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RAPID TRANSIT METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY " MARTA REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE IT SERVES ,, MAY, 1968 VOL . 3, NO. 4 MARTA CONDUCTS ITS FIRST PUBLIC HEARING MARTA Director Mitchell C. Bishop presided at the public hearing in East Point . . . ... introduced the local officials and citizens, answered their questions . . . . .. and answered questions raised by members of the audience after registered speakers had completed their remarks. A bout 90 persons attended the first public hearing. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority conducted its first public hearing in April, and the opinions expressed by those attending it were generally favorable. The hearings are to allow the general public rn hear in detail the proposals for rapid transit routes and station locations, and then to comment on them. Mitchell C. Bishop, College Park, member of the MARTA Board of Directors, presided at the first hearing, which was held in the Tri-Cities area at the East Point City Auditorium, on April 29th. In remarks formally opening the hearing, Mr. Bishop said, "The proposed routes and stations, though the result of exhaustive studies by MARTA's consulting engineers, have not yet been approved by the MARTA Board of Directors." "The purpose of these hearings is to get your point of view to see whether you agree with the engineers' recommendations or have alternative suggestions," Mr. Bishop said. " In short, we want to know what you think before these plans are finally adopted by the Authority." "The thoughts expressed in this series of public hearings will be given careful consideration before finalizing our pl ans," he said. "Locations of all routes and stations will be finalized before the ultimate decision on rapid transit is submitted to the voters in a referen dum. " After the proposed routes and station locations were outlined b y John Coil , Resident Manage r, Parsons BrinckerhoffTudor-Bechtel , engineering consultants to MARTA , Mr. Bishop opened the heari ng to members of the audience. The first statement from the audience was made by Mr. Marion Nolan, Mayor of College Park. He opened his remarks by saying, "Mr. Chairman, I don't know much about rapid transit, but I do know we need it, and we are going to have to do something about it before too long. Our highways and our transportation system are outdated . I know that we are going to have to get something that is fas ter, larger and more economical than what we have tod ay ." Nolan continued, "Now, I have never seen a rapid transit system. I couldn't tell you what kind of rapid transit we would need or how to operate it or how much it will cost, but I think that anything we do will be economical for the system we have now. Now, tonight, we only have a handful of people here . T his place should be plumb full , with people standing out on the gro unds around with loudspeakers so the people could hear what we have to say." "I have never spoken for rapid transit before, but this time I'm speaking for rap id transit. I think we need it. I will endorse it personally, and I think most of the people that (Continued on Page 2, Col. 1) �MARTA WINS HUD AWARD METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY 8 0 8 GL ENN BLDG . 1 20 MARIETTA S T .• N.W . A TL AN T A . G A. 30303 · PHONE 524-5711 0 " DIRECTED BY THE GEORGIA STATE LEGISLATURE TO DEVELOP A RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR THE 5 -COUNTY METROPOLITAN ATLANTA AREA ." Edited by KING ELLIOTT BOARD OF DIRECTORS O FFI C ER S , R I CHARD H. R1c 1-1 , Chairman H ERBERT J. D I C K SO:-.:, Tr eas u rer I\O y A . B LOUNT , V ice Cha irman Eo Mu:-.o W. H uc 11 Es, Secre tary CITY OF AT L ANT A, ROBERT F. RI CH ARD L. D. l\ l l LTO:'\" ADA:'\TSO:-. H. R ICH RA WSO:-;" H AV ERT Y C LAY T ON COU:--I TY , Eoc,rn DLA LOCK D E K AL B C OUN TY, RoY A . BLou:-.T Dn. SANFono ATw ooo F U LTO N C O U"<T Y, J OH N C. l\ !IT CH E LL STA T O:-. C. BI S H OP GW I NNE TT COU:--I T Y , K. A . '.\ Ic'.\l1LL 10:-. CO B B COL:--ITY \Obs erve r) Ons :\. Bnt::-.rnY . Jn . i\ l AR T A S T AFF , L. STUART, Genernl Manag er W. J\i.:1.so;s, Chief Engin e er K1:-•c ELLIOTT. Dir ector of Pu blic Informa t ion H t::"/RY EAnL H . :"i. JoH:-. so:-.-, Admiriis rrative A s.