Coalition commissions a corridor feasibility study

The Coalition has commissioned a preliminary feasibility assessment of an aerial transit alignment along the Beltline. Work began this month and the findings are expected in January.

The study covers 2.9 miles of the Eastside, from Monroe Drive to Memorial Drive. It will establish whether a detachable gondola line can be built inside the existing right-of-way, what it would cost, and how long it would take. We have asked for the numbers to be developed independently of us, and we have asked not to see them before they are finished.

We have also written to the corridor working group requesting time to present the findings once they exist. That letter, and everything else we send, is published on the correspondence page.

Two things worth saying at the outset. The first is that a feasibility study is not a proposal. It answers whether a thing can be done, not whether it should be. The second is that we will publish the result either way. If the answer comes back that this is impractical on the Beltline, that is a useful thing for Atlanta to know, and it will be on this website within a week of us reading it.