By John Ruch
MARTA will hold three public meetings next week about the updated project list for “More MARTA,” its controversial and long-stalled transit expansion program.
A senior City official told SaportaReport that Mayor Andre Dickens’ office and an interagency review committee essentially demanded the public input meetings before they would approve the newly reprioritized list of projects. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to a comment request and a MARTA spokesperson said only that the meetings are “part of our continued outreach.”
More MARTA is a large transit expansion program within Atlanta supported by a 0.5 percent sales tax approved by voters in 2016. MARTA has repeatedly pared down the list of priority projects — though the overall number remains the same, the agency emphasizes — and spent millions of the revenue on bus operations. Dickens and the Atlanta City Council have expressed frustration for months over the lack of progress on the projects. MARTA recently agreed to a council-demanded audit of the program after a brief public spat.
The three public meetings include two in-person gatherings and one virtual event, with registration and other details available on MARTA’s website. MARTA says officials will give a presentation and take public questions and comments. The schedule includes:
- April 18, 6 p.m., Sylvan Middle School, 1461 Sylvan Road in Sylvan Hills
- April 19, 6 p.m., virtual meeting
- April 20, 6 p.m., All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 634 W. Peachtree St. in Midtown
MARTA is currently proposing a slate of projects in two “tiers,” or categories. The first tier of projects is the priority, with MARTA estimating it can deliver them by 2028. MARTA is also in the process of modeling how much sales tax money it expects to come in.
Many of the projects involve buses, including “bus rapid transit” (BRT) and “arterial rapid transit” (ART).” BRT means buses running in some kind of dedicated lane, and ART means a form of express bus service.
The current first-tier projects on the proposed list include:
- Summerhill BRT, which is already in a construction phase
- Cleveland Avenue ART
- Metropolitan Avenue ART
- Bankhead Station platform extension
- Atlanta Streetcar East extension onto the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail
- Five Points Station transformation
- Campbellton Road corridor BRT
- Greenbriar Transit Center
- Clifton Corridor BRT
- Enhanced bus service citywide
The proposed second-tier projects include:
- Northside Drive BRT
- North Avenue BRT
- Peachtree Road ART
- Atlanta Beltline Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West segments, with mode largely to be determined
- Atlanta Streetcar West extension
- Moores Mill Transit Center
- Vine City Station upgrades
According to MARTA, the changes from a previous priority list are moving the Clifton Corridor up to the first tier, and moving the North Avenue and Peachtree Road bus projects down to the second tier.
MARTA notes that the Clifton Corridor project is progressing faster because the proposed mode has changed from light rail to BRT. However, that refers only to part of the overall project that is within the City of Atlanta and has some funding in place. Another segment that would complete the line into DeKalb County remains unfunded.
In addition, the Five Points Station makeover remains controversial within the City government and in MARTA Board of Directors discussions. The senior City official told SaportaReport that there continues to be “a lot of back-and-forth” in internal discussions about that project amid skepticism about its cost and timing.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said that Northside Drive BRT, rather than North Avenue BRT, was moving to the second tier. This story also has been updated with comment from MARTA to clarify that it says sales tax revenue is not part of the current prioritizing tier system and its emphasis that overall project list has not changed.
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