( i.Hant to G en e ral .lf anage r Marta Conducts Hearing (Continued from Page I) realize that we need rapi d tra nsit will do the same," Mayor N olan stated. M rs. Ruth G . Gunter, M ayor Pro Tern of East Point, extended an offici al welcome from the City of East Point to the MART A off ici als, and ex pressed her appreciation that the fi rst public hearing was held in East Point. She went on to say, "As fa r as I am personall y concerned, I do see a great need fo r rapid tra nsit in this area. It's going to cost money, but I notice on our schedule that a $20,000 house, even at the highest point of re turn in the three mill tax raise which you're anti cip ating. will only be $18. 00 a year. Yo ur time, efforts, parking and everyth ing else will cost yo u peopl e a great deal more than $ 18.00 a year, ar:d I can see where this wo uld be benefi cial to everyone in our area," she concl uded. Severa l other public offic ials and private citizens spoke in support of MART A plans. Some asked questions about routes and station locations. or ex pressed their opinions about the proposed system. M r. Jody Brown of H apeville stated that the re was some dissati sfaction in that area be- The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is one of the winners in the first nationwide Design Awards Competition sponsored by the U . S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Award of Merit was presented by HUD Secretary Robert Weaver in Pittsburgh at the Third Annual International Conference on Urban Transportation on March 11. The award was accepted by Earl W. Nelson, MARTA Chief Engineer. MARTA was honored for its Rapid Transit System Plan Concept. The judges said, "The relation of the planned Atlanta System to existing and proposed educational institutions, commercial and cultural facilities , will create a high qu ality of urban design. " Secretary Weaver stated in presenting the award, "The Department of Housing and U rban Development takes pride in recognizing the accomplishments of MARTA. The pioneering work we have here today points the way to urban transportation patterns of the future. " Three honor awards were presented to : San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; The City Planning Commission, Philadelphia ; and The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Boston, Mass. In addition to the award to MARTA, eight other merit awards were given : The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle and City of Seattle; Washington State Highway Commission; The City of Seattle, Wash.; Southern Californi a Rapid Transit District, Los Angeles ; The Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, New York City ; The City of Philadelphi a, Pa. ; The Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh , Pa. (two awards). cause of the change in MARTA pl ans to provide direct service to the new proposed airport terminal , rather than to run the line through Hapeville as origi nally planned. Mr. Bishop responded by saying that the change was brought abo ut by the plans to build a new airport termin al, and was necessary to provide service to both air passe ngers and to the 40,000 employees who wi ll be workin g at the airport in the next decade or so. He assured Mr. Brown th at a well-planned feeder bus service would be provided throughout the H apeville area to transport residents to a nearby station. A total of 12 public hearings were sched uled for late Ap ril and the month of May. MART A is required by law to conduct public hearings on routes and stations, as well as other fac tors of the syste m in each jurisdiction represented in the Authority. After all the hearings have been completed the testimony wi ll be transcribed , and MARTA directors will evalu ate the comme nts and recommendations before a decision is made on ro utes and station locations. A summ ary of com ments and reco mmend ations made at other hearin gs will appear in the next issue of RAPID TRANSIT PROGRESS. " MARTA REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE IT SERVES .. " SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 1967 0 Prior to the public hearings, MART A officials briefed go vernmental leaders on th e routes and station locations to be discussed at the public hearings. MART A Chairman R ichard H. Rich pr esided at a meeting with A tlanta offi cials on Ma y 2. Attending were Mayor Ivan A llen, Jr.; Vice-Mayo r Sam Massei!, Jr .; A lde rm en E. G regory G riggs, William T . Knight, Q . V. Williamson, Hugh Pierce, Charles Leftwich, George Cotsakis, G. E verett Millican , Cecil Turn er, Jack Summers, and Douglas L. Fowlkes; Earl Landers, Administrative Assistant to the M ayor; and Collier G ladin , Director, Planning De partment . M E T RO PO LITA N AT L AN TA RAPID TRANS IT AUTHORITY �.REPORT TO THE CITIZENS From : Chairman of the Board A number of major steps were