Advocates for putting light rail on the Atlanta Beltline will rally on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 9:30 a.m. to turn up the pressure on Mayor Andre Dickens to recommit to the project.
Nonprofit group Beltline Rail Now will unfurl a new banner at the rally, which will be held at 912 Wylie Street in Reynoldstown. Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman is expected to address attendees.
Beltline Rail Now president Matthew Rao said the event will provide a way for rail supporters to express their demands for the city to move forward on the project.
MARTA has been working on a plan to extend the Atlanta Streetcar to the Eastside Trail and up to Ponce City Market – a plan that Dickens made part of his election campaign.
However, in the last few months, Dickens support of the streetcar extension has begun to waver due to projected costs.
During a recent interview on WABE’s “Closer Look” program hosted by Rose Scott, Dickens said he was stil in favor of transit on the 22-mile Beltline loop, but wouldn’t commit to the streetcar extension.
Dickens said a report was being completed on Beltline transit options that include light rail, bus rapid transit and driverless “pods.”
“Am I in favor? Yes. Am I committed to pushing it? Yes. But am I sober and fiscally responsible, and somebody who takes every job, every decision I make, very seriously? Yes,” Dickens told Scott. “I’ve got to live with the situation of, yes, go for it and then we can’t pay for it. Yes, go for it, but we can’t operate it.”
The mayor said another concern is whether riders will pay to use Beltline transit. And there’s also the fact that the state of Georgia does not financially support MARTA.
“We are still in the state that does not fund its public transit,” Dickens said. “We have New York hopes of transit, but New York state supports the New York Transit System. We do not have support for MARTA nor will we have support for the Beltline, as it currently stands — so it’s all in the fare box.”
Earlier this year, Dickens touted the plan to build four new infill MARTA stations including one at Murphy Crossing, which will have direct acess to the Beltline’s under construction Southside Trail.
