William R. Holmes via Panoramio / http://www.panoramio.com/photo/9804261
Mayor Kasim Reed wants a better way to get Atlanta Braves fans from MARTA’s downtown stations to Turner Field.
Currently, Braves fans who don’t drive either walk or take a shuttle bus.
“We need to get Braves patrons to the stadium more efficiently. We’re certainly considering a light rail solution between downtown and Turner Field,” said Reed.
The Braves lease Turner Field from the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority. That lease is up at the end of 2016. The new transit talks are part of the negotiations to renew that lease long-term.
In any case, a rail extension has been discussed at least since the 90s. Reed says Olympic organizers were unable to do it due to financial constraints.
“Now because of light rail solutions that are more cost-effective and some other agreements that may allow us to do this in a manner that really makes economic sense, it’s on the table,” said Reed.
He wouldn’t speculate on route details or funding options, but said he was open to year-round service, not just service for Braves games.
One way being discussed to get sports fans to Turner Field is via a transit system that moves by means of magnetic levitation, known as maglev. Here is an illustration of how a maglev transit system might look, courtesy of AMT, Inc. AMT, which stands for American Maglev Technologies, has its headquarters in Marietta and a test facility in Powder Springs. AMT’s Powder Springs facility boasts the only full-scale operating maglev system in the U.S.
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