taken by MARTA during 1967 and many policy decisions were made. T he decision of the Georgia G eneral Assembly to participate fi nancially in MARTA is a most gratifying development. T his decision gives substance to a financial proposal which allows for a full 10% State participation in rapid transit. T he successful applications by MARTA for additional Federal funds encourage us to believe that substantial Federal fu nds will be available if local voters approve construction of the system . T he progress made in planning during 1967 encourages us to believe that we will be prepared to ask the residents of at least F ulton and D eKalb counties to vote on November 5, 1968, to finance construction of a basic rapid transit system. ~ D uring 1967 MARTA's approach became considerably broader than it had been in- 1966. It was apparent that MARTA could not plan or develop a rail rapid transit to stand alone, but that MARTA would have to plan a system which would be an effective and integral part of a balanced transportation system . Rail rapid transit, along with an effective bus service, a highly developed network of arterial and surface streets and an expanded expressway system, if properly coordinated, could effectively red uce traffic congestion and make transportation fas ter, more efficient and more comfortable. To achieve these goals MARTA is participating full y in the Atlanta Area Transportation Study, and I represent MARTA on the Atlanta Area Transportation Policy Committee. MARTA pledges its full support and cooperation to the effort to fi nd effective solutions to our transportation crisis. Recognizing the necessity for the best possible coordination among the professions involved in Rapid transit development, the MARTA board of directors created a five man Advisory Committee to assist the A uthority. T he Advisory Committee represents professional Engineers, Architects, Landscape Architects and Planners. T he Committee has reviewed MARTA's work to date and has offered m uch constructive advice· concerning our plans. MARTA staff and consultants have spent m any hours in coordinating rapid transit planning with other activities in organizations. Through such coordination and interchange of ideas, MARTA hopes to achieve the highest degree of excellence yet obtained in the creation of a rapid transit system. T he Directors of MARTA express their appreciation to the many business, civic and governmental leaders of this area who have supported rapid transit plan ning efforts duri ng 1967 and earlier years. It now appears that 1968 may well be the year of decision - the year when the voters decide whether or not rapid transit will be built in the Atlanta area. With the continued enthusiastic support of the leaders in Metropolitan Atlanta, a referendum in I 968 could be successful, and 1969 see the actual start of construction on rapid transit. e From: General Manager The year 1967 saw much solid progress made in the development of a rapid transit system fo r Metropolitan Atlanta. Significant accomplishments were achieved in the fields of engineering, planning and coordination with public and private groups. In the field of engineering, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority signed a contract with consultants to provide MARTA with preliminary engineering on the EastWest line from the intersection of 1-285 and Lynhurst Drive on the West, to the intersection of I-285 and Covington Highway on the East. T his contract extends the work of earlier contracts to provide preliminary engineering for the area between Doraville and Forest Park. The work now under contract encompasses a full system whcih will reach I-285 at fo ur places. This is a workable basic system for this region and needs only p ublic approval and final design work to be ready for construction. In March, a "Corridor Impact Study" was begun; its goal was to assess the probable impact of the proposed rapid transit system on the communities and neighborhoods in which it would be'i located. Toward the end of 1967, this work began to develop tentative conclusions and to suggest modifications. Through the work of the "Corridor Impact Study" and the -concomitant understanding of the effect of rapid transit, a system can be designed which will be completely sensitive to local needs and which will bring into real ity more of the potential benefits than any other system ever built. Another significant event of 1967 was the f.i rst direct fi nancial contribution by the State of Georgi a fo r rapid transit. The 1967 G eneral Assembly appropriated $500,000.00 for the two fiscal