Category: Columns

It just isn’t true.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is saying that if Amtrak and other passenger trains can’t use the BeltLine corridor that borders Piedmont Park, then commuter and high speed rail (including Amtrak) will not be able to serve the central city.

This position not only is without merit, but it also seems as though GDOT is trying to punish the city of Atlanta for challenging the future use of the BeltLine.

For starters, remember Atlanta’s very existence comes from the convergence of three railroad lines intersecting near the Five Points MARTA station. That’s why regional and city leaders stragically have planned to build a multimodal train station in the heart of downtown.

Welcome to SaportaReport, a site I hope will be a thought-provoking venue in making metro Atlanta and Georgia a great place to live, work, play and study.

For readers who are familiar with my writings at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this column will be similar in scope to the one I wrote for the Horizon section for about a decade.

This will be my outlet to share perspectives of our region and our state, and to weigh in on how we can do better. My topics will range from transportation, the environment, the arts, philanthropy, urban design to leadership.