We asked 150 people on Beltline what changes they want. Here’s what happened

[Editor’s note: Metro Atlanta native Amit Kamma, who recently graduated from Yale University with a degree in Urban Studies, is periodically contributing to Urbanize Atlanta this summer while beginning his career as a transportation planner. Here, Kamma dives headlong into a field report on Atlanta residents' real Beltline feelings.]

As always, the Beltline has been a hot topic in Atlanta this year: 2026 has seen the completion of the Southside Trail, creating a transformative 17 miles of completed multi-use paths, all while the debate over rail continues to rage.

But as the Beltline grows, what do its current users think of it? Specifically, what wishes and complaints do they have for the Beltline as it stands—a quarter-century after the idea was initially conceived? In this article, I detail the results of a very unscientific poll I recently conducted across the trail, aiming to gather the complaints and wishes of as many Beltline users as possible. 

In this case, the approach for “surveying” Beltline users was decidedly old-school. 

While I considered other ways to conduct this survey, I realized that putting myself on the actual trail with a sign offered the best chance to gather honest answers from real users. So, over two days in late July, I stood along various parts of the Beltline, holding up a sign stating: “What is your biggest wish and complaint for the Atlanta Beltline?” While most passing pedestrians and riders ignored me (understandable), 153 individuals eventually provided answers over two days, across three segments of trail. Many respondents just gave a wish or complaint (even if prompted to give the other), while others provided a wish and a complaint. That’s passion. 

In all, I heard from 153 Beltline users, who collectively provided 114 wishes and 79 complaints for a total of 193 comments. 

Let’s begin with a locational breakdown: 

Atlantans’ 2 cents 

While I received a variety of answers (some very creative like “too many run clubs”), I attempted to categorize similar answers together, helping paint a data-driven picture of the most common complaints and wishes along the trail. 

For example, wishes for more water stations and complaints about a lack of water stations were categorized together as a single type of wish. 

Overall, issues related to e-scooters and e-bikes were the most common category of complaint, while the most common wishes were for rail or separate bike/scooter lanes. Notably, significant differences existed between Eastside and Westside trail respondents. 

The most common wish categories were bike lanes, rail, and water access.

The most common complaint category (by a large margin) was e-bikes/scooters (34 percent), with most of these respondents indicating the speed or user etiquette of e-mobility devices as their complaint. 

But perhaps the most notable finding is the significant difference between Eastside and Westside trail respondents. 

Rail was by far the most common issue for Westside respondents (mentioned by 21 percent of them), compared to being only the fifth most common issue for Eastside respondents (mentioned by 6 percent). 

Conversely, most Eastside answers concerned congestion between existing mobility modes on the trail, whether regarding a separate lane for bike/scooters, overall lack of trail width, or complaints about electric vehicles. These answers were less common on the Westside, where—in addition to rail—water fountain access and security were top concerns. 

These survey results seem to indicate Beltline public opinion as divided and diverse. 

The heterogeneity of answers I collected was notable (even the most common categories rarely crest 30 percent of the total), but Westside trail users seem broadly more likely to wish for rail while Eastside users lament electric micromobility and wish for separate lanes. 

Water was the third most popular issue, and less polarizing between east and west; about 10 percent of all respondents mentioned a desire for better water fountain access.

Beyond these most common answers, the results featured several surprises. For one, housing came up only four times—three of them on the Westside—with these respondents lamenting the dearth of promised affordable housing along the trail so far. Two different Westside respondents also specifically mentioned “Andre Dickens” as their Beltline complaint. 

Meanwhile, “more bars” was twice given as a wish on the Eastside, though one of those respondents appeared to be less than sober. Some users clearly had answers inspired by the oppressive July heat, with two suggesting public pools along the trail and one wishing for Chick-fil-A-style “misters” to cool off. (Maybe not a bad idea, that last one.) 

On the more positive side, many users took the survey as a chance to express their unbridled love for the Beltline. Six respondents simply wished for the Beltline to be finished faster, and about 20 people across the survey period declined to answer my survey by explicitly stating they had no complaints or additional wishes for the trail.

So… the Beltline is urban-redevelopment perfection, as is? 

Methodology, FWIW

It goes without saying this survey was far from scientific. 

The total respondent number of 153 is a very small sample size (the Westside sample being even smaller), and I could not control for all external factors. 

For example, half of my Eastside answers were collected on a sunny Saturday afternoon, drawing different answers than the Monday afternoon commuters and runners. 

Furthermore, I did not survey along nearly as many portions of the Beltline as I would have liked. All my answers came from busy segments of the Eastside Trail (between Piedmont Park and Edgewood Avenue) and Westside Trail (between Lawton Street and Allene Avenue). 

I would have loved to survey along other parts of the Beltline, but after spot-checking some locations, the pedestrian traffic was simply too low. Even on sunny afternoons, other segments of the Beltline such as the Southeast Trail and Westside Trail near Bankhead featured such sparse pedestrian traffic, getting more than a few answers would be challenging, to say the least. 

Nonetheless, this field experiment provided a chance to check the pulse of Atlanta from street level, now that the Beltline loop has finally entered the homestretch of construction. Let’s hope these findings are at least amusing—and just maybe, enlightening. 

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