years beginning July I , 1967, as authorized by a Statewide constitutional amend ment in 1966. This appropriation is evidence of an awareness at the State level of the transportation problems in the Metropolitan Atlanta a rea, and of a determination to assist in the solution of these problems. T he activities of the Authority have been the subject of hu ndreds of presentations by MARTA directors and staff members to members of the general public and to elected officials and professionals at all levels of government. All the planning was brought up to date in "Rapid Transit fo r Metropolitan Atlanta," a special report which was introduced by the Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission at the end of the year. T he report was distributed widely, received enthusiastically, and was declared "out of print" after a few weeks. 1967 was a productive year, and the way to even greater achievement in 1968 is clearl y open to us. .----

-/ 'J Al;;,,JMETR OP O LITAN ATLAN TA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY

808 GLENN BLDG. i- ' ' Edited by KING ELLIOTT o • 120 M ARIETTA ST., N.W . • ATLANTA, GA. 30303 • PHONE 524-571 1 " DIRECTED BY THE GEORGIA STATE LEGISLATURE TO DEVELOP A RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR THE 5-COUNTY METROPOLITAN ATLANTA AREA." BOARD O F DIRECTORS O FFICERS: DEKALB COUNTY: COBB COUNTY (Observer) RICHA RD H. RICH, Chairman ROY A. BLOUNT, Vice Chairman HERB ERT J. DICKSON , Treasurer EDMUND W. HUGHES, Secretary ROY A. BLOUNT DR. SANFORD ATWOOD OT IS A. BRUMBY, JR. FULTON COUNTY: HENRY L. ST UART CITY OF ATLANTA: JOHN C. STATON M ITCHELL C. BISHOP ROBERT F. ADAMSON RICHARD H. RICH L. D. MILTON RAWSON HAVERTY GWINNETT COUNTY: K. A. M cMILLON M ARTA STAFF: General Manager KING ELLIOTT Director of Public Information EARL W . NELSON, Chief Eng. H. N. JOH NSON A. A. METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY STATEMENTS OF CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 3 1, 1967 AND CUMULATIVE TOTAL SINCE INCEPTION (JANUARY 3 , 1966) T otal CASH RECEIPT S : P articip ating local governments U. S. G overnment Interest on U . S. T reasury B ills CASH DISBURSEMEN TS FOR : Joint project with Atlanta R egion Metropolitan Planning Co mmission ( Note) Engineering services - Parsons B rinckerhoff-Tudor-Bechtel ( Note ) C onsul ting services Administrative and general expenses 1967 Since Inception $ 30 4 ,552 302,667 5,50 3 $ 595 ,447 0 2 ,667 5.9 32 $612,722 $ 904,046 t o t h e Board or D!re,nor1 or l'let r cpol1 t u 1 J.tlu1u Ra pid Tr •nat t 4 llthorlt:r: $ 65 ,939 $ 97,189 lie h a Te o::a at n ad th• a t at e a ente or c:eeb r ece 1pt1 and dt1b1.:.ru11ente or u,a M1tropol1Un &U e na Ra pid tre r.att A11.t!:.or l t 7 ( e 283 ,624 12,928 168,634 325 ,222 12,9 28 264,706 $531 ,125 $70 0 ,04 5 Oaor-1 !• 111;.:tc!pa l c o r po ta tlon ) to :- the ,.aar u1ded Dece:ober and cua ul a t !Ye to t a l e tcoa t ncapti on ( J a nuary ), 1966 ). )l , 1967 , Our e :;,;ai,.tnattcn v•a 1.ade ln ecc o rd a nce vtt h 1a11erelly a cce pted a udltl n e a i:id 1uc:b o t h er a1.1d! t ln1 pro,: .di:ree •• ve o:0111lderel!a nee111e ar,- in the In our o plnloc, the accoi:pu :i:,tn1 •tat.u:u,nt.1 present. !'&! r ly the c e irh r,c e1pt.a a nd d1 11buru1.11.e nt • o!' t he He t.ropolit • n J. t.l a nt. , Ra pid EXCESS OF RECEIPTS O VER D ISBU RSEMENTS Trenl1t. Au t hority t o r t he ye ar e nde d Deoe .11.'o1 r $204,001 t.ot.1 1 •inc, 1nccpt.1 on ( J anu a r y J , 1966 ) . REP RESENTED BY : C ash U . S. T re asury B ills $ 13 3,912 70,089 Atl a nt a , 0 ,.o ra• • , J a::u u·:, 19 , 1'168. T he accompanying note is an integral part of these statements. $204,001 $ 81 ,597 ) 1 , 196'1, 1 nd c uJ1.ul a t.1Yc METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY NOTE TO STATEMENT OF CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 19 67 T he A uthority was formed on January 3, 1966, by an act of the Gener al Assembly of The State of Georgia to design and implem ent a r apid transit system for the Atlanta, G eorgia, m etropolitan area. Since its organization, the A uthority's principal activities have included the updating of the 1962 plan and program of rapid transit for the A tlanta m etropolitan region and contracting for preliminary engineering on the proposed tr ansit system. The contracts let and the related sources of fund s are as follows: A mount D isbursements to Date of Source of Funds Contract Total L ocal Federal a . A tlanta R egion M etropolitan P lanning $ 61, 189 $ 61,189 $ 61,18 9 (c) $ Commission 49,000 36,000 3 6,000 (c) Update 1962 plan Corridor Impact Study $110, 