Atlanta transportation: Nine searches for a "Plan B"

Clayton County was counting on the 2012 TSPLOST vote to restore bus service, which the county had lacked since 2010. In 2014, Clayton voters took matters into their own hands and overwhelmingly approved a 1-cent sales tax to bring MARTA buses into the county. The tax will also fund studies that explore the possibility of extending MARTA rail into the county.

State transportation package

The 2015 General Assembly produced one of the largest state transportation funding bills in state history — $900 million a year for projects across the state. Gov. Nathan Deal would make two announcements in 2016 about how this money would be spent.

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

MARTA expansion plan

MARTA's plans to expand rail service suffered a stinging defeat during the 2015 Legislature, when a bill got shot down that could have allowed the agency to collect 50% more money from residents in Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. From the ashes of that arose a new strategy and an $8 billion pitch designed to appeal to a bipartisan group of lawmakers. In 2016, MARTA asked the Legislature for permission to ask Fulton and DeKalb residents for more sales tax money. Fulton was on board but DeKalb, already preoccupied with another infrastructure sales tax, took a rain check. We'll pick up this story further down.

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

Atlanta Streetcar expansion plan

As the Streetcar turned one year old, the Atlanta City Council approved a 50-mile system plan that proposes five crosstown routes with connections to MARTA stations and the Beltline. It's an ambitious plan that the city leaders remain dedicated to despite the existing streetcar's low ridership and threats from the GDOT to shut the service down over safety concerns. Those with a sunnier disposition still see a future where the streetcar's problems are fixed, the larger plan finds funding and those tracks connect the city core with other transit options on the boards.

Gov. Deal's $10 billion plan

Using money generated from the transportation tax created in 2015 (see earlier), Deal drew up a $10 billion project list to resurface roads and rebuild bridges across the state. The decade-long plan includes express lanes on I-285 and Ga. 400, additional lanes on I-85 north of Atlanta and an improved interchange for I-285 and I-20. One thing the plan does not include however, is transit. (More on that later.)

Atlanta's MARTA referendum

Fulton was granted permission to ask its residents to raise its sales tax for transportation funding. The next step was for all 14 of the county's mayors to agree on a funding scheme. They came close, but Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed insisted on a more urgent funding scheme for MARTA and eventually decided that his city would be better off with its own plan. Eventually two separate funding efforts emerged — one for Atlanta and one for the rest of the county. Atlanta residents would vote on a 0.5-cent sales tax that would generate $2.5 billion over the next 40 years for MARTA expansion. Much of the MARTA expansion could involve putting rail on the Beltline or building new stations on existing MARTA lines. The referendum will be on the ballot this November.

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Atlanta's other transportation referendum

There's a second sales tax referendum on the ballot this November for Atlanta voters. The proposed 0.4 percent tax would go towards other non-MARTA transportation projects, including Beltline expansion and improvements for streets, sidewalks and parks. Why two referendums instead of one? Because MARTA projects need a 40-year funding commitment and smaller projects are funded in five-year increments.

Fulton sales tax referendum

With Atlanta carved away from Fulton's transportation sales tax efforts (see earlier), the other cities and unincorporated areas were now free to create their own tax without having to negotiate with Atlanta. The result is a referendum on November's ballot to create a 0.75-cent sales tax for Fulton-minus-Atlanta. The $655 million generated from the tax would fund road improvements but not public transit. County leaders say that they may still pursue a 0.25-cent sales tax later this year that would fund MARTA expansion.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Gov. Deal's state-funded transit projects

Georgia doesn't often invest in transit on the state level, so it was a significant moment when Gov. Deal announced a $75 million plan to fund transit projects across the state. Locally the projects would include bus expansion in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, and new park-and-ride lots in Gwinnett and Henry. MARTA gets something too — improved PA systems and electronic signage. It's a modest investment, but it represents what could be a bipartisan political future for transit in Georgia.