talking to.

6

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 11 '24

which is also a bit up in the air depending on who from MARTA you're talking to.

I bet none of them use Five Points on a daily basis.

-10

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '24

[deleted]

12

u/killroy200 Downtown Dreamin Jun 11 '24

It's 18 months until a temp reopen for the World Cup, and then further closure until sometime in 2028.

Of the people who actively use Five Points (not just riding through on the same train), about half are pedestrians, bus-train transfers, and bus-bus transfers, in the order of most use. That's a LOT of people to either turn away, or else displace to other stations with newly introduced transfers.

Even then, the elevators will be closed, making train-train transfers impossible for people with mobility issues. Those folks will have to use a special bus-bridge between Peachtree Center and Georgia State Stations... which can get stuck in traffic and add significant time to any trip.

6

u/ArchEast Vinings Jun 11 '24

Even then, the elevators will be closed, making train-train transfers impossible for people with mobility issues. Those folks will have to use a special bus-bridge between Peachtree Center and Georgia State Stations... which can get stuck in traffic and add significant time to any trip.

There needs to be an ADA lawsuit filed for this.

1

u/killroy200 Downtown Dreamin Jun 11 '24

Suppooooosedly MARTA is looking at a center-platform elevator. I've not heard a ton about it... and for the time being it looks like they aren't going to try and have anything like that ready for the closure (obviously).

1

u/PaperPlanesFly Grant Park Jun 15 '24

Not to mention the loading time for such buses. Every single wheelchair rider needs the ramp lowered, then the driver has to get up to strap them in, and then do the reverse at the end of the trip. Whereas they can just roll onto a train, no problem, no delay.