District 2 election - Council District 2: Smith, Mack & Jones on transit
Three of the six candidates for City Council District 2 in the upcoming elections were willing to share their positions on transit and mobility with the public by answering Better Atlanta Transit’s questionnaire on the topic. You’ll find answers from Alex Bevel Jones, Rod Mack and Courtney Smith below.
But first a bit about the district: It covers much of inner northeast Atlanta, including most of Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and Virginia-Highland. All of Inman Park and Poncey-Highland also lie within its boundaries. It is Atlanta’s fourth wealthiest council district (out of 12), and more district residents walk or bike to work than use transit – by far. The winner of the Nov. 4 election, or a runoff if necessary, will replace retiring Councilmember Amir Farokhi. (For more on district data click here.)
This is one of seven Q&As with council candidates that we’re publishing in advance of early voting (Oct. 14-31). BAT’s positions on many issues raised by the candidates are well known. But we’re committed to publishing their answers here in a neutral, objective fashion. Toward that end, please note that we’ve scrambled the order of answers to each question to minimize advantages that might come from going first. After multiple invitations to participate, we didn’t receive completed questionnaires from three candidates – Kelsey Bond, William Jacob Chambers and James White.
Stay tuned on the BAT Blog, sign up for our occasional newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook to gain an in-depth understanding of the candidates’ positions on these issues.
1. Atlantans often complain about traffic, our over-dependence on automobiles and a shortage of viable alternatives. They want to see more walkable, people-friendly neighborhoods and developments. How will you as a Council member work to improve the situation? Is anything that the City or MARTA has done starting to make a difference?
Alex Bevel Jones: Yes, there have been positive steps, such as investments in the More MARTA program, investments into improving our sidewalk infrastructure, and the expansion of protected bike lanes. These efforts show progress but remain too limited in scale and speed. As a Council member, I will fight to accelerate the expansion of frequent bus service, prioritize high-capacity transit corridors, and ensure sidewalks and bike networks are built in under-utilized corridors. My focus will be on making it easier and more affordable for residents to live without relying on a car. In particular, I want to make it easier for Atlantans to travel between their homes and grocery stores, parks, and schools.
Rod Mack: I believe Atlanta should be a city where walking isn't a luxury, it's your right. I will commit to safer sidewalks, more bike lanes, and people-friendly public spaces. We must create neighborhoods that are connected, vibrant, and welcoming.
Courtney Smith: In some cities, an expansive transportation network is about removing cars from the road - reducing congestion. At times, Atlanta hits these inflection points of extreme congestion. For Atlanta, the more pervasive and radiating challenge that stems from our underperforming transportation system is inequity. When we establish a useful public transit network, we will reduce cars on the roadway - an important move to reduce emissions, create more sustainable practices, and lessen the frustrations of congestion. More critical for our city today, we will also create connections to our economic powerhouses from underserved neighborhoods closing hurtful gaps and creating access to early childhood education and health care, a broader employment marketplace, fresh food options, and a bigger sense of a connected Atlanta community. Focusing on transportation's part in the social determinants of health will advance our city, sustain families, and create generational success while simultaneously preparing us for growth and economic expansion. Transportation is critical.
For over 10 years, I’ve been at work in Atlanta’s densest most walkable neighborhood - Midtown and in NPU-E which includes Midtown, Georgia Tech, and the Marietta Street Artery. I have served on numerous advisory teams including one for the transformative Peachtree Visioning Project, written federal grant support letters in my capacity as NPU-E Chairperson for bike lane expansion connecting underserved neighborhoods and Georgia Tech, designed and advocated for Vision Zero aligned fully buffered bike lane enhancements, and structured public-private partnerships to create safe network connections on private property. I’ve been part of the TrailsATL review, Beltline Master Plan stakeholder teams, and numerous tactical urbanism projects. The importance of a healthy transportation system is paramount to any city’s success but especially one growing as fast as Atlanta is growing. We’ve been slow to action but we must pick up the pace. I will continue to apply this same focus to support a useful and expansive transportation system for walkers, rollers, riders, and drivers as Council Member.
Different than in my capacity to date, as a Council Member I will work to repair a broken relationship with MARTA while remaining firm on the need for them to honor the findings of the audit and repay what is owed. I would delve into the inner-workings of ATLDOT to figure out how I can support a more strategic and efficient department. Our delivery on projects large and small – from major capital advancements to new stop signs - should be faster. Timely delivery is intrinsic to people’s faith in their government and their future desire to fund transportation referendums, so we must achieve progress here. Advancing our projects and being open to creative visioning will help us retain talent in ATLDOT and ensure our project by project momentum is sustained. Most critically, I will work with council colleagues, ATLDOT, and professional advisors to build consensus around an expanded and actionable Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) for a robust transportation network – one that keeps all modes - pedestrian, light individual transit (LIT), dedicated lane buses, autonomous technology and high capacity rail - at the forefront. I am committed to being a major force in passing enabling legislation to get design and construction moving during this term.
