Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has pulled back the curtain on where three additional MARTA stops will be located that city leadership deems vital for boosting transit ridership.
Dickens issued an administrative order today pinpointing the locations for MARTA infill stations as: Krog Street/Hulsey Yard where Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward meet Cabbagetown; Joseph E. Boone Boulevard on the Westside; Armour Yards in southern Buckhead; and as previously revealed during Dickens’ State of the City address last month, Murphy Crossing near the BeltLine’s Westside Trail.
All four of those locations are identified as “ideal candidates” for delivering equitable transit projects across the city.
Dickens’ order also calls for city staff, MARTA, and the Atlanta BeltLine to begin developing a plan for transit options across the entirety of the BeltLine corridor, as part of what the city calls an “innovative collaboration.”
The order directs the city’s chief financial officer to identify funding sources and financial models to support the transit investments. It also calls for a process of community engagement to ensure infill stations are appropriate and accessible for neighborhoods where they’ll be located.
The order mentions that funding could come from both public and private sources, but no timelines are provided.
In a press statement, Dickens calls Atlanta’s transportation landscape “dynamic” in a way that mirrors “the diverse growth and evolution of Atlanta’s neighborhoods.”
“Both legacy and emerging communities have immediate transportation needs that deserve effective solutions,” Dickens’ statement continues. “It is imperative that our transportation investments are strategically and equitably deployed to increase ridership on MARTA’s heavy rail network and bus system fostering a more connected and unified Atlanta.”
Dickens’ directive also calls for a “crosstown” corridor for a Bus Rapid Transit line that would connect a planned Bowen Homes redevelopment on the Westside with Ponce City Market.
Last summer, the Bowen Homes project secured a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development meant to kickstart equitable development at the former public housing site.