Expand Atlanta BeltLine Inc.’s Special Service District Proposal To Include Funding For Rail on the BeltLine

The ‘Trail Only’ approach misses our biggest opportunity to build equity in our city. And time is running out.

BeltLine Rail Now is opposed to the proposed Special Service District for completion of the BeltLine trail in its current form. The proposal is far too narrow, and fails to connect to the full vision of the Atlanta Beltline that includes parks, trails, affordable housing, and BeltLine transit for an increasingly congested city. We ask the city council to decline passage of the three enabling ordinances proposed by Atlanta City Councilman Dustin Hillis and go back to the drawing board to include direct transit funding in any SSD. 

We’re pleased that the Atlanta City Council is looking for more equitable ways to pay for economic development projects. We laud the goal to finish the BeltLine. However, this latest proposal has a glaring shortcoming: the lack of mass transit. It is now undeniable that a ‘trail only’ approach is a startling accelerant of gentrification, and does next to nothing to address Atlanta’s growing equity and mobility problems. Further, 5,300 units of affordable housing over 25 years spread over a 22-mile corridor is a VERY low bar. We need tens of thousands of affordable housing units - with access to mass transit at the time they become available.

Rail on the Beltline was a core component of Ryan Gravel’s original BeltLine vision. Mass transit advances equity for all of Atlanta’s residents. Our city needs to work toward improved transit options - and the equity it brings - right now, in preparation for Atlanta’s projected growth. But without immediate instruction from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council to direct MARTA to fully fund and complete BeltLine transit by 2035, the window of opportunity for rail on the BeltLine to lift up ALL residents will be gone. The current wave of gentrification will roll forward, driving ever deeper the historical wedge of inequity of our city. 

Increasingly complex issues like a massive shortage of affordable housing and transit funding demand more than a band-aid approach. Small projects here and there won’t meet overwhelming demand. It’s time for our elected officials to move thoughtfully toward projects that will advance mobility, affordability, sustainability and equity for ALL of Atlanta. And the most shovel-ready project is rail on the BeltLine. 

We invite you to keep an eye out for the late January release of BeltLine Rail Now’s white paper, articulating how other cities paid for transit, and a blueprint for how Atlanta can do the same.