189 $ 97,189 $ 97,1 89 $ b . P arsons B rinckerhoff-Tudor-Bech tel $125,000 Pr eliminar y engineering for initial 500,000 system (70 2 loan project ) 100,000 Preliminary e ngineering and planning for major lines ( Sect ion 9 project) R etainer contract for extended su pport $725,000 $ 90,000 180,000 55 ,222 $ 325,222 $ $ 90,000 (32,070 ) 55 ,222 $ 23,1 52 212,070(d) $302,070 c. T he D epartment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of the United States Government is participating with the Atlanta R egion M etropolitan Planning Commission ( ARMPC ) by funding up to twothirds o f project costs. d . As of D ecember 31, 1967 , there was an addition al $90,000 payable to Parsons Brinckerhoff-TudorBechtel for work completed to that date. Payment was made on January 24, 1968 . The Auth ority has received $90 ,000 of a $ 125 000 advance commitment from the United States Government under Section 7_02 of the Housing Act of 1954. The advance is noo-interest bearing and repayable only upon the start of construct10n of the System . The $5~0,0~0 co?trac_t with Parsons Brinck~rhoff-Tudor-Bechtel for completing preliminary engineering and planning for ma1or Imes 1s. bemg funded under Section. 9 of the Urban Mass_ Transportation Act of 1964. Under the provisions of the grant signed under the Act, two-third s of the contract will be funded by the United States. �EXPENDITURE INCOME RESERVE TO COMPLETE UNFINISHED PROGRAMS 28.0 % U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSI NG & URBAN DEVELOPMENT \\ PLANN ING & ENGI NEERING 48.5% 41.1% ,7 HIGHLIGHTS -1967 March- contract signed for Corridor Impact Study. March 7- Charles M . Haar, Assistant Secretary for Metropolitan Development, U.S. Department of HUD, visited MARTA. March 17-Gov. Lester Maddox signed appropriations bill , which included an allocation of $ 500,000.00 for MARTA. A pril 4- MARTA received the "Meritorious Award" of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia for its multiple-county service. April 24-Earl W. Nelson becomes MARTA chief engineer. May 22-MARTA exhibits past and present work at the confer ence on D esign in Urban Transportation in Washington , D . C. ; conference sponsored by HUD. August 4- Rapid Transit's first "hole in the ground" was dug at Trinity a nd Broad Street-first of 35 soil test holes . August-Chief Engineer N elson was appointed as MARTA's r epresentative on the T echnical Coordinating Committee of the Atlanta Area Transportation Study. September 12-MARTA participates in formation of Atlanta Area Transportation Policy Committee. May-Robert F. Adamson becomes MARTA director, succeeding Mills B. Lane, Jr. October 22-26-American Transit Association C onvention held in A tlanta. May 2 4-26-Institute for Rapid T ransit convenes in Atlanta. D ecemb er- Up-d ated rapid transit plan received from con sulting engineers. June 9-MARTA creates 5-man A dvisory Committee. June 9- Herbert J . Dickson named MARTA. ~ 1n Treasurer of D ecember-MARTA Director Sanford Atwood of DeKalb, L. D. Milton of Atlanta and Ken McMillon of Gwinnett, reappointed to new 4-year terms. MARTAdditions EXPERTS SEE NEW SYSTEM Three new additions have recently been made to the MART A Board and Staff. John C. Staton has been appointed by the Fulton County Commission as Fulton County member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid T ransit Authority. Staton, Staff Vice-President of the Coca-Cola Company, will fi ll the unexpired term of W. A. "D ick" Pulver, who recently assumed new duties with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in California. Staton's term will expire December 31, 1970. Staton joined the Coca-Cola Company in I 925. He has served in executive posts in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil. In 1948, he was elected Vice-President in Charge of Manufacturing, making h is headquarters in Atlanta. He was named Staff Vice-President and Assistant to the P resident in August, 1966. A 1924 graduate of Georgia Tech John C. Staton in Electrical Engineering and AllSouthern end on the football team, Staton also received a law degree from the Atlanta Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1928. He has served as President of the Georgia Tech A lumni Association and other Georgia Tech grou ps; and has been a leader in Boy Scouting, Rotary Club and nume rous other organizations. Edmund W. Hughes has been appointed as Secretary to the Authority. Hughes is Managing Di rector o f the Greater Atlanta Traffic and Safety Council. He succeeds Glenn E. Bennett, Executive Director of the Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission, who