2. There are limited funds available for transit and an endless number of proposed improvements. How would you prioritize the following five solutions? Please rank them 1 through 5. Then, explain your rankings and how you hope to accomplish this.
● Add bus rapid transit lines
● Improve bus service
● Improve existing rail service and stations
● Add infill MARTA rail stations
● Expand the Atlanta Streetcar
Mack: Improve the existing Marta system - Increase bus and train frequency, Expand ADA rules for the paratransit dispatch portion that leave seniors left on Atlanta streets, (See Quadreplegic) More security especially east and west lines, and invest in electric buses and more modern trains to reduce emissions and improve air quality, and real time tracking tools and improved rider apps.
Smith
1: Add bus rapid transit lines
2: Improve existing rail service and stations
3: Add infill MARTA rail stations
4: Expand the Atlanta Streetcar
5: Improve bus service
BRT projects can be more easily realized in the near term. I’ve listed it as #1 because some BRT lines are already at significant design for a few major corridors, it is more cost effective to implement than larger projects like heavy rail infill, and BRT presents a new mode to study ridership shifts. BRT will allow for easy modal use overlap with our bike network. Introducing this specific mode that can fill the gaps of our rail system with similar efficiency will have the adjacent benefit of increasing ridership on the existing network. Advancing BRT will help address one of the largest complaints about our MARTA system today - it is too infrequent and doesn’t get riders close enough to their destination. Increasing ridership will increase revenue and enhance overall safety.
Second, I would focus on improving the existing rail service and stations. After delivering on a new BRT service line, it is appropriate to turn our attention back to existing service centers. Ridership is down because stations and trains are perceived as unsafe and unsanitary, communication is poor about service changes, and the trains do not run often enough. Upgrading our stations with well-designed lighting, best in class cleaning protocols, attentive security presence, consistent communication methods, hospitality-driven scent and sound enhancements, and most importantly improved service frequency will transform cultural attitudes about MARTA and will not only deliver higher ridership but the promise of public support for greater expansion. When we do what we already do well, more is possible. Trust in execution is absolutely critical.
Now, we are ready to expand again. MARTA infill stations will deliver the most efficient, sustainable transportation mode to more parts of our city and hubs that deliver the critically important social determinants of health. I support the Mayor’s plan for additional infill stations at Krog Street, Joseph E Boone, Murphy Crossing, and Armour Yards. I will be a partner in pursuing funding for these projects and in ensuring their delivery stays on track.
With growing ridership and expanded service of heavy rail, we should turn our quick attention to the value added of the streetcar/light rail in the overall network. With additional data on funding sources and engineering, we must make definitive decisions on our streetcar and Beltline rail. Our citizens are demanding not only a clear committed plan but also action. Atlanta is flush with plans. We need to execute. Transportation projects take years to design and implement and are therefore subject to the political fluctuations of changing council members, department leadership shifts, and new mayoral administrations. The Beltline was developed as a transit corridor. In 2016, voters supported More MARTA, which included rail on the Beltline.
Today, due to our slowness to action and lacking committed vision, we have a new environment with new factors to consider along a portion of Atlanta’s greatest economic powerhouse. We must consider the changing environment as we balance the imperative need to expand our transportation network. To my dismay - after all this time, we still have too many open questions. What authority is equipped to design, implement, and manage the streetcar/Beltline rail? Will the federal environment shift to provide much needed funding to complete this project in an acceptable time frame? How will the streetcar and Beltline rail interact — can the same system be used for both? Should it be? I am fully committed to being part of a leadership team that can study this, make timely determinations, and legislate all that we can to ensure the decisions advance and are not shifted with the results of the next election.
Atlanta deserves our commitment to action. Transportation is not a political decision. And finally, I end the priority list with improving bus service most notably because BRT will have hopefully enhanced ridership long ago in this plan. The city is currently implementing a bus network redesign so my hope at this point would be to correct/expand any gaps created by the redesign and reaffirm that our service delivery is as promised.
Jones
1: Improving bus service
2: Adding bus rapid transit lines
3: Adding infill MARTA stations
4: Remodeling existing train stations
5: Expanding the Atlanta Streetcar
Improving bus service and adding BRT lines have the greatest impact on the most people in the shortest amount of time. Infill stations and better station design are critical to ridership growth. We must invest in improving Marta stations with outdated infrastructure, but not at the expense of the other priorities. Lastly, the Streetcar has potential but should not come before higher-impact investments.
