21 Miles Of New Rail In ATL Transit Plan

ATLANTA, GA — The City of Atlanta and MARTA plan to build 21 new mile of public-transit rail with funds raised by a sales tax approved by voters in 2016, according to documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The AJC reports that the new MARTA lines will include the so-called Clifton Corridor, linking the Avondale station east of Decatur with the Lindbergh Center station in north Atlanta. It would provide relief to one of metro Atlanta's more congested areas, creating MARTA rail service to Emory Univeristy, Emory Hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children's Healthcare and the Veteran's Administration Hospital near Decatur.

A list obtained by the AJC also includes new rail lines in downtown and along Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta. It also includes 18 new miles of bus lines, other new bus routes, two new transit centers and lots of renovations, the AJC reported.

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But advocates told the paper they're disappointed that only about one-third of the rail that's been mentioned along the Beltline loop is included and that a rail extension along Interstate 20 West isn't on the list either.

MARTA Board Chairman Robbie Ashe told the AJC that the $2.5 billion the sales tax will raise isn't enough to pay for all of Atlanta's transit needs, even after federal matching funds are added.

Last week, Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law legislation creating a new, 13-county metro Atlanta transit region. A newly created authority will be responsible for developing a new regional transit plan and identifying and prioritizing new transit projects in the 13 counties — many of which are not served by MARTA because local politicians opted out when the transit service was being created in the 1970s.

Deal also signed off on a plan to allot $100 million in next year's state budget to fund public transit.

To read the AJC report, click here.

Photo courtesy MARTA