has served as Secretary since MARTA was officially organized in J anuary, I 966. Hughes has been Managing Director of the GAT&SC since 1962. Prior to that. he was Ed itorial Associate with Th e Atlanta Journal and had been a reporter with the Journal since 1955. H e is currentl y P resident of the Association of Safety Council's Advisory G roup for Edmund Hughes Safety Organizations. He is a member of the Governor's Traffic Safety Study Committee. Sue Logan is the new Secretary to the P ublic In form ation Director, and assists in the editing of Rapid Transit Progress. Miss Logan attended Keystone J unior College in La Pl ume, Pennsylvania, after graduating from Northside H igh School. Before coming to M ARTA, she was Receptionist and Secretary to the Manager of the International Division o f an Atla nta-based textile chemical firm. Sue L ogan MARTA General M anager Henry L. Stuart was among a group of transit experts which inspected the new $85 million Lindenwold-P hiladelp hia Rapid T ransit Line being constructed by the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) . T he tour was conducted T uesday, April 23 in conjunction with 1968 Rail Transit G roup Conference of the American Transit Association in cooperation with the Institute of Rapid Transit in P hiladelphia Monday through Thursday. Some 400 visitors were to be transported by bus to visit the new facility along the 10.4 miles of new construction between Camden, N . J. and Lindenwold, N. J. MONTREAL-TORONTO TRIP PLANNED Some 87 prominent Atlanta businessmen and governmental officials will make a two-day tour of rapid transit facil ities in Toronto and Mont real in J une. M ARTA is organizing the trip to allow local leaders the opportunity to ride modern rapid transit systems and to observe the impact rapid transit has had and is having on real estate developments and other phases of acti vity in the two Canadian cities. Over 300 individuals were invited to make the trip those accepting are paying their own expenses. Cost of the trip to each is $ 180.00. The Eastern Air Lines charter flight will leave Atlanta at 8: 00 A.M ., Wednesday, June 12, and fly to Montreal. The group will tour Montreal the rest of the day and fly to Toronto that evening. After spending the night in Toronto, Train at station, Delaware R iver Port A uthority System. The morning trip included a ride on one of the new stainless steel transit trains now undergoing tests . In the afternoon, separate inspection trips for various advisory committees were arranged to the m aintenance and shop facilities, the control center at Camden, power substations, passenger stations and various track structures. Stuart commented after riding the system, "The 75 miles per hour automated rapid transit ride is no longer a theory; it is now a fact of life. The same is trne for the automatic train control concept, which will allow trains to run only 90 seconds apart. This system is doing now what is being planned for San Francisco, Atlanta, and a host of other cities." Large parking lots are being built at suburban stations to accommodate cars of the "park and ride" passengers. He continued, "The train accelerated from a standing start to 7 5 miles per hour in 55 seconds, and the ride is not as noisy or as rough as the average automobile ride. There is no doubt in my m ind that a modern. comfortable rapid transit system such as this can be bui lt in Atlanta; and when the people in Atlanta see it and try it, they will like it and ride it."' the group will tour rapid transit facilities along with a group of individuals who will be attending the Institute for Rapid Transit meeting in Toronto. The group will return to Atlanta Thursday evening. June 13. �MARTAction At its meeting March 5, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority by resolution accepted preliminary engineering work on the North-South Line from Oglethorpe to the Airport. The work was performed by Parsons Brinckerhoff-Tudor-Bechtel under Section 702 of the Urban Mass Transit Act. The Board established the amount of $200 million as the appropriate local share for constructing the system. The balance of the cost would come from federal and state funds . John C. Staton, newly appointed member of the Board from Fulton County, was welcomed to the Authority. Edmund W . Hughes, Managing Director of the Greater Atlanta Traffic and Safety Council, was appointed Secretary to the Authorit y. (See separate sto ries on page 3.) At the meeting April 2, the MARTA Board reviewed the auditors' report for 1967, and adopted it unanimously. The 1967 Annual Report contains the auditors' report. Four contracts were presented for work to be done subject to approval by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Deve lopment. The four contracts cover the following work: . I . To determine value of Atl ant a Transit System .... $20,000 . 