3. The TrailsATL plan approved by the City Council envisions 535 miles of bike and pedestrian improvements. The first phase would add 35 miles by 2037. Do you agree with that pace? If not, how would you go about enhancing the program’s funding and shortening its timeline? Are there other steps we need to take to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians?
Jones: Atlantans deserve safe, connected, and maintained bike and pedestrian infrastructure. We've seen the incredible success of the Beltline, but we must acknowledge the need to do more throughout our city. Too many communities don't have enough transit options. I support the TrailsATL plan, however I believe we must learn from our experiences with the Beltline. We've all been on the Beltline while people on bikes fly by at dangerously high speeds, so I believe we should ensure future paths have a separate lane for bikes. Additionally, I think we should focus on connecting critical infrastructure to neighborhoods such as grocery stores, parks, and schools without displacing legacy homeowners.
I believe a world-class city like Atlanta should be able to build the trails plan on a faster timeline than what is currently proposed. On Council, I would support the upcoming TSPLOST to be focused on speeding up the building of trails, paths, and pedestrian and bike infrastructure. Additionally, I would look at enhancing the city's ability to apply for grants from the federal government and outside groups. Lastly, I believe we could leverage corporate partnerships to increase funding and lower construction time of trails and paths.
Mack: Yes I agree with 535 bike plan.
Smith: This pace is roughly 3 miles completed per year. While this seems reasonable, I have certainly learned over the years that the success of any project is in the details. Without knowing the exact engineering requirements per phase, I can not say with certainty that this timing is acceptable. When elected, I would be happy to review the implementation phasing with the team and offer insight and support in expediting sections where we can. Delivering a project ahead of schedule would be a welcome change and build the trust of tax payers should we consider a future referendum.
Our city is challenged by numerous major initiatives that compete for funding. Given the expanse of the TrailsATL plan and its connective tissue throughout the metro Atlanta area, I would like to seek a more active partner in the state government to identify additional funding opportunities. Additionally, with state support, there is an opportunity to reinvent curbside management throughout the city to generate a new revenue stream that could fund any number of infrastructure projects including contributions to the TrailsATL installation plan.
As we’ve learned with the Atlanta Beltline, we must keep in mind that building the trail is the first expense but maintaining the trails protects the initial investment and ensures the sustained benefit to citizens that we seek. Both funding sources are critical and should be extensively studied and planned in advance.
4. Broadly speaking, what is your vision of the future of transit and mobility within the city? How would you go about making Atlanta less car dependent and more human scaled?
Mack: As a City Council Candidate and frequent rider of Marta here in Midtown investing in transit is not just about moving people. It’s about creating stronger communities, reducing dependency on automobiles that save more lives from accidents, and building a city where everyone has freedom of movement. A future-ready Atlanta is a city where MARTA isn't just an option. It's the best choice.
Smith: We are the 6th largest metropolitan area in the United States and population trends only point towards us going higher. To answer the call of that growth, we have to do two things: 1) develop a Comprehensive Transportation Plan in an intentionally efficient timeline with actionable plans to invest in a full network of solutions and 2) complete and pass the zoning re-write to provide a new foundational framework to allow for greater density, particularly along transit corridors.
In my perspective, at this time in Atlanta, a full transportation network is an emergency — not for congestion reduction or climate sustainability, although both are sound reasons — it is for access and opportunity. If we intend to address the income gap and inequities that exist between the northern and southern portions of our city, we must start with providing access and opportunity. Time and again, we find that a major contributing factor to ending generational cycles of poverty is accessible public transit.
We are also seeing a strong trend and pattern in young professionals living without the burden of a personal vehicle. More residents are choosing underparked developments where their unit lease is separated from the parking lease and larger bike rooms are being built in areas with a reliable bike lane network. There is a call from all sides of the spectrum for Atlanta to enter its next chapter of growth with far more useful and well-developed transportation options. This will require that we align many entities - ATLDOT, MARTA, the Mayor, state and federal partners, as well as City Council. This is a big lift. I am committed to being part of the solution team to make great strides for Atlanta. We need an actionable master plan that moves to 30 percent design and implementation within the next council term.
Jones: I see transit as much more encompassing than just rail. Good transit systems include pedestrians, bike paths, and considerations for folks with limited mobility. Some of my favorite days are when I bike my daughter to school then ride into work. My vision is an Atlanta where every resident has safe, affordable, and reliable options to move around without a car. That means more frequent buses that arrive on-time, bus rapid transit, a rail network which runs regularly and on time, and sidewalks and bike networks that make walking and biking safe in every community. I would invest in transit-oriented housing, and prioritize human-scaled street design that puts people ahead of cars. Over time, we can create a city that is easy to get around, safe, connected, and less congested.
