Atlanta's Got Plenty of Reasons to Support Streetcars

"For too long, Atlanta has been almost exclusively dependent on automobiles for mobility. Our settlement patterns and the resulting low densities and long travel distances have left most people little choice today but to travel by car, increasing congestion. Since most of us know we can't afford to build enough roads to support the people already here — let alone the millions on their way — many people are changing the way they live and commute."

"As Atlantans are moving back into our city's urban core, they need mobility options, and streetcars can be an important part of this, particularly for the half-mile to three-mile trips many will take along Peachtree Street. Streetcars like the ones in Portland, Ore., have proven to be wildly successful in every city where they are operating. Looking to systems very different from the one removed in Atlanta, more than 20 cities in the U.S. are currently building or planning some type of surface-running, fixed-guideway system (one with steel wheels on rails at street level)."