EAST POINT, Ga. — MARTA rail expansion got a boost Friday from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
The one-time Democratic presidential hopeful ascended the escalator at MARTA’s airport station Friday morning – a route routinely taken by thousands of passengers and workers every day. He boarded a northbound train with an eye on expanding the system’s rail network as part of the administration’s infrastructure effort.
"We need to recognize that we’re building these projects for 40, 50 years," said Jeffrey Parker, MARTA's CEO, who rode with Buttigieg to the East Point station. "The city is growing incredibly fast. The region is growing incredibly fast. So the tracks or the busway that we lay down today is going to serve these communities for decades to come."
Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams joined them. They are lobbying for the Biden administration to help fund the expansion.
MARTA’s heavy rail system has followed much the same map for decades. MARTA would like to add a light rail on parts of the Atlanta Beltline; on a line southwest toward Greenbriar; as well as the "Clifton Corridor," toward Emory and Decatur.
"These things tend not to get cheaper. So we can either invest now or be forced to invest more later," Buttigieg said in an interview with 11Alive News, adding that he’s on board with MARTA’s effort to broaden its reach sooner rather than later.
"You’ve got a lot of resources here that were built 40 years ago," Buttigieg said. "But growth patterns have changed. Atlanta is going through such extraordinary patterns of growth and change. Transit should as well."
Buttigieg said he is the second biggest train enthusiast in the administration – President Biden is the biggest. That he said, should bode well for MARTA’s expansion aspirations.