Images of The Gulch and a report on the MMPT
Blogger pecannelog shares an image comparing downtown Atlanta’s infamous Gulch with an image from a bird’s eye map showing what existed in the spot in 1871 (see the full 1871 map here). The origin of this comparison image is here.
If you don’t know, The Gulch is a mess of surface parking and general grey fields at the ground level. A series of viaducts pass above the edges of it, forming a faux ground level for some downtown buildings.
The Multimodal Passenger Terminal project is proposed for this space. Creative Loafing gave the MMPT some good coverage in a piece last year, including a look at the three alternative plans for the design of the terminal. A quote:
The project, if built, would be mammoth. Planners are envisioning retail and restaurants located inside the terminal. They anticipate having to accomodate up to 80 bus bays and five rail platforms, plus leaving room for existing and future freight rail lines that also pass through the 120-acre planning area.
The MMPT is currently undergoing a lengthy environmental-review and permitting process that may be completed as early as the spring of 2014.
You can read about progress in the new Spring 2013 MMPT Newsletter from the Georgia Department of Transportation. According to the newsletter, alternative C is the most likely choice for build out. That’s my favorite one, because it connects directly to the nearby Five Points MARTA station.
Here’s an image of that alternative C plan, taken from the newsletter:
Any project that turns our asphalt wasteland into something useful like that is OK by me.
