Vinings Neighborhood

A passenger rail line along W&A could be extended to Acworth and Canton and cut over to midtown and downtown so I don't really understand this statement on the Vinings Association site: 'Transit in the Marietta Boulevard corridor would serve only "local needs" and would have no "regional utilization". Regular "local" bus service would adequately and appropriately serve this corridor. Perhaps existing bus routes serving this corridor could be improved, but spending significant transit dollars in this corridor is not warranted.'

I don't see how a commuter option that goes through the centers of Vinings, Smyrna, and Marietta along with passing by Cumberland's transfer station at the Cumberland Mall wouldn't be regional. The level of density of professional lofts being built along Marietta Blvd doesn't make busses a feasable way to handle future commuter needs and commuter rail would accelerate growth of professional housing units, which would have a positive impact on the Northwest region and Vinings. I imagine that regardless of what Cobb County decides, there will be a rail line along Marietta Boulevard in the near future and it would help Cobb County to tap into it. High-capacity passenger rail could carry a lot more people from exurbs like Canton than BRT could.

Additionally, there is more high-density housing being built in Vinings (Paces Ferry) and Marietta and these new developments are in walking distance of the rail crossing.

Finally, I imagine that a lot of the driving force of this assessment was the potential negative impact of commuters coming from Bankhead, however the demographics of Marietta Blvd and Bolton Rd have improved and if the rail option avoids Bankhead Highway, the commuters from Bankhead will be generally young professionals either going to midtown, downtown, or Cumberland. However, I wouldn't discount the possibility that it could also bring new business to Marietta.

I believe that using the W&A line will have a greater positive impact than a BRT line.

Additionally, I would like to respond to "The Marietta Boulevard corridor has extremely favorable existing infrastructure to support heavy industrial uses. It is close to the City of Atlanta, and close to direct access to major roads. It has favorable truck access. It has uniquely favorable access to rail and the nearby rail yard. This infrastructure makes this area among the best anywhere to support industrial uses. It makes no sense to destroy one of our best, most appropriate, and most successful industrial corridors."

The increasing land value and infrastructure makes it a great cooridor for high-density professional lofts redevelopment (M-West, M-West II, etc), and that's what is happening due to market pressure and this cannot be ignored since it is the reality of supply and demand. There are plenty of areas in the metro region where rail exists and can be utilized for industrial purposes and it makes sense that the area be planned according to what is happening, not based on emotional feelings about how the existing infrastructure should be used. Either the residential density increases to the point they have to build the passenger rail connection, or people can take advantage of the current trend and preemptively extend passenger rail and help drive up the land value for residential development (which will also have a positive affect on land value in Vinings, long-term).

There are plenty of projects being torn down on the other side near Bankhead highway that will provide affordable land options for industry, however I see it likely that the trend will be that industry will move further to the edge of the metro region and in the inner metro move from North to South.