We want more transit, and we love the Beltline.
That’s why we’re urging MARTA and the city to rethink transit on the Beltline.
The streetcar is inequitable, unnecessary and expensive. It also threatens precisely the qualities that make the Beltline such a success.
Our leaders must consider whether they really want to commit most of the city’s transit dollars for the next 30 years to a project with so much downside.
We have an opportunity to make the Beltline even better and to fund an urban transit system that actually serves people who rely on transit.
We’re transit advocates, equity leaders, planners, business people and community activists. We back equitable, effective and sustainable mobility for all Atlantans.
The streetcar works against those values. It would consume the lion’s share of Atlanta transit dollars for an entire generation, while projects that would do more for both mobility and equity would continue to go unfunded.
The streetcar would forever alter the Beltline – we think for the worse. Greenspace will disappear. Tracks and barriers will constrict pedestrians, cyclists and others. During and after construction, access onto and across the Beltline will become much more difficult, jeopardizing jobs and the small businesses that contribute a sense of place to the Beltline.
Imagine a better path. Literally.
Imagine connecting all Atlantans to the Beltline by funding transit that helps people get to the Beltline. Imagine a city that makes it easier for people – on foot, bike, wheelchair or scooter – to get around their communities, reach rapid transit and travel that last half-mile to their destinations in the healthiest, most environmentally friendly way possible.
Imagine the Beltline living its best life as an active transportation corridor by leaning into the idea of micromobility, which empowers all people – no matter their abilities – to enjoy the benefits of a human-scaled greenway. Imagine a second path on the Beltline, separating pedestrians, wheelchairs and dogs from bikes and other wheeled vehicles,
A project in search of a problem to solve.
For two decades, ardent activists and bureaucratic inertia have pushed Beltline rail along. But the streetcar is based on a 25-year-old vision, not a transit need.
What little evidence we have points to paltry ridership. More pedestrians and cyclists currently use the Eastside Trail today than are projected to ride a much longer section of the streetcar in 2040.
Far from advancing equity, the streetcar would serve an elite ridership. Funding is doubtful beyond the first phase, which will serve the second wealthiest stretch of the Beltline.
It’s unlikely to be completed.
In 2016, Atlanta residents OK’d the half-penny More MARTA sales tax for capital transit investments within the city. Before the vote, the list of potential More MARTA projects topped 70.
In 2018, that was winnowed down to 17. Five of the original 17 were for the streetcar. But even they wouldn’t complete the 22-mile loop. Then, in 2023, MARTA scheduled only nine “Tier 1” projects to go forward this decade. The other eight? Later, if there’s money left.
A likelier scenario: We’ll be left with a streetcar stub that serves the upscale east side and crowds out pedestrians and cyclists, while parts of town that actually need transit go wanting.
BEFORE
AFTER (based on actual design specs)
The signals are flashing red.
On the route to the Beltline through the King Historic District, two sets of tracks will be crammed down residential streets that are too narrow even for one. King District residents are furious.
On the Beltline itself, a 40-foot-wide strip will be cleared of trees, meadows and public art to make way for tracks, barriers, platforms and overhead wires.
The tracks and barriers will make it more difficult to get onto the Beltline or to cross it to shop, grab a bite or just hang out. Restaurants and shops fear losing business because customers will have a harder time reaching them, both during and after construction.
We have many better choices.
Here are two transformational ideas.
Wheels and heels
Why not give pedestrians (including wheelchairs, children and dogs) their own lovely path through the trees and meadows? The existing path could be enhanced and given over to bikes, scooters and the like — creating a safe, efficient “micromobility” corridor. Without cramming in a streetcar, there could even be room for a separate running track.
Transit to the Beltline
The Beltline streetcar won’t reduce demand for parking near the Beltline or improve access to underserved communities. But transit to the Beltline could do that. The More MARTA project list includes four MARTA infill stations on the Beltline and seven crossings with bus rapid transit lines. But those projects are competing for funding with the streetcar.
The arterials and crosstown BRTs would make the Beltline accessible to many more people, while also doing a better job of getting workers to Downtown, Midtown and even Buckhead.
It’s time for a new direction.
Atlanta has more urgent transit needs than an extravagant project for well-to-do neighborhoods. There also are better ways to enhance the Beltline as an innovative mobility corridor.
Mayor Andre Dickens has taken a courageous step by ordering a review of mobility on the Beltline. His proposals for four new MARTA heavy-rail stations along the Beltline and a BRT route along North Avenue and Hollowell Parkway are promising.
But we believe it’s time to go further. MARTA and the city must halt the Beltline streetcar and free up resources for projects that actually solve our transit needs. All of us must consider anew what the future holds for both the Beltline and mobility in Atlanta.