MARTA and Beltline rail two big transportation items on mayor’s agenda
When he first ran for mayor, Andre Dickens said light rail on the Beltline was “long overdue” and that he wanted to see it built on the Eastside trail within three to five years.
With his backing, MARTA pursued a project that would have extended the Atlanta Streetcar route by two miles to Ponce City Market. The transit agency was on track to break ground this year, a timeline that overshot Dickens’ goal but would have still put light rail into service by 2028.
Even as opponents began to campaign against the plans, saying rail isn’t needed and would destroy a beautiful trail, Dickens continued to voice support for the project. To backtrack would “waste those dollars” that MARTA had spent getting the project shovel-ready, he said.
Less than a month after making those remarks, Dickens pulled his support for the measure.
The pivot earlier this year caught many by surprise, particularly because of his previous advocacy for the Eastside project. It’s not the first time he’s caught partners and the public off guard; his announcement of four new MARTA infill stations was also unexpected.
It has also brought the topic of Beltline rail — whether, how and when to build it — to the forefront of yet another election cycle, particularly in the races for the District 2 seat, which includes the Eastside trail, and the City Council president race.
“You know, it’s the Beltline,” Dickens said earlier this year. “So literally everybody has got an opinion about it.”
“We told the public that we would put rail on the Beltline,” Rohit Malhotra, one of two council president candidates, told attendees at a PropelATL forum on transit earlier this month. “People voted to tax themselves to put rail on the Beltline.
“Every single person ran on that. And then it became less politically convenient.”
While stating that he’s still committed to building light rail, as envisioned, along the entirety of the 22-mile Beltline, Dickens now says the first segment should go where the transportation needs are the greatest: southwest Atlanta.
“I’ve always been a supporter of rail on the Atlanta Beltline, but where do you start?” Dickens said in September. “If we’re going to provide a benefit such as rail, we’re going to start in an area ... we know to have been disinvested in.”
Dickens did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story.
It’s part of a larger effort by his administration to revitalize historically overlooked neighborhoods that is expected to be a core focus of Dickens’ likely second term.
The plan hinges on a proposal to extend the life of Atlanta’s tax allocation districts beyond 2050, a move predicted to generate $5.5 billion — if the Atlanta City Council, Fulton County commissioners and the Atlanta Public School Board all say yes, which is not certain.
The transit projects in Dickens’ proposal — which include Southside light rail and the four MARTA infill stations, as well as extending the existing Atlanta Streetcar route east and west — are projected to cost upward of $2.2 billion.
On the campaign trail, not all agree with Dickens’ approach.
Seven council seats are up for election, but Dickens is seeking the currently seated council’s approval for the TAD extensions. Both Malhotra and Marci Collier Overstreet, a two-term council member who is also vying for the council president position, have said the debate shouldn’t be rushed.
“I would like to have more of a conversation around the TADs before we decide, well, let’s just extend them all,” Overstreet told voters at the Propel ATL’s transit forum. “I would like to hear where we are and give it a moment. I don’t know why we have to rush anything.
“We have time.”
In another break with Dickens, both council president candidates support starting construction on the Eastside trail.
Overstreet said that while there’s a need for more transit options on the Southside, it doesn’t mean construction shouldn’t start first on the Eastside, given the planning and design work already completed. Malhotra said it’s what voters expect, and that if the council is truly serious about pursuing Beltline rail, money needs to be set aside now to pay for future phases.
Both said council members need to have more oversight over transit projects in Atlanta to keep them on track.
Dickens has also sought more oversight, expressing frustration with MARTA’s pace of delivery. He’s sought to rewrite the intergovernmental agreement between the city and MARTA to give Atlanta more votes on the transit agency’s board.
Overstreet has also said the agreement should be rewritten. She wants to give council members a seat at the table when deciding how to use proceeds from the half-penny sales tax established for MARTA expansion projects in the city, which include bus rapid transit routes in addition to Eastside light rail.
Currently, the mayor holds decision-making authority on the city’s behalf, something Beltline rail advocates have criticized for giving too much power to one individual.
Matthew Rao, the chair of Beltline Rail Now, said Dickens’ changing position speaks to the importance of electing pro-transit candidates in every race.
“We need eight seats so that there is always an override to the silly things that a mayor can be pressured to do,” Rao said at a transit forum hosted by Malhotra’s campaign in September. “We’re not going to change the strong mayor system overnight, but we can change the council.”
With Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens likely to win a second term, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at five topics of importance to the city … and beyond.
About the Author
Sara Gregory covers transportation for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Previously, she covered local government in DeKalb County. A Charlotte native, she joined the paper in 2023 after working at newspapers in South Carolina and Virginia.
