Following mayor comments, pro-Beltline transit chorus grows louder

By now, most Atlantans with even a passing interest in mobility and Beltline growth have caught wind of Mayor Andre Dickens’ recent skepticism that light-rail transit on the 22-mile loop will be viable soon.

Dickens questioned Beltline rail transit’s financial feasibility in late July in an interview on WABE’s “Closer Look,” but the comments continue to reverberate with—and motivate—proponents of light-rail vehicles operating next to Beltline pathways.

In the WABE interview, Dickens again floated the idea that bus rapid transit or driverless “pods” could be viable alternatives to Beltline rail. The city has hired outside consultants to study transit options and provide a breakdown of costs, including potential fare prices.

Dickens told host Rose Scott he favors light-rail options and plans to continue to push for that transit method but fears encircling the full 22-mile Beltline with rail would be prohibitively expensive, especially in a state like Georgia that provides the city no financial support for public transit. He also expressed concerns about potential impacts to small businesses on the Beltline during the construction phase for light-rail transit.

“We are still in the state that does not fund its public transit… We have New York hopes of transit, but New York state supports the New York Transit System,” Dickens told WABE. “We do not have support for MARTA nor will we have support for the Beltline, as it currently stands.”

Not surprisingly, the mayor’s skepticism has proven a rallying point for the Beltline rail naysayers at Better Atlanta Transit. But the same can be said for Beltline rail’s most vocal supporters—including some now in high places.

Nonprofit advocacy group Beltline Rail Now staged a rally Saturday and unfurled a new banner in support of their cause that overlooks a popular segment of trail on Wylie Street in Reynoldstown.

Matthew Rao, BeltLine Rail Now president, says Dickens garnered support from rail proponents during his run for the city’s top office by promising to push for new rail alternatives as Atlanta’s “transit mayor.” Rao and company hope to see the Streetcar East Extension to the Beltline not only supported but accelerated. MARTA estimates the project will cost $230 million.

Saturday’s rally also served to celebrate the completion of consultant HDR’s final recommendation to MARTA for a grass track system on the Beltline—as opposed to a bed of concrete beneath light-rail vehicles that opponents have feared. According to Rao, the next step in the process calls for MARTA to direct HDR to finalize transit designs and compile an engineering package.

BRN leaders remain hopeful the project can break ground in late 2025 and start service in 2028, as MARTA’s plans have called for.

Speakers at the Saturday event included Atlanta City Council president Doug Shipman. (In addition to Shipman, councilmembers Jason Dozier, Liliana Bakhtiari, and Amir Farokhi, who collectively represent a wide swath of intown neighborhoods, have also recently spoken up in favor of branching the current Atlanta Streetcar loop to Ponce City Market via the Eastside Trail.)

At Saturday’s rally, Shipman called the implementation of Beltline rail essential for Atlanta’s future in terms of not just mobility but equitability and sustainability in the face of climate change.

“Equity will never be solved unless we have transportation,” Shipman told the Saturday gathering, as Saporta Report relays. “Affordability will never be solved unless we have transportation. Transportation in areas that have been underinvested in is not enough. Transportation from areas that have been underinvested in—to affluent areas—is required.”

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