2. To develop system-wide criteria and standards for engineered facilities ; compilation of design control data in connection with Transit Center; and other engineering work ................................ $99 ,000. 3. Technical studies for accounting and financial control systems, etc. ............................................ $25,000. 4. Resea rch on certain parcels of land deemed critical right-of-way (work to begin after routes a re definitely established) .......................................... $49 ,000 . General M anager Henry L. Stuart reported th at HUD had as ked th at the proposa l for a cost / benefit a nalysis be withdrawn as it is the type study which should be done by a university system inste ad of a transit system . Stuart recommended th at the money for the study ($30,000) be used instead to study a line in the Model Cities a rea . The Board approved the change, subject to ap proval of the federal application by HUD. The Board approved in principle a set of rules for the conduct of public hearings. Stuart reported th at competitive bids had been received for the printing and distribution of Rapid Tran sit Progress. D a rby Printing Company was the low bidder at $992. 50 per issue, based on printing 12,500 copies, addressing 12,000 copies, mai ling, and adding an average of 200 new ad dresses per month. This was the first MARTA contract to be Jet under competitive bids. The Board adopted a resolution expressing so rrow at the death of Mr. Rob ert L. Sommerville, President of the Atlanta Transit System, and expressing deepest sympathy to his family and business associates. CAN SUBWAYS SERVE AS FALLOUT SHELTERS? MARTA is discussing with Civil Defense officials the possibilities of incorporating facilities in the design of subways to allow them to serve as shelters for protection against radioactive fallout in the event of a nuclear war. Three high-ranking Civil Defense officials met with MARTA Chief Engineer Earl Nelson, April 5, to begin initial talks. The officials were Gen. W. R. Woodward, Director, and Col. W. E. Smith, Assistant Director, Atlanta Area Civil Defense ; and Dr. Robert N . Bruce, Jr., Tulane University, Technical Advisor to the Federal Office of Civil Defense. After reviewing MARTA subway plans, Dr. Bruce stated an opinion that, "With minor design changes, the basic subway structures could be converted to highly effective fallout shelters for little or no increase in cost. The major problem ," he said, " would be to provide service areas for the storage of shelter supplies." He added, "The cost to make the subways into blast shelters would be prohibitive. It would be more economical to provide for this protection in some of the downtown buildings." A set of the preliminary engineering plans and transit station drawings were sent to the Civil Defense office in Washington. The idea for using subways for fall-out shelters was suggested to MARTA by Georgia's Fourth District Congressman Ben Blackburn of Decatur. Congressman Blackburn stated that he would propose legislation enabling the federal government to provide up to 90 % of the costs to modify rapid transit systems for civil defense use. RAPID TRANSIT BRIEFS THE TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION opened, on May 11 , 1968, for regular service, two new subway sections, totalling six and a quarter miles. Added to the 14-mile East-West (Bloor St-Danforth Ave .) line, the additions are three new stations and 2. 77 miles eastward - and six new stations and 3.49 miles westward. Total cost of the two extensions, approximately $77 million, is being met by Metropolitan Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission with assistance from the Province of Ontario. LOS ANGELES has completed preliminary engineering for the 89 mile proposed rapid transit system. Voters are expected to decide this November on financing the $2. 5 billion project. RAPID TRANSIT PROGRESS METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY 808 GLENN BLDG . 1 2 0 MARIETTA ST . . N . W . ATLANTA . GEORGIA 30303 PHONE 524-5711 ( AREA CODE 4 04 ) VOL . 3 . NO . 4 MAY , 1 96B Mr. Oa ~ E.• Sweat, Jr • • Dt r ector of Gov er1men t a l Lla i so , , Ci ty of Att a : ta C1 ty Ha. ~ l At la :-ita. G-a. ~ lD 30303 BULK RATE U.S. Postage PAID Atlanta, Go. Permit No. 705 