***PRESS RELEASE ***

CONTACT: Matthew Rao
(404) 354-5280
chair@beltlinerailnow.org
Beltlinerailnow.com

 BRN Applauds Council Member Kelsea Bond for Leadership on Beltline Rail

Atlanta, GA —Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 8th, 2026

ATLANTA, GA – Build all 22 miles of Beltline Rail! We at Beltline Rail Now are thrilled, proud, and supportive of the leadership Council Member Kelsea Bond and their 8 co-signers, who showed today with their resolution that they support the construction of light rail along all 22 miles of the Atlanta Beltline. This is the governance our city needs to combat the affordability, mobility, and sustainability crisis we face. The council resolution affirms the need to build and the commitment to complete all 22 miles, “recognizing light rail transit as a central component of the adopted Atlanta Beltline vision.” It is a bold moral step toward realizing the goals of the Beltline project and delivering the essential infrastructure component that voters and taxpayers have supported and paid for.

Together, K. Bond and their colleagues, who collectively represent the majority of the city’s voters, called on Mayor Dickens, ABI CEO Clyde Higgs, MARTA GM Jonathan Hunt, and MARTA Board Chair Jennifer Ide to prepare and share implementation and funding plans for the entire 22-mile loop.

We call on the remaining 6 voting members and Madame Council President Overstreet to join their colleagues. It is, after all, the Atlanta City Council that created the Atlanta Beltline and amended the city charter to include the entire Beltline vision, preserving a corridor for the light rail transit, and calling for its inclusion in the original plans. 

The resolution will be heard in CDHS and Transportation committees on September 15th and September 16th, respectively. The public is encouraged to comment at both of these committee meetings.

Co-signers of the Resolution:

CM Kelsea Bond (sponsor) D2
CM Jason Winston D1
CM Byron Amos D3
CM Jason Dozier D4
CM Liliana Bhaktiari D5
CM Wayne Martin D11
CM Antonio Lewis D12
CM Michael Julian Bond D1 At Large 
CM Matt Westmoreland D2 At Large

We encourage the remaining council members who have not taken a stand on moving forward with the city’s project, Beltline rail, to join CM Bond and their colleagues in support of the resolution to move forward:

CM Alex Wan D6
CM Thomas Worthy D7
CM Mary Norwood D8
CM Dustin Hillis D9
CM Andrea Boone D10
CM Eshé Collins D3 At-Large
Council President Marci Collier Overstreet (non-voting)

+++++