BeltLine Rail *IS* Better Atlanta Transit
In the latest example of NIMBYism, a group of the rich and powerful has formed to try to stop BeltLine rail. According to their press release, this group, ironically operating under the name “Better Atlanta Transit,” aims to mobilize citizens and elected officials against rail transit on the BeltLine.
The popular multi-use trail will be joined by green electric tram-streetcar trains that move up to 25mph and carry hundreds of passengers per hour, of all ages and abilities in both directions, rain or shine. Image source: MARTA and IDOM Report, 2022
This group advocates for “micro-mobility,” a modality that is aptly named because it can move only one person at a time. Examples of micro-mobility are bikes, skateboards, and scooters, which are great for able-bodied people on a nice day if they don’t have far to go, but they do not represent a serious form of mass transit. Atlanta needs mass transit to get cars off the road; we do not need to pave a road alongside the BeltLine to allow for more vehicles, micro or not.
Strangely, this anti-BeltLine rail group contends that the streetcar will bring environmental damage, danger to pedestrians and bikers, noise, pollution, and congestion. It’s not hard to look around and observe that cars are the main source of each of these problems and that quality rail transit is the solution. Beltline rail with a grass railbed wherever possible is a net absorber of sound, particulates, and stormwater and a net emitter of clean air. No other transit mode can produce this result.
The BeltLine is built for rail transit. As density and development begin to line the Eastside Trail and thousands of people travel here daily, the missing link - and the one planned from the get-go is the streetcar transit. Image source: Matthew Rao, 2023
These antagonists claim there are no studies that show that BeltLine transit will enhance connectivity or that projects potential ridership. Here’s one! And here’s another. When the Atlanta Regional Commission analyzed proposed transit projects in 2019, they projected 31,000 daily boardings by 2050 on the segments of BeltLine rail and the Streetcar East Extension included in More MARTA.
(Source: ARC Presentation, 2020 RTP Update - Transit Expansion Projects)
The opponents’ stated goal is to limit the BeltLine to what they believe it should be, a linear park. If successful, access would be limited to those who have the financial means to live near the Eastside Trail or the capability to get there in cars, further compounding existing traffic problems. The BeltLine was always designed to be a streetcar transit loop paralleling a 14’ wide concrete multi-use trail in a 22-mile corridor to bring equity and opportunity. How? By connecting people all over our city to each other, existing MARTA trains and buses, new centers of employment, affordable housing, retail, arts, and recreation. The trail will exist separate from the rail.
"Absolutely, grass track is a key element in whether we do this right." - Shaun Green, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. Image source: CAF USA
On July 13, the MARTA board voted to enlist design firm HDR to take the design for the Streetcar East Extension, the first segment of BeltLine transit, from 30% to 70%. HDR will initiate a community engagement campaign so everyone will have a chance to give input. MARTA needs to get going and finalize this contract. We support advocating for grass tracks and the newest, most modern vehicles. These can operate on or off an overhead power cable with 100% low-floor interiors, allowing people using micro-mobility, wheelchairs, or strollers to be anywhere inside the train. Transit agencies around the world are utilizing these state-of-the-art vehicles.
It’s time once again for supporters to stand up and demand MARTA begin delivering BeltLine rail, starting with the first 1.4 miles of the Streetcar East Extension. In 2016 Atlantans voted 71% in favor of More MARTA, the plan which includes the Streetcar East Extension. In 2018 the MARTA Board committed more than 40% of the half-penny revenue to Streetcar extensions and BeltLine rail. We have been paying taxes for nearly seven years now to fund More MARTA.
Please attend City Council Transportation Committee meetings and MARTA board meetings and make public comment in favor of BeltLine rail.
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