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Rail transit along the Atlanta Beltline – and on many streets inside the loop – could soon be an official part of the city’s comprehensive transportation plan. A recent piece in the Saporta Report has the story: Atlanta poised to adopt $3.65 billion transit plan for Beltline, Streetcar.

Atlanta’s $3.65 billion proposal for transit along the Atlanta Beltline and Atlanta Streetcar could soon be adopted into the city’s comprehensive transportation plan…the Beltline/Streetcar plan is envisioned as a 63-mile system priced at $3.65 billion, without including the cost of the existing Atlanta Streetcar system.

The financial importance of putting these rail routes on the record as part of a city plan is indisputable – doing so puts the transit part of the Beltline into the  multi-layered process for funding application; without being in this process, it couldn’t be eligible for public dollars from the federal DOT and other avenues.

But stepping back to look at the project as a whole, what is the importance of including rail transit at all in the Beltline transportation plan? Does it even need transit?

Why a pedestrian/bicycle path isn’t enough when it comes to Beltline transportation

Something that has crossed my mind before, and I’ve seen others mention it in online comments here and there, is the question of why transit is even needed on the Beltline. The northeast trail is packed on weekends with people jogging and cycling and strolling. Restaurants are doing booming business nearby and apartments are popping up like weeds. Isn’t that success enough? Can’t we just save ourselves some money and let this remain as a path and series of parks?

When I think about the issue long enough, I always come to the conclusion that the transit component is absolutely necessary and that, in the long term, we can’t let ourselves be satisfied with the Beltline’s current state a popular recreation trail (and, for some, a bicycle-commuting route). Ryan Gravel, who wrote the master’s thesis that was the foundation for the Beltline project, has a section on his blog that addresses the two main reasons that transit is an important piece of the plan.

The first reason is equity; we need to make sure that everyone can benefit from the transportation aspects of the Beltline, at all times. If it ends up as a route for only physically-able cyclists in good weather, then its service in respect to mobility is limited. Gravel writes: “Winter cold, summer humidity, pouring rain, driving snow, the dark of night, visual impairment, physical disability, physical injury, chronic pain, heavy or cumbersome loads, travel time, and long distances are all good reasons that we need transit service.”

The second is volume. Atlanta’s current population is well below its peak in 1970, and market trends, population growth, and the constant shift of jobs from rural to urban areas all point to the probability of the city’s residential base growing considerably. With so many new apartments popping up around the project, the importance of having transit to carry large numbers of people is clear. As Gravel notes, “the need for the Atlanta Beltline to accommodate even greater volumes of people will become increasingly urgent. Only transit within a dedicated right-of-way can reliably and inclusively provide this service.”