Bankhead is a train station in Atlanta, Georgia, the western terminus of the Green Line in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. Bankhead station is located in the Grove Park Neighborhood due to a recent neighborhood expansion. This station primarily serves the neighborhoods of Grove Park, Bankhead, West Lake, Howell Station, and other Westside residents. Bankhead Station provides connecting bus service to Donald Lee Hollowell Highway, Maddox Park, and the future Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry; which will be the largest park in the city of Atlanta
P4
Bankhead
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| MARTA rapid transit station | |||||||||||||||
 Bankhead station | |||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||
| Location | 1335 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW Atlanta, GA 30311 | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°46′19″N 84°25′44″W / 33.77189°N 84.42884°W | ||||||||||||||
| Owned by | MARTA | ||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Connections |  MARTA Bus: 26, 50 | ||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||||||
| Parking | 11 free daily parking spaces | ||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | None | ||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||
| Station code | P4 | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 12, 1992 | ||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | 1,903 (avg. weekday) [1]  2% | ||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||
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Unlike most MARTA stations, which are provisioned for eight rail cars, Bankhead can only accommodate two cars, with adequate space left in place to allow extension to four cars in the future. It is the only station served exclusively by the Green Line.
The area it serves is scheduled to be an important part of the Belt Line, near Maddox Park and the new Westside Park, which would be the largest park in the city of Atlanta.
Station layout
edit| P Platform level |
Westbound | ← Green Line alighting passengers only |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left | ||
| Eastbound | Green Line toward Edgewood/Candler Park (weekends toward King Memorial, nights toward Vine City) (Ashby) → | |
| G | Street Level | Exit/Entrance, station house |
History
editBankhead Station was opened on December 12, 1992,[2] the same day as Doraville.[3] The Green Line is a stub of the originally planned Proctor Creek Line, which was planned to expand north of Bankhead to the Perry Homes community, now called West Highlands.
In addition, there is another stub in between the Edgewood/Candler Park and East Lake stations, which would have been called the Tucker-North Dekalb Line. This included plans for an additional 2 stations, one at Emory University and another in North Druid Hills.[4] The future Green Line would have most likely went between Bankhead and North Druid Hills stations.
In December 2005, Bankhead station was the first MARTA station to implement Breeze Cards, and there was a controversy when it was discovered that the fare gates ended 15 inches (380 mm) from the ground, which allowed fare evaders to crawl underneath the gates. The issue was fixed by installing plastic bars to the bottom of the gates, reducing the gap to 6 inches (150 mm) and virtually eliminating the possibility of fare evaders crawling through it.
In 2019, MARTA announced a proposal to change the name of Bankhead station to Donald Lee Hollowell Station, reflecting the new name of Bankhead Highway.[5]
Future
editThe platform is scheduled to be lengthened to accommodate six-car trains by 2025, due to significant development planned around the station[6] and to accommodate the upcoming CQ400 trains, which will be four-car sets instead of two like the existing models. This would allow longer trains to run on the Green Line and could make way for a potential extension towards Cobb County.
Nearby landmarks & popular destinations
editBus routes
editThe station is served by the following MARTA bus routes:
- Route 26 - Marietta Street / Perry Boulevard
- Route 50 - Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway
References
edit- ^ "2014 Transportation Fact Book" (PDF). Atlanta Regional Commission. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ "MARTA's West Line Stations: H.E. Holmes; West Lake; Ashby; and Bankhead". YouTube. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ "MARTA Doraville & Chamblee Stations Video". YouTube. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ "MARTA Provisions". www.nycsubway.org. www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ Habersham, Raisa; Stafford, Leon. "MARTA works to change 5 station names — with the help of residents". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ "MARTA Board Approves Sequencing of Historic Expansion Program". MARTA. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- Ferreira, Robert. "Atlanta, Georgia". nycsubway.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.