Residents Press City for Bike-lane Maintenance and Transparency on BeltLine Rail
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Summary
At the Transportation Committee meeting, residents urged better bike-lane upkeep and condemned a reportedly secret decision to halt BeltLine rail, calling for transparency and accountability ahead of MARTA's quarterly briefing to the committee.
Residents used the Transportation Committee's public-comment period to demand action on bike-lane maintenance and transparency around BeltLine rail planning.
Andrew Francis, who said he speaks for "bike commuters and bike bus families and our kids," told the committee that the city has installed many new bike lanes but lacks a clear maintenance plan. "It's kind of embarrassing that my 7 year old has spent more time cleaning bike lanes that he rides to school every day than city employees," Francis said, and asked the council to clarify which department — DOT or Public Works — is responsible for keeping lanes swept and free of debris. He also asked the council to report whether the mini street sweeper the city purchased a year or two ago has been used and to publish a maintenance schedule.
Several speakers pressed the committee on the fate of BeltLine rail. Michael Keith told the panel he had learned of a "secret meeting that has decided that we're actually not going to be getting, BeltLine rail," and called the process "completely unacceptable," saying the decision appeared to have been taken without committee oversight. "If the people who were deciding to kill it thought it was a good idea to kill it, they would have come out and said it and they would have owned this," he said.
Christy Lenz, a Midtown resident and former neighborhood association president, urged the committee to pursue light rail to the BeltLine and to hold MARTA and city leaders accountable. She referenced the 2016 referendum meant to fund transit improvements and said: "Ten years later, not seeing the projects that we wanted actually executed" has left residents frustrated.
Chair Alex Wan acknowledged the comments and reminded the public that MARTA will present a quarterly briefing to the committee on Feb. 25, saying the committee had already begun robust discussions on the subject and would continue scrutiny at that meeting.
What happens next: MARTA's quarterly presentation to the Transportation Committee is scheduled for Feb. 25, when the committee said it expects to continue the conversation and ask for additional transparency and answers.