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Transportation in Atlanta
Going Forward? On the Right Track?
Atlanta, like much of the rest of the United States, is very car dependent. The city got started as Terminus at a junction of two railroads. Historically we’ve had a robust network of trains, streetcars and buses. But these mass transit options declined as cars became more common and the suburbs sprawled. In the early 1970s, MARTA was launched, but since then we mostly stalled on transit growth, while building more and more roads and highways, and suburbs spreading further and further out. A recent article has a startling series of photos of the almost complete renovation of the I-285/GA-400 interchange. Without mass transit, we will see more and more of these massive constructions for our automobile addiction.
Today we are stuck in traffic and looking for solutions. Atlanta has a number of barriers to better transit, but we also have promising options. We know we cannot pave our way out of our traffic problems. We are going to have to get more of us out of our cars and find other ways to get around, be it mass transit, cycling, walking or other options.
A basic structural problem for the Atlanta region is that the city and county governments have very limited control over a number of public systems, including transportation and gasoline taxes. The state government calls a lot of the shots when it comes to public transit. Sometimes there is a hostile relationship between the Georgia legislature, historically controlled by rural, white representatives, and Atlanta with its significant Black population.
“There are ways in which we are allowed to play in our own sandbox,” says Nathaniel Horadam, a management consultant for Center for Transportation and the Environment, a national non-profit headquartered in Midtown Atlanta. “Obviously the state legislature authorized MARTA 50 years ago, and allowed them to raise money through successive taxes. But it only goes as far as the state priorities in the prominently rural dominated legislature.”
Much of the responsibility for transportation in the metro area is under the purview of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). Our state constitution mandates that our motor vehicle tax is primarily restricted to funding, you guessed it, roads and bridges. According to Colleen Kiernan, Senior Director Government and Community Affairs of MARTA, “GDOT has been very successful in advancing this narrative that it is legally prohibited from funding transit, which is not true. For one thing, most of the transit expansion projects proposed in the metro region are bus rapid transit, which are essentially road projects. For another, many buckets in the federal highways formula funds can be spent on transit.”
In addition to state funding, a big roadblock for more heavy rail and regional trains is railroad right of way (ROW) access. The proposed Clayton rail line was planned to share the Norfolk Southern’s railroad tracks. Norfolk Southern has never really agreed to share its tracks, and recently it pretty much said no. This article has more details. Similarly, ROW access issues will likely impact the Clifton Corridor rail, planned to connect the Lindbergh MARTA station to Emory University and then to the Avondale station. Rail advocates are pressuring Congress and the Biden administration to rein in the power of the railroad companies to block track sharing. A good overview of this issue is here.
Partly because of the problems with railroad ROW, and the construction cost of heavy rail transit, GDOT and MARTA are turning more to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). These are buses that have a dedicated lane alongside freeways or other roads. Sometimes this may be the best option, but Horadam points out BRT actually just creates more highways. “What we’re seeing now is that GDOT is realizing that they can’t approach highway widening with the same degree of impunity that they had previously. They are now using toll and express lanes and saying these are also transit projects because we get these networks of express buses. But ultimately the cost of the transit in these projects is pennies relative to the multi-billion dollar paving project.”
In truth, one necessary ingredient for more mass transit is more population density and a move away from single family, exclusionary zoning. But the howls of protest from neighborhoods along the east side MARTA line, where more dense zoning is currently proposed, demonstrate how hard this will be. What is needed is a move to more density, especially around existing MARTA rail stations in a way that will not encroach on the unique quality of nearby historic neighborhoods. Smart planning, design and development can accomplish this.
One underutilized mass transit solution is the much maligned MARTA bus system. It has improved a lot in recent years. With the advent of the GPS based real-time MARTA app, you can see exactly where the bus is on any route. No more wondering if you missed the bus. Generally buses now come when they are scheduled. While it is true that riding the bus often takes longer than driving, it doesn’t take much longer when you add in the issues of parking, gas stations, maintenance etc. While buses don’t go everywhere, they do go many places. Recently, MARTA has redesigned some routes and added the 800 series of smaller buses to expand service areas. More Atlantans could and should ride the buses. And we certainly have to applaud MARTA for keeping some trains and buses running for critical routes for essential workers during the pandemic.
We have other roadblocks to developing better mass transit in Atlanta. We lack a strong citizen advocacy group to push for better, and more equitable transit. Some groups, such as The Sierra Club, Georgia Conservation Voters, Partnership for Southern Equity, Georgia Stand Up and a few others, have come together around certain transit issues, most notably the Clayton and Gwinnett MARTA expansion votes. But these groups are not focused on transit as a core part of their missions. And the funding for this type of advocacy is sparse. Beltline Rail Now is a robust group, but its sole mission is to advocate for rail on the Beltline. Additionally, in-depth press coverage of transit issues is lacking. “There is a lot of metro coverage at the AJC that is strictly doing press releases,” says Horadam. “They are not doing any real investigative work and not challenging any set of assumptions from the powers that be. They just report ‘well here’s what’s happening. Here’s what the agency says is the justification for it.’ Maybe they’ll pull in one quote, or the state’s own audit findings to say that the state continues to do highway expansion at every single turn and they don’t look at alternatives properly, or at all.”
“The opportunity is for the business community and grassroots advocates to organize more coherently in advocating for transit because it’s critical to addressing our climate problems as well as continuing to have any acceptable quality of life in metro Atlanta,” says MARTA’s Kiernan.
In fact, a more expansive vision of mass transit is needed. Transit, as other policy issues, can and should be viewed through equity and anti-racist lens. This article outlines what this means in cities and provides examples from around the country. Specifically, mass transit should:
- Incorporate inclusive community engagement practices into transportation planning and decision-making processes.
- Develop a mechanism for prioritizing and evaluating transportation projects based on sustainability, accessibility, and community priorities.
- Increase funding for public transportation to provide and maintain quality and affordable transit facilities and services, especially for transit-dependent communities.
- Address our crumbling roadway infrastructure by reallocating funds from highway construction projects to maintenance and infrastructure projects that benefit disadvantaged communities.
- Support transit-oriented development and smart growth initiatives that promote community economic development and incorporate equity principles.
- Call on municipalities to adopt and implement Complete Streets policies in low-income, high-need communities.
- Redirect funds and responsibilities away from state police and toward investments in communities.
Atlanta, with its rich civil rights history and our growing, diverse population, has an opportunity, and a good foundation because of our existing transit and MARTA, to step into the future of effective and equitable mass transit for the 21st century.
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