RIDING THE RAILS

Streetcar rolls out to residents, tourists and curiosity seekers

By Collin Kelley INtown Editor

An estimated 51,000 people have taken a ride on the Atlanta Streetcar during its opening month, according to transit officials.

With ridership free through March, residents, tourists and curiosity seekers have been climbing aboard to test it out. Weekends have been especially busy for the system and so was the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Even media mogul Ted Turner was spotted taking a ride.

The $98 million streetcar project has garnered nationwide press coverage, including a big New York Times feature, Forbes magazine, and Atlanta magazine’s Rebecca Burns chronicled her weeklong test on getting from her loft in Cabbagetown to her office in Downtown. There’s already been a dining adventure, with foodies jumping on and off the streetcar to sample restaurants along the 2.7-mile loop.

Expanding the line is already on the drawing board. Connecting it to the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside and Westside Trails has been discussed, which would also link it to more MARTA stations.

Of course, expansion costs money and Mayor Kasim Reed is encouraging lawmakers to allocate more funding for mass transit like the streetcar during the ongoing Georgia Legislative session.

For a map of the streetcar stops, visit streetcar.atlantaga. gov and keep up with events and news at facebook.com/ AtlantaStreetcar.

At left, the streetcar was unveiled under the Edgewood bridge on December 30, 2014 Below, left, a map outlines the 2 7 mile route

Center, top, Mayor Kasim Reed and City Councilman Kwanzaa Hall attended the opening day festivities and praised the community for their support of the streetcar

Below, center, L-R, Tim Frederick with daughter Meghan, wife Jen and son Finn take the streetcar for an urban adventure around Downtown At bottom left, the sheltered stops are outfitted with new signs

Below, right, locals utilized the streetcar and went on a bar crawl following the route L-R, Emily Frantz, Malik Webb, Scott Morris, Joshua Zills, James McConnell and Annie Skinner

Bottom, right, a view of the streetcar as it passes Woodruff Park as seen from the Equitable Building