After a stunning financial turnaround and with new political support, MARTA is proposing a massive expansion of commuter rail, with rail links from Atlanta into Fulton and DeKalb counties.
"Over the next seven months, the people at MARTA will quietly button-hole local leaders and state lawmakers — top Republicans included — with the aim of building support for an $8 billion expansion of commuter rail that would transform the region," reports Jim Galloway.
Instead of the circular format of Atlanta's history ("Inside-the-Perimeter, Outside-the-Perimeter, and the rest of Georgia"), MARTA envisions a linear future for the city: "a single file of major economic development up and down what is now Georgia 400, built along a rail line that would link Alpharetta with downtown Atlanta and its airport beyond."
Galloway also notes that recent changes in the political winds at the state level could predict support for the proposal. State Republicans have begun to view the MARTA system as " an essential ingredient in the state’s official economic development kit."
Lori Geary also provides coverage on the proposal, focusing on the challenge of funding the proposal. The article supplements television coverage of the proposal on WSB-TV.
Hat tip to Tanya Snyder at Streetsblog for sharing links to the coverage on the proposal.
FULL STORY: MARTA to make an $8 billion pitch to change the face of Atlanta
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