Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. is launching a transit planning study for a 13.6-mile portion of the rail corridor around the 22-mile BeltLine loop.
The study is funded by the Federal Transit Administration and will identify the preferred Atlanta BeltLine transit alignment and station locations in the northwest quadrant, according to a press release.
The planning area for the northwest segment of the transit corridor is from Lindbergh Center MARTA Station on the north side of the BeltLine loop to Bankhead MARTA Station on the western side. The study continues along the southwestern and southeastern quadrants of the BeltLine loop to Glenwood Avenue.
The study will also solidify the preferred station locations in the southwest and southeast quadrants where the transit alignment has already been determined.
MARTA has already completed a study that defines alignment in the northeast quadrant, according to the release.
“Transit is at the heart of the BeltLine vision,” Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs said in a statement. “The BeltLine is about high-quality ways to connect people to jobs, health care, shopping, education, and opportunity while making Atlanta a more mobile city. Rail transit is key to how we do that.”
Kimley-Horn & Associates will conduct the study, and it will take 24 months from kick-off to final deliverables. Activities will include field investigation, consolidation of previous studies, stakeholder and public outreach, environmental screening, equity considerations, service planning, ridership forecasting, and financial planning. The project will specifically look at connectivity between the regional transit network and the regional trail network.
Light rail transit is essential in a layered infrastructure approach to address current and future mobility needs due to the influx of people anticipated to move to Atlanta in the next few decades, the press release said.
A virtual public Citywide Conversation meeting will take place on Mon. Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be broadcast virtually on Zoom and Facebook. The Zoom registration link is here. To join this meeting by phone, dial 929-205-6099 and enter webinar ID 857 7692 0273. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions via Zoom, telephone, and Facebook.
Meeting materials can be accessed on the day of the meeting at beltline.org/meetings. All past presentations and Facebook Live recordings are available in the same online location.
For more information about the BeltLine and transit, visit beltline.org/transit/.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the new date of the Citywide Conversation.