ATLANTA — Board directors for MARTA voted unanimously to expand the streetcar to the BeltLine's popular east trail on Thursday.
At their meeting, the board awarded an $11.5 million contract to engineer the plan.
Thursday's vote also included proposed recommendations that could improve future expansion projects. The board also agreed to meet in the future that they will continue to review the project.
Backers previously said the trail is incomplete without public transit running alongside the pedestrian walkway.
MARTA's existing streetcar line runs mostly on a loop through downtown.
The extension would take north by northeast to connect with the BeltLine at Irwin Street. From there, the streetcar would have five stops on a one and a half mile stretch along the BeltLine’s eastside trail before reaching Ponce de Leon Avenue.
"I think it finally delivers on a promise for folks who moved there ten or fifteen years ago when this was promised," said Matthew Rao, who founded BeltLine Rail Now, an advocacy group.
Some fans of the trail believe adding the streetcar could raise some concerns.
"I think it boils down to one thing and that’s space, if it becomes too congested. Because right now on a Saturday or Sunday, it’s pretty congested on the BeltLine," said Mike Worley, a regular BeltLine user who also said he's a fan of public transit and used it when he worked in Downtown Atlanta.
Officials with the BeltLine reIeased a statement after the resolution's vote:
“At the Atlanta BeltLine, we’re envisioning the end result of our work as being the creation a ‘whole community,’ where everyone can live, work, start a business, buy groceries, see a doctor, walk, ride a bike and take transit,” said Clyde Higgs, President and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “The vote today is an exciting continuation of our partnership with MARTA and the City of Atlanta to fulfill the promise of high-quality transit, bringing more accessibility to all, while still maintaining the natural, green experience of the BeltLine. An important piece of this work will be continuing community conversations around the Streetcar design as it progresses toward final design.”
There is no time frame to when the expansion could move forward with construction.
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