One Billion Dollar Plan Unveiled For Atlanta's Signature Street

"More than 50 years after streetcars vanished from Atlanta, a group of business and civic leaders have a $1 billion, 20-year plan to bring them back along a dramatically revitalized Peachtree Street corridor."

"The recommendation envisions an overhaul of the city's signature thoroughfare to include new sidewalks and bicycle lanes, improved lighting and landscaping, buried utility lines and a string of small parks and plazas, about one every quarter-mile. The plan, which is being fine-tuned, would be financed in part with new taxes on property owners along the street."

"The plan faces considerable political hurdles, but its supporters believe the proposal is far from fanciful."

"About half of the $1 billion price tag would come from a special taxing district that would encompass the entire Peachtree corridor, a change that would require City Council approval... The remaining money would come from a variety of sources, including city, state and federal governments, a dedicated parking tax, and from private donors."