In 2016, voters in the city of Atlanta were asked to take a leap of faith — to increase the city’s sales tax by a half-penny for over 40 years to fund expanded MARTA transit service. Six years later, none of the new transit lines are open. Inflation, escalating costs, and unplanned delays mean MARTA will be unable to deliver the More MARTA program as promised. On March 1st, MARTA shared a list of nine projects it plans to keep advancing while pressing pause on the other projects. A critical voice is missing from these conversations — the taxpayers who made this project possible.
We co-wrote an op-ed published in the AJC on Feb 4, 2023. In it, we called for MARTA to provide a comprehensive review of each project’s costs and benefits and host robust public engagement meetings throughout the city of Atlanta to get public feedback on the proposed revision of the More MARTA list. At the February 9th MARTA Board meeting, we provided public comment to the board echoing our concerns.
More MARTA represents a once-in-a-generation investment in transit and major changes to the projects must involve substantive community engagement.
Read more
Our opinion: People need input on MARTA’s hard choices on transit by Rebecca Serna and Brian Gist | AJC
More MARTA media coverage:
- MARTA unveils revised Atlanta expansion plan | AJC
- Some projects on track; others delayed indefinitely | AJC
Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee meeting March 1:
- MARTA's slidedeck presentation
- YouTube meeting videos 1 & 2