In 1995, I lived in Old Fourth Ward on John Wesley Dobbs and Sampson Street, in the lofts next to what is now Ladybird. I parked my car on the BeltLine right-of-way where the light rail lines will go. I’ve watched the entire city transform in the 3 decades since, with an emphasis on the area near the Eastside trail, where I have lived, worked, exercised, and played.
I began following the BeltLine around 2007 when bus tours would depart from the Inman Park MARTA station and take curious folks on a trip around the city to see where this big new idea would manifest. The vision of a future Atlanta where transit and trails would encircle the intown core was the primary reason I decided to stay in Atlanta and invest my time, money, and resources here. I’ve hosted multiple candidates for Mayor, Atlanta City Council, State Senate, and other public office in my loft in Cabbagetown, overlooking the sprawling Hulsey Yard as we’ve discussed its potential in a future Atlanta with transit at its core. I did the same at my office at the Telephone Factory on the Eastside trail, with countless community conversations around equity, civic engagement, and climate change.
Like many people back in 2012, I watched as the state-wide transit referendum failed, and the promise of expanded transit throughout the region slipped out of reach. Thankfully, Atlanta leaders rallied to get a local transit referendum on the ballot in 2016. Throughout the lead-up to the vote, light rail on the Atlanta BeltLine was promoted as one of the projects that would be possible with the revenue from the tax. MARTA documents from that era and countless press mentions echoed the sentiment that rail would finally be coming to the BeltLine if the referendum passed. And indeed it did – with an overwhelming 71% of the vote.
It seemed that we were on the way to building the Atlanta we were told was possible – a more equitable and accessible Atlanta that had been elusive for so many of our residents, particularly those south of I-20.
Investments in the land and infrastructure required for light rail in the entire BeltLine corridor have been made at each step of the way. This is the main reason it takes so long for trail segments to open. If we wanted to just pave a path around the city, it would be much cheaper and faster. Instead, we are laying the infrastructure for the future – the payoff of the original vision that allowed the BeltLine to happen in the first place.
Remember, in 1999, the idea for the BeltLine was described by Ryan Gravel in his now-famous Georgia Tech thesis. The fundamental basis of the concept was relieving our increasingly traffic-choked roads by repurposing abandoned or underutilized intown rail lines into a future transit and trail corridor. Four years later, Cathy Woolard, then-Chair of the Transportation Committee of the Atlanta City Council, heard about the idea and gave it the political support necessary to move it forward, eventually backed by then-Mayor Shirley Franklin and developer Ray Weeks. None of what we see now would have materialized without this support.
We’ve seen an explosion of housing and other commercial development along the corridor in decades since, and along with it, increased road congestion that the BeltLine was always meant to relieve. Density makes sense along a transit corridor, but take away this key ingredient and you’re left with a linear park for the privileged few, which was never the intention.
The recent attempts to stop the light rail extension on the Eastside trail occur as a desperate attempt to rewrite history and confuse the public about the spirit of the BeltLine and who it’s for. A quick scan through the arguments presented illuminates the obvious fact that there is an attempt to stop transit, not make it better.
“Our BeltLine” is the one that includes everyone in Atlanta, not just the people who have benefited from the success of the early segments of trail. It’s the one that connects 45 intown neighborhoods with mobility options that aren’t predicated on physical fitness and good weather. It’s the one that community leaders and elected officials have championed for over 20 years.
I applaud our leaders who are standing up to recent pressure and maintaining the commitment to deliver on this important piece of the puzzle by investing in the first section of light rail on the BeltLine. There need be no confusion here. Yes, trains on “Our BeltLine” – just like we were promised.