Atlanta's Traffic Woes Trace Back To Railroads, Land Lotteries

Friday, August 28th, 2015

How did our founders design Atlanta that makes it different from other major cities? 

Tom Weyandt, Mayor Kasim Reed's former transportation adviser for the city of Atlanta, said there’s no natural reason for Atlanta to exist. 

"There’s no mountain chain; there’s no desert; there’s no water – we’re here because of the railroads. The railroads came together right in downtown. The zero mile post is in Underground Atlanta," Weyandt said. "And the city grew out along the railroads. That’s why we have these eccentric five-point intersections in many different places in the downtown area.”

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