Carter's location certainly leaves one to wonder what the traffic plan would be. Could they add a dedicated arena exit to/from GA-400 that empties near parking facilities? You're right that an arena at North Point Mall would certainly run into a lot of residential traffic, which will create a ripple effect in the community if there aren't other plans in place to mitigate that additional traffic.
Another option could be to use the North Point Mall site for something else, and instead build the arena in another place. This becomes problematic because I'm not sure there are any other places they could build a barn that has easy access to GA-400 as well as the potential to access local businesses, hotels, even secondary access to residential areas for folks who live nearby and want to attend games without needing to access GA-400 to do so.
Krause's location is good, in the sense that it's right off GA-400, but traffic management becomes even more of an issue there. Roads will need to be widened to handle the extra traffic, On top of that, access to MARTA will be an even bigger problem too. If one has never had to stand in the rain, snow, wind, or combination thereof to wait for a shuttle -- regardless of whether there's a covered bus stop -- lemme tell ya, it's not fun. Carter's location provides an opportunity to petition the area to maybe add a rail stop for folks coming from points south of the arena to work or take in events. Such an option is unlikely anytime soon at Krause's location... and perhaps that's the point.
In the end, there are advantages and disadvantages to both sites. It's one of the reasons why I'm a little curious about the unnamed groups who've shown interest and what their arena plans are.
