Advocates for extending light rail along the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail criticized the MARTA Board of Directors on Feb. 12, accusing transit leaders of sidelining a key project without public input.
An large crowd turned up for the board meeting, with many filling up overflow rooms, to urge renewed support for the Streetcar East Extension, according to a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The plan to extend the Atlanta Streetcar from Downtown to the Eastside Trail and up to Ponce City Market has divided residents, businesses, and city leaders. Supporters said the project was promised as part of the 2016 More MARTA sales tax package and should proceed as originally envisioned.
The dispute goes back to last March, when Eastside design work was underway until Mayor Andre Dickens withdrew his backing in favor of prioritizing rail to the Southside Trail and building infill rail stations along existing MARTA lines.
Shortly afterward, a joint committee of city, MARTA, and Atlanta Beltline executives voted to halt work on the Eastside Trail effort. The AJC reported in January that the decision was made in private meetings and never voted on by the full MARTA board.
Notably, there was no mention of the decision to pause the Eastside Trail streetcar extension at an Aug. 12 public meeting where Beltline leaders outlined a $3.5 billion transit plan.
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At Thursday’s meeting, MARTA interim CEO Jonathan Hunt and board Chairwoman Jennifer Ide defended the process, saying the committee — known as the Program Governance Committee — acted appropriately and that discussions about project priorities remain ongoing.
They acknowledged concerns about transparency and agreed to provide more frequent updates to the full board, while also saying they were waiting for clear direction from city leaders before committing further resources to the Eastside rail project.
Many speakers called for moving forward with streetcar extension, arguing that only one project in the More MARTA project list (the Rapid A-Line bus project connecting Downtown to Summerhill and the Beltline Southside Trail) is nearing completion after a decade of collecting the half-penny sales tax.
Members of the Beltline Rail Now advocacy group noted that close to $17 million has been spent on studies and design work by MARTA and Atlanta Beltline Inc., with $9.1 million specifically on the Eastside streetcar extension.
Other attendees urged the board to consider alternatives, such as driverless shuttles like the ones being used in the ATL Airport Community District and coming to the Westside ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
In a media statement released after the board meeting, MARTA acknowledged there were questions about transparency in the process.
The statement said that after the March 13, 2025, public board meeting, when Dickens said the city was reprioritizing light rail on the Beltline, the Program Governance Committee met on May 27, 2025, and decided to temporarily pause the funding of two ongoing streetcar feasibility studies.
“The committee agreed that since the project was at 30% design, the most prudent course of action was to hold expending more funds until a reprioritization of projects could occur and a path forward determined,” the statement said. “This decision was consistent with the IGA [intergovernmental agreement] process, and board notification is not required. However, MARTA is in the practice of updating its Board on a variety of projects, even when it is not required.”
The statement said discussions about the reprioritization of More MARTA projects is ongoing, and updates would be shared with the public.
“Final policy decisions and approvals related to the More MARTA Program rest with the City of Atlanta and the MARTA Board of Directors, and we will continue to communicate outcomes and next steps as they move through the process,” the statement concluded.