Atlanta City Council pushes to revive Beltline rail plans

The Atlanta City Council is urging the mayor’s administration to resume plans to build light rail along the Eastside Beltline more than a year and a half after local leaders on a MARTA advisory board decided to press pause on the project.

During a Monday meeting, the council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its support for the rail project and encouraging Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to do the same.

The measure, which was introduced by Councilmember Kelsea Bond, also called on Dickens’ office to collaborate with Atlanta Beltline and MARTA to develop a plan and timeline for how to move forward with construction of the 22 miles of Beltline rail. It requested those organizations present the plan in January 2027.

The resolution comes amid widespread public debate over the future of Beltline rail and questions about city leaders’ commitment to seeing the project through.

Plans to build a light rail system along the Eastside Beltline were thrust into limbo in March 2025 when Dickens pulled support and said he wanted to start construction near the proposed Murphy Crossing redevelopment instead.

Then, roughly two months later, officials from the city, MARTA and Atlanta Beltline voted in a closed-door meeting to stop working on the Eastside project entirely.

That vote was taken without public input, according to meeting notes obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via an open records request. The move sparked outrage among Beltline-goers and transit enthusiasts when it was first reported by the AJC earlier this year — more than six months after the vote itself.

Monday’s vote was preceded by nearly two hours of remarks from the public, many of which were impassioned statements from Atlanta residents in favor of, or opposed to, a Beltline rail system.

Atlanta-area attorney Matt Bass told the council he believes it is time to get started on the long-awaited project.

“I would like to see this before I die,” Bass said during the meeting’s public comment section. “And I don’t know about you guys, but I’m halfway there at 45.”

Some residents questioned the feasibility of the costly project, while others contended the rail system would bring more business to the Beltline, strengthening the economy. That conversation continued among the council members, who deliberated on the language of the written resolution for nearly 20 minutes before moving to vote on it.

It remains unclear how the project would be funded or whether it is possible to include light rail alongside the entire length of the Beltline.

While the resolution is a show of support for the project, it is largely symbolic in nature — a matter Councilman Michael Julian Bond emphasized to his peers as assurance of future study. Resolutions do not carry the weight of law, and amount to suggestions which can be followed, or ignored by the mayor’s office.