BeltLine Rail Study

MARTA contracts for study of BeltLine rail; Northeast Trail segment completed

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By Collin Kelley

MARTA has signed a contract to begin a feasibility study for adding the light rail component to the Atlanta BeltLine loop.

The transit authority’s board of directors authorized a contract for a comprehensive engineering analysis for light rail that would connect to current MARTA heavy rail stations. The feasibility study will be conducted by VHB/Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. at a cost of $500,000.

According to a statement released by MARTA, the six-month study is an important step towards requesting federal funding support as well as taking a close look at design gaps in connecting the BeltLine to existing transit.

“MARTA appreciates that advocates for BeltLine rail are eager to see dirt turned, but upon analysis of initial environmental and engineering studies conducted by Atlanta BeltLine Inc. [ABI], we identified significant gaps that must be addressed,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker. “This is typical for a project of this size and this feasibility study will examine technical issues and risks involved in building light rail on the BeltLine and give us a better sense of overall project costs and feasibility. Right now, we have lines on a map with little to no connectivity. For this project to progress and ultimately succeed, it must connect to the existing MARTA system.”

The draft environmental study documents released by ABI were primarily trail-based with some rail considerations which did not address several areas of rail transit concerns. The planning review of the documents revealed transit connectivity gaps to the north between Ansley Mall and Lindbergh Center rail station and to the south between the existing Streetcar and I-20. Additionally, alignment options to MARTA heavy rail stations and alongside existing private railroad tracks have not been adequately addressed and require more evaluation.

“The board saw this feasibility study as an important next step in MARTA’s commitment to its customers who support transit expansion along the BeltLine, and throughout the system,” said MARTA Board Chair Rita Scott. “When people hear of another study, they may be tempted to criticize this as overanalysis, but this level of due diligence is paramount to providing safe, efficient, and connected transit, which is the goal of everyone involved in this massive project.”

Advocacy group BeltLine Rail Now maintained in a post on its website and social media that light rail was the only answer and questioned MARTA’s “handwringing and doubt.”

In the post on its website, the organization asked, “Why are we still talking about this 20 years after the BeltLine vision captured the hearts and minds of our city? Since 2005, at least three separate expert reviews came to the same official conclusion: the best transit mode for the BeltLine is light rail.” The post went on: “The BeltLine is designed for higher density residential and commercial development, which requires higher-volume transit. Real progress with affordable housing, in quantity and quality, is only possible with increased density. And with direct connections to MARTA at new infill stations, we can begin to address transit equity in a meaningful way in Atlanta and repair the damage of prior decades that divided and separated Atlantans along racial lines.”

In other BeltLine news, ABI and Georgia Power have completed work on a portion of the Northeast Trail and it is now open to the public in an advanced interim state. The trail runs through the Piedmont Heights and Ansley Park neighborhoods and is accessible behind Ansley Mall and via a ramp connection from Montgomery Ferry Road.

At 0.7 miles in length, this paved, multi-use trail – known as Segment 2 – is part of the larger Northeast Trail that will ultimately connect from the northern end of the Eastside Trail by Piedmont Park up to the Lindbergh MARTA station.

The next phase of work for Segment 2 will fully complete 1.2 miles of the multi-use trail between Westminster Drive and Mayson Street, including: the paved trail, a connection to Piedmont Avenue, lighting and security cameras, bridgework, planting, and stormwater management systems.

A new segment of the Northeast Trail is complete. A rendering of rail on the BeltLine at Memorial Drive.