Yesterday, our neighbors in Gwinnett County again turned their backs on MARTA. That’s disappointing to those of us who believe transit is vital to keeping metro Atlanta moving -- but it’s also a chance to turn our attention back to communities that are already on board.

Nearly three years ago, Atlanta residents voted to raise their own taxes for more transit, including light rail to link dozens of neighborhoods along the Atlanta BeltLine. BeltLine Rail Now urges MARTA, the city of Atlanta and other participating governments to speed up plans to build transit for the people who have already proven they support it.

It's time to start work on rail projects like the BeltLine, where trains run separated from traffic.

It’s time to start building new stations to connect those projects to today’s MARTA lines.

And it’s time to find new ways to link other MARTA communities to the metro core.

A system that gets more people to more destinations more quickly will make others more likely to understand why they should be to be part of it. New projects should be designed so that when other communities decide to join, they can tie into the system easily. But there’s no more time to wait.

“New people are already pouring into Atlanta, and we need a way to get around town that doesn’t leave us wasting valuable time in gridlock,” BeltLine Rail Now co-founder Cathy Woolard said. “Let’s build transit that will get people moving and show others why they want to be part of it.”

Last year, your voices helped preserve Ryan Gravel’s vision of the BeltLine as a transformative transit project. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, too.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at our next BeltLine Rail Now meeting on Sunday, March 31st!

- BRN