ATLANTA — Work is well underway in the Summerhill neighborhood on what will be a historic first for transportation in Atlanta.
Hank Aaron Drive will be home to the city’s first Bus Rapid Transit system. MARTA crews are currently working in the center lanes to repair and repave the asphalt, the first steps toward the system's scheduled opening in August 2025.
Scott Taylor, a commercial real estate developer with Carter, has been deeply involved with the transformation of Summerhill, where new life replaces empty parking lots. Taylor credits the work along Hank Aaron Drive with helping attract new businesses to the area.
“This area had not had a grocery store in over seventy years,” Taylor said. “Publix knowing that bus rapid transit was coming to this area was a major factor in making the decision.”
MARTA Rapid Summerhill will run on a five-mile loop, connecting the Beltline to downtown along with the Georgia State, Five Points and Garnett train stations.
RELATED: MARTA now seeking design, engineering proposals for Clayton County bus rapid transit project
“The idea behind bus rapid transit it to actually make it be like heavy rail but on rubber tires,” said project manager Greg Holder.
Accordion-style buses will travel along their own designated lanes. They’ll get priority at traffic signals, continuing to move while everyone else stops. Eventually, there will be fourteen stops with platformed shelters and signs informing travelers exactly when the next bus will arrive.
“This is something when I was young growing up in Toronto I didn’t have,” said Holder. “I was standing there freezing away, but now I know the bus will be here in two minutes.”
Buses will arrive at each stop every 15 to 20 minutes.
Some bus stops have been temporarily closed or relocated. For more information, click here for MARTA’s project webpage.
