Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Environmental clearance for a Smart Growth project classified as a Transportation Control Measure

Atlantic Station, a major infill development proposal near downtown Atlanta , encountered obstacles to Federal approval of its needed connections to the interstate and nearby MARTA transit station. The opposition was a consequence of the region's lapse of air quality conformity. In a project resolution effort, the FHWA and EPA worked with local and regional authorities to employ full and flexible consideration of the project's benefits. Benefits included economic reuse of a large infill brownfield site and a major contribution of dense, transit accessible development.

The evaluation included consideration of the relative impacts of developing the same amount of use at other available infill and greenfield sites throughout the region, and consideration of alternative site designs at the proposed location. Both comparisons focused on whether the proposed project delivered sufficient measurable transportation benefits to be considered a partial mitigation for regional air quality impacts.

The greenfield analysis concluded that, given locational advantages and zoning restrictions, the Atlantic Station site resulted in 35% to 50% less vehicle travel compared with alternative sites within the region.

The site design analysis investigated three alternative concepts, shown to the right.

The analysis found that the most pedestrian- and transit-oriented design, the DPZ concept, could reduce per-capita travel by 10% relative to typical conventional development forms, and by 1% to 4% relative to other Smart Growth site designs.

Conclusion: The Federal agencies determined that the Atlantic Station project qualified as a regional Transportation Control Measure, allowing approval of the project and its transportation connections.

Alt #1: Jobs on opposite side from transit, large (1/4-mile) block size, least mixing of land use types.

Alt #2: Smaller blocks, more thorough mixing of land uses.

Alt #3: Compromise design to achieve both market acceptance and traffic reduction.