Do you all think the Beltline light rail line will happen? (buy, cost)

[Atlanta-Kid]

Originally Posted by testa50

Not really though. You’ve either gotta go down to 14th/Piedmont in Midtown or the Prado entrance, which has a long access road before you get to the nice area around the lake and stuff. Those two entrances are separated by roughly half a mile and Piedmont is no fun to walk down north of 14th. Westminster Drive is a horrible, dangerous crossing, so few people cross there.

Midtown has entrances at 14th, 12th, 11th, and a huge frontage on 10th. Blocks of VaHi directly abut the park without even needing to cross a road, and the whole Beltline feeds the neighborhood into the park—the 10th/Monroe Beltline has more foot traffic than the Prado access by orders of magnitude.

There’s no question that out of the three, Ansley has the worst access to the park. I still think it’s nonsense that people from Ansley never go to the park, though.

Okay I'll hear you on that one
I just remember crossing through a lot on foot to get to the park
Forgot about all of the weird crosswalk dangers
Hopefully some upgrades can go into place (minus all of the overhaul)

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by testa50

There’s no question that out of the three, Ansley has the worst access to the park. I still think it’s nonsense that people from Ansley never go to the park, though.

What the heck has happened since I left year several years ago? Heck, I lived in Ansley Park for several decades - we literally considered Piedmont Park to be our collective backyard! I, together with many neighbors, served on the Piedmont Park Conservancy's board for years - Ansley residents have always been important supporters of the Park, both financially and volunteer wise. And, Park access is very easy from Ansley - the walk in through the Botanical Gardens couldn't be any prettier. There is also 14th Street and Westminster access that's convenient from Ansley.

[tacosman]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

What the heck has happened since I left year several years ago? Heck, I lived in Ansley Park for several decades - we literally considered Piedmont Park to be our collective backyard! I, together with many neighbors, served on the Piedmont Park Conservancy's board for years - Ansley residents have always been important supporters of the Park, both financially and volunteer wise. And, Park access is very easy from Ansley - the walk in through the Botanical Gardens couldn't be any prettier. There is also 14th Street and Westminster access that's convenient from Ansley.

What typically happens though is that we meet people who also go to the park, and then that becomes the collective 'we'.....for example you presumably enjoy the park and going there and socializing with other neighbors who like the same thing. But the residents who haven't been inside the park in a decade you *aren't* meeting and socializing because they aren't at the park with you....so it's lots of confirmation bias in terms of those sorts of things. I do it too in many areas of my life/my interests(which are just different).

The reality is if a high percentage of people in AP and Morningside(and other areas close in to park) were using the park frequently it would literally be much much much more crowded than it is. Even on Saturday afternoon when there are way more people laying out on towels and whatnot, I still observe lots of room for personal space.

[tacosman]

And I think that gruesome stabbing murder 2+ years ago now still affects how some people view the park. That tragic case where the woman was walking her dog and stabbed to death. Sure park supporters can say "oh that was a rare event and it was just so high profile and it's been over 2 years", but I mean we aren't talking about a property crime here or a windshield being smashed in....when someone is killed in that manner, there really is no statue of limitations on when people start to feel safe again there.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by tacosman

What typically happens though is that we meet people who also go to the park, and then that becomes the collective 'we'.....for example you presumably enjoy the park and going there and socializing with other neighbors who like the same thing. But the residents who haven't been inside the park in a decade you *aren't* meeting and socializing because they aren't at the park with you....so it's lots of confirmation bias in terms of those sorts of things. I do it too in many areas of my life/my interests(which are just different).

The reality is if a high percentage of people in AP and Morningside(and other areas close in to park) were using the park frequently it would literally be much much much more crowded than it is. Even on Saturday afternoon when there are way more people laying out on towels and whatnot, I still observe lots of room for personal space.

Other people gave stats (15k visitors per day on average), you give pointless anecdotes. It's time to take the L and stop talking.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

What the heck has happened since I left year several years ago? Heck, I lived in Ansley Park for several decades - we literally considered Piedmont Park to be our collective backyard! I, together with many neighbors, served on the Piedmont Park Conservancy's board for years - Ansley residents have always been important supporters of the Park, both financially and volunteer wise. And, Park access is very easy from Ansley - the walk in through the Botanical Gardens couldn't be any prettier. There is also 14th Street and Westminster access that's convenient from Ansley.

Spoken as a man who knows what he's talking about.

[SEAandATL]

Looks like it's still on despite the NIMBY opposition.

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-new...JVBYB7OX7KWMU/

Also according to the BRN site, the Streetcar expansion to PCM could break ground as early as late 2025 and start service as early as 2028.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

Looks like it's still on despite the NIMBY opposition.

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-new...JVBYB7OX7KWMU/

Also according to the BRN site, the Streetcar expansion to PCM could break ground as early as late 2025 and start service as early as 2028.

Duh, those NIMBYs against this were loud with no bite. Couldn't be more than a couple of dozen people with no legitimate argument.

[arjay57]

I still like the idea of starting with a tram. Not some dinky one, but a really nice one. It can slow down so people can hop on and off at their destination. You could get this thing rolling in no time, for a tiny fraction of what they're talking about with a streetcar.

If it looks like the ridership is too heavy, you can always upgrade to light rail.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by arjay57

*SNIP*

You could get this thing rolling in no time, for a tiny fraction of what they're talking about with a streetcar.

*SNIP*

How exactly??? You still need the right of way, except now you have to pave it instead of laying rails. You also have to buy the vehicles, build a new maintenance facility, and you lose the direct connection to MARTA and downtown.