Much at Stake for Clifton Corridor Rail In Upcoming T-SPLOST

Sharon Johnson lives in Medlock Park, a couple of miles away from Emory’s campus.  During rush hours, and especially when school is in session, she says traffic is horrendous. 

“We can’t build more roads because we’re jammed right up to the roads,”  said Johnson. “I would take the train to work – I work at Emory – so instead of driving my car, I would just take the train and that’s one less car on the road.”

Retiree Ken Benson would welcome a rail option. He lives just west of Emory’s campus in Woodland Hills.

“I see the need. There’s a definite need. That’s one of the largest employers in DeKalb county, that area – Emory and the CDC.”

Benson’s home is a few blocks from a CSX rail corridor, the same one the Clifton line would use if T-SPLOST passes.

Some in the neighborhood are worried about additional noise from a second rail line, but the new tracks, at least near Benson’s home, would travel underground, below the CSX tracks. It would reemerge above ground about 100 yards up the road, switching back and fourth three times over the span of its 3.5 miles.

While in favor of the Clifton project, Ken says he’ll probably vote “no” come July 31^st.

“I think this is probably one of the better things they could spend it on, but the whole seven billion – I don’t agree with some of it. I don’t like the tax part of it. I just don’t want to pay for it.” 

Jeremy Spegal, a high school teacher who lives a few houses away, says he’s anxious about the upcoming vote. Supportive of the T-SPLOST, Spegal says investing in transportation shouldn’t be such a tough sell.

“Everyone sits on [Ga] 400 and complains about how bad traffic is. Everybody complains about having to get to the airport. Unless you’re willing to pay some money on it, it’s not going to happen. It’s going to get worse. You can’t expect something to come out of nothing.”

The latest polling, however, shows more people against T-SPLOST than for it.

Critics say the project is too expensive for the amount of cars it would likely take off the road. They say buses would be a cheaper, more efficient option.

And Baruch Feigelbaum of the free market think tank Reason Foundation worries about how MARTA will pay for the operations of the rail line after the penny sales tax expires in 10 years.

“I’m concerned we’re going to have to find funding after the ten years. It’s not going to emerge from thin air.”

Jason Morgan, MARTA’s project manager for the Clifton Corridor, argues no transportation project – road or rail – is completely self-sustaining, but he’s confident the Clifton rail would generate a good return on investment. He estimates about 5,000 riders a day.

“This corridor does very well considering how short it is. If we can provide a more frequent service which is what we’re angling to do, the ridership goes up even further than what’s being reported.”

If T-SPLOST passes, the Clifton line would be complete by about 2021. Morgan says MARTA could then make a strong case for federal funds for further rail extension from Emory to Decatur.

Emory University President James Wagner hopes voters come around. He says school employees and students have struggled long enough with traffic.

“Tally up Emory, the CDC, the VA and you’ve got 30,000 people – the largest concentration of employment that isn’t served by mass transit or access to interstate.”

He says the rail line would unclog area roads; put far more workers within reach of campus; help attract and retain academic talent; and generally improve quality of life.

“When Emory put in its own bus service not that many years ago, we had 1,100 fewer people reserving parking spaces at Emory. Even that little experiment showed when you build it they do come.”

Transportation officials estimate that if T-SPLOST fails, the Clifton rail line would likely return to a state of limbo for at least a decade.