MARTA has prioritized nine projects for its Atlanta expansion program. Now it’s trying to sell the revised plan to Atlanta residents.
The transit agency will host a series of public meetings this week to discuss the “More MARTA” expansion program:
- 6 p.m. Tuesday at Sylvan Middle School, 1461 Sylvan Road SW, Atlanta.
- A virtual public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- 6 p.m. Thursday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 634 W. Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta.
You can register to attend any of these events at www.itsmarta.com/moremarta.
Atlanta voters approved a 40-year, $2.5 billion transit expansion plan in 2016. Two years later, MARTA announced a list of 17 projects it would pursue with that money, including 29 miles of light rail and 13 miles of bus rapid transit.
But MARTA has slowly backed away from plans for light rail in some corridors. And last month it announced a revised list of nine priority projects that will be built by 2028. The move followed news that the agency doesn’t have nearly enough revenue to pay for all the expansion projects in the near term.
The prioritized projects include the Summerhill bus rapid transit, or BRT; the Cleveland Avenue arterial rapid transit, or ART; the Metropolitan Parkway ART; the Bankhead platform extension; the streetcar east light rail, or LRT; the Five Points transformation; the Campbellton Road BRT; the Greenbriar transit center; and the Clifton Corridor BRT. MARTA also is using money from the expansion program to pay for enhanced local bus service.
Other projects will be on hold until sometime after 2035. They include the Beltline northeast LRT, the Beltline southeast LRT, the Beltline southwest LRT, the Beltline west LRT, the Moores Mill transit center, the North Avenue BRT, the Northside Drive BRT, the Peachtree Road ART, the streetcar west LRT and the Vine City station rehabilitation.
About the Author
