The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
08-08-2005
Byline: JULIE B. HAIRSTON
Study targets Emory traffic Corridor plan recommends mass transit
In more than 30 years of commuting from Snellville to her job at Emory University,
Kathy Maher has tried just about everything to make the journey more pleasant.
Maher, 58, has tried alternate routes and riding in a van pool with fellow Emory
employees. But her unconventional hours made the van pool impractical, and in recent
years, even side streets became so clogged her entry to the Emory area takes as much
time as the stretch from Snellville to Atlanta.
"It's got to be adding a lot of pollution," Maher said. "You just sit and sit and sit."
Every working day, more than 45,000 workers compete with local traffic and students for
road space in the Clifton Road corridor around Emory University. That's the equivalent
of taking the entire employment base of Cherokee County and cramming it into a 6square- mile area.
Top officials from the area's major employers, including Emory, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the American
Cancer Society, among others, have heard Maher's story thousands of times.
On Friday, they responded formally to those commuters' anguish.
Results were released from an 18-month study that included recommendations for a
dramatic infusion of mass transit, such as commuter rail running along existing freight
rail lines from Atlantic Station in Midtown to Emory and east to Tucker. The plan also
calls for circulating streetcars throughout the Emory area.
The Clifton Corridor recommendations were submitted to DeKalb County's planning
office last week.
Michael Mandl, Emory's executive vice president for finance and administration, said
leaders throughout the area are committed to making it easier to get into and around the
corridor.
"I am convinced that the ultimate solution to the issue of access to transportation in the
corridor is multifaceted and requires a series of partnerships and a series of solutions,"
Mandl said. "There's no silver bullet in this," he said. "It requires a range of things, and
all of them need to be done."
Michael Meyer, Georgia Tech professor and transportation consultant, said the Emory
study mirrors the efforts of several private groups around metro Atlanta, such as the
Perimeter Community Improvement District, the Midtown Alliance and Central Atlanta
Progress, that are paying millions of dollars to come up with their own solutions for
gridlock.
"This is symptomatic of what's happening in this region," Meyer said. "You've got these
groups all over the place taking this on because government isn't."
Resentment levels among Clifton area commuters have already reached a boiling point.
In response to an e-mail query, Emory doctoral student Benjamin Stewart said he was
initially excited about living within walking distance of the campus when he and his
family moved to Atlanta two years ago. But area traffic congestion quickly dampened his
enthusiasm.
"Ironically, I worry about my health when I walk," Stewart said in his reply. "I breathe in,
at exercise pace, the fumes of rush hour vehicle exhaust from the four lanes of heavy
traffic on North Decatur Road. On the way home, I often outpace the drivers who are
frequently idling beside me. And they sometimes look enviously at my walking 'speed.'"
As for those envious drivers, they complained pointedly about seemingly endless waits at
traffic signals, a lack of turn lanes and coping with road rage. Jean Pruitt, an Emory
clinical coordinator, said her daily commute from Canton takes between 90 minutes and
two hours. If it rains, she said, she "might as well pull over and go to sleep."
For many like Pruitt, the study's recommendations could come as a great relief.
Right away, according to Mandl, Clifton officials will be working with the county's
transportation department to retime the signals along major traffic arteries. Mandl said
the Clifton study showed this could improve traffic flow as much as 10 percent .
"We spent a little time measuring this to see how bad it was --- and it's really bad," Mandl
said. Emory even has offered to help pay for the work, according to Mandl.
Other short-term recommendations will include an expanded campus bicycle path
network, the addition of shower and changing facilities for walkers or bikers, and new
parking policies. "We need to ensure that our parking policies and pricing are aligned
with our values and [prompt] the right behaviors," Mandl said. "We shouldn't build
parking to meet an insatiable appetite."
Policy changes designed to encourage car-reduction commuting habits are also being
considered, as well as cutting-edge land use plans for future Emory development.
The study sees transit as an essential long-term aspect of improving Clifton Corridor
access. Although MARTA was rebuffed by area residents in 1997, Mandl said the transit
recommended by the study has been well received by neighbors.
Goizueta Business School assistant professor Jeff Busse, 41, said improved transit would
be a welcome relief for his commute from Brookhaven. Moving from New York to
Atlanta was a letdown for Busse, who tried taking MARTA buses to Emory at first, but
ultimately gave up. The buses took too long and couldn't accommodate a varied work
schedule.
"For me, my most stressful part of the day is driving to work. From here to where I live is
only seven miles, but it takes half an hour, and that's just crazy," Busse said. "I think a lot
of people would prefer [transit]."
Public transportation already provides a welcome escape for Emory administrator
Karama Neal, 33. Neal drives from her home in Stone Mountain to MARTA's
Kensington or Indian Creek stations. Sometimes she takes the train to Decatur, where a
Clifton Corridor shuttle waits to drive her to campus. Other times, MARTA's Blue Flyer
service takes her straight to Emory.
En route, Neal said, she reads, chats with fellow commuters, even naps sometimes.
"I've always encouraged people to try it and I'm amazed at how few do," Neal said.
But getting commuter rail and streetcars into the Clifton Corridor will take far more than
lines on paper. Mandl said Clifton Corridor officials have already met with Georgia
Department of Transportation and railroad officials about mixing freight rail lines with
the recommended passenger service.
Craig Camuso, regional vice president for corporate communications at CSX, said the
Clifton commuter rail proposal will be evaluated in a study of freight rail capacity now
under way.The study will look at how the line would address questions of safety,
liability, operational cost and balance with the volume of freight traffic.
"Their recommendation will be treated no different than anything else," Camuso said.
Getting transit on the ground also will require significant investment. Mandl said several
sources of potential funding, including county, state and federal programs, have already
been identified. Clifton area officials will be continuing their efforts to form alliances that
will help their projects compete for limited public resources.
"This is an employment and economic center that has great societal benefit," Mandl said.
"I honestly believe that if we don't do this, we are constraining that benefit."
CAPTION: JOEY IVANSCO / Staff Emory employee Kathy Maher battles traffic during
her commute home from the university to Snellville. In recent years, even side streets
became so clogged her entry to the Emory area takes as much time as the stretch from
Snellville to Atlanta.
CAPTION: WALTER CUMMING / Staff PROPOSED TRANSIT FOR CLIFTON
CORRIDOR Recommendations from an 18-month study about how to improve traffic
flow in the Clifton Corridor around Emory University includes a proposal for a commuter
line stretching from Atlantic Station to Tucker using existing rail lines. Map locates route
of proposed commuter rail line and streetcar service. Source: Clifton Corridor
Transportation Management Association Inset map shows area of detail as it relates to
Atlanta.
(Copyright, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution - 2005)