AJC: Groups seek federal stimulus money for streetcars


JULY 21, 2009—MARTA, Atlanta officials and two civic groups are teaming up to see if the city can get as much as $300 million in federal economic stimulus money to help pay for a streetcar system that would run along Peachtree Street.

The Atlanta City Council voted late Monday to go ahead with a study of its engineering and financial feasibility. The Central Atlanta Progress and the Midtown Community Improvement District will pay for the $600,000 study. No city funds will be used for the study.

The grant application is due to the U.S. Department of Transportation by Sept. 15. Federal officials say priority will go to projects that can be done by February 2012.

Proponents believe a streetcar will help people travel quicker through downtown and Midtown. Council members also want to study the feasibility of streetcars traveling to Fort McPherson, along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and to Grant Park. (Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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