Mayor Andre Dickens no longer wants the first phase of Beltline light rail to go on the Eastside Trail, senior staff said Thursday.
The announcement was made at a meeting of MARTA’s board of directors, during a broad conversation about the mayor’s vision for transit in the city.
“We are committed to building rail on the Beltline, however, not in the form that has been previously discussed,” said Courtney English, the mayor’s chief adviser.
The current plans call for extending the Atlanta Streetcar onto the Eastside Beltline. English said the mayor’s preference is now to begin construction on the southside corridor. The city also wants to concentrate resources on improving services on the existing streetcar. They would like it to eventually go on the southside portion of the Beltline, connecting to Murphy Crossing
Advocates for the current plans were worried Dickens was walking back from past support of extending the Streetcar onto the Eastside trail. On Thursday, Beltline Rail Now Chairman Matthew Rao said he was worried Dickens would “kick the can down the road.”
“We’ve been foreshadowing this,” Rao said.
— This is a developing story that will be updated.
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