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Atlanta Braves’ Morning Chop: a shopping list for Christmas

By Alan Carpenter

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: Discarded Christmas trees lie outside houses in Angel on January 5, 2018 in London, England. In the lead up to Christmas a pine tree is the centre point of a home, the pride and joy of the family, decorated with beautiful lights and decorations guarding presents until Christmas Day morning. Traditionally, trees and decorations are taken down on Twelfth Night, leaving these once loved and cherished trees serving no purpose and finding themselves cast out into the street ending up as Lonely Christmas Trees. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: Discarded Christmas trees lie outside houses in Angel on January 5, 2018 in London, England. In the lead up to Christmas a pine tree is the centre point of a home, the pride and joy of the family, decorated with beautiful lights and decorations guarding presents until Christmas Day morning. Traditionally, trees and decorations are taken down on Twelfth Night, leaving these once loved and cherished trees serving no purpose and finding themselves cast out into the street ending up as Lonely Christmas Trees. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 10: A passenger looks at the view from a Marta train after a snow storm on January 10, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia.  A winter storm stretched across the Southeast as freezing rain and sleet followed on the heels of a heavy snow that blanketed the region. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 10: A passenger looks at the view from a Marta train after a snow storm on January 10, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia.  A winter storm stretched across the Southeast as freezing rain and sleet followed on the heels of a heavy snow that blanketed the region. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images) /

#11.  MARTA Rail Access to the Stadium

I’m from ‘out of town’.  When I went to Turner Field games, it was… a hook shot, but still relatively doable:

  • Grab a hotel at the end of a MARTA line.
  • Ride the train to the Georgia State station
  • Walk through Underground Atlanta
  • Pick up a MARTA bus from there
  • Drop off directly at the stadium

Want to end the traffic crunch that led to the team changing start times to 7:30pm?  Extend the trains to the Northwest, with a station that’s within easy walking distance.

[That parking garage idea might actually be cheaper… and easier.]

Right now, the train lines go North, South, East, and West of the city center, which is of course named ‘Five Points’.

The Northern line already has a spur to the Northeast toward Doraville while the main line goes through Buckhead to Sandy Springs, ending at North Springs.

To serve the stadium area, Smyrna, and perhaps Marietta, one of 2 things would have to happen:

  • Create a 2nd spur that branches to the Northwest at around Buckhead, or
  • Create an extension from the Green/Proctor Creek Line that rides along 285 to the stadium.

Both option have significant downsides:  The Red and Orange northlines could not tolerate another spur for capacity reasons, and Proctor Creek Station itself can’t handle more than a couple of cars.

Never mind the additional 4-5 miles of infrastructure, trackage, right-of-way, and station building that would have to be done just to reach the stadium.  Beyond that, the only way to justify such a project at all would be to add the extra length (to Marietta) needed to truly provide a chance to get some cars off Atlanta highways.

So n

o, we just can

‘t have nice things sometimes.  But it’s still on my Braves Christmas list.

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