MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood gave his regularly-scheduled updates to Atlanta City Council during the Transportation Committee this week. But this one was a little spicier than most. Read on for our summary, including public comments, slides, clips, and Councilmember questions.

The MARTA 3rd Quarter Report covered topics including 

• The More MARTA audit and MARTA’s response
• Updates on More MARTA projects coming to Cleveland/Metropolitan, Campbellton, and Summerhill
• The latest MARTA ridership trends: another dip, still not recovered from covid
• A new timeline for the long-awaited Bus Network Redesign: MARTA says it will be running the new set of bus routes by the end of 2025.

Not surprisingly, Councilmembers on the Transportation Committee had many pointed questions about the audit in particular. Check out the slides for a quick overview, watch media coverage, or view the meeting recording for all the fireworks. 

Highlights

The links below tie to the point in time where each person is speaking.

Public comment

Propel ATL Executive Director Rebecca Serna on making streets safer when they get repaved (if this gives you deja vu, you’re not alone!)

Downtown resident DeJon Tebought on safe streets, World Cup

MARTA Q3 updates: CEO Collie Greenwood 

Councilmember Questions

District 4 Councilmember Jason Dozier asked how we can get more bus stop shelters and benches, how the bus network redesign could impact those amenities already in place, MARTA station repairs leading up to the World Cup, and whether the arterial rapid transit project planned for Metropolitan/Cleveland could be upgraded to the full bus rapid transit treatment. (Bus Rapid Transit includes lanes only for buses and stations with platforms that are function like mini train stations).

District 12 Councilmember Antonio Lewis called for South Atlanta High School to have the same quality of bus stop amenities as other high schools in Atlanta like Midtown. He also asked what’s holding up the Cleveland/Metropolitan project. 

District 11 Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet pointed out that people keep moving to Atlanta and as we grow, the same transportation system doesn’t cut it. She emphasized the benefits of better transit. She then shared a concern about MARTA’s current plans not to protect the bike lane on its Campbellton Road project. CEO Greenwood promised to get input from ATLDOT and the bike community.

District 6 Councilmember Alex Wan asked about the start date for service on the Clifton Rapid project (December 2028 - note: this is two years before Campbellton’s projected start date in 2030). 

Council President Doug Shipman asked about options for the Five Points MARTA station, then did a deep dive on the More MARTA audit. He also asked about the Streetcar East project and reports of pods being piloted to take people from the airport to a College Park convention center.