Atlanta City Council Unanimously VOTES to move Beltline Rail Forward, Passing Resolution Affirming Atlanta City Council’s Commitment to Building All 22-Miles of Light Rail Transit
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
ATLANTA, GA- On Monday, September 21st, the Atlanta City Council unanimously passed Resolution 26-R-3999, authored by Councilmember Kelsea Bond (they/them), affirming the city council’s commitment to building all 22 miles of light rail transit across the Atlanta Beltline corridor and calling for a comprehensive funding and implementation plan for pursuing Beltline Rail by January 26, 2027.
The unanimous vote is a major milestone for public transit expansion in Atlanta and marks a significant step towards prioritizing and advancing the full implementation of Beltline Rail. This progress is the result of years of sustained grassroots efforts by community advocates, environmental leaders, transit organizers, and residents who have continued to hold city leaders accountable for advancing a project that Atlanta voters approved and have helped fund through the More MARTA half-penny sales tax for nearly a decade.
At Monday’s full council hearing, community advocates filled approximately half of the Council Chamber wearing Blue in support of the resolution. More than two hours of public comment followed, with the overwhelming majority of speakers expressing support for the resolution. Speakers emphasized the urgent need to advance Beltline rail, which could play a critical role in connecting communities, climate sustainability, and bridging the gap between transit, affordability, and opportunity.
Earlier on Monday, Councilmember Kelsea Bond joined community advocates and environmental justice leaders for a press conference outside of Atlanta City Hall. The video for the full press conference can be found [here].
Councilmember Kelsea Bond started the press conference by explaining, “Atlanta voters overwhelmingly approved a half-penny sales tax to fund MARTA expansion, and yet, to this day, Atlanta residents have not seen a return on that investment. Let’s take the future of Atlanta back into the people’s hands. We deserve public transit and dense, truly affordable housing in neighborhoods across the city. We deserve walkability, mobility, and connectivity from Old Fourth Ward to West End. We deserve a BeltLine that belongs to everyone, not just the wealthy individuals tied to Ponce City Market or Portman Holdings. We deserve a city that works for the 99% and the willpower to carry out promises that we have made to voters.”
At 05:11, Cristy Lenz, the director of Beltline Rail Now, explains, “We are here today to celebrate that we are on the cusp of a new day for all 22 miles of Beltline Rail. A move that will forever transform Atlanta into a city of the future where everyone can get where they need to go regardless of age, income, geography, or ability. Three years ago in March we gathered here on these same city hall steps as the Mayor announced his intention to pause Beltline Rail. But you didn’t give up.”
At 8:48, Patrick King II, Georgia Policy Advocate at NRDC, explains, “Atlanta has made significant commitments to expanding transit and mobility, and residents deserve to see those commitments translated into projects that actually get built. Council Member Kelsea Bond’s resolution reaffirms the vision of light rail along the full 22-mile Beltline corridor while calling for greater transparency and accountability around implementation. At a time when public confidence in our institutions is strained, delivering on commitments like this can help rebuild trust while giving Atlantans more affordable, meaningful transportation options.”
At 13:37, Mathewos Samson, the Democratic nominee for Georgia State House District 58, explains, “Not only is it incredibly important that we are committing to build the single most transformative public transit project in recent history in Atlanta, but that it’s a project that will finally reconnect and rebuild connections between neighborhoods that were deliberately sabotaged by redlining, by bulldozing and dividing neighborhoods through highway construction. Since its inception, the Beltline has been a park. The Beltline has been a destination. It has been a luxury walking path for only the wealthy and able-bodied to enjoy. That ends with building the rail, and with building dense social and public housing along it that working-class Atlantans can actually afford to live in.”
Since Councilmember Bond introduced the resolution earlier this month, it has evolved to include twelve co-signers and advanced through both assigned committees, receiving unanimous support from the Community Development/Human Services Committee and a supermajority vote in the Transportation Committee, with five of six councilmembers voting yes and one abstaining. On Monday, all 14 members present at the full council hearing voted in favor of the resolution. Councilmember Alex Wan expressed the wishes of Councilmember Thomas Worthy, a co-signer of the resolution who was absent for the hearing, to have also voted yes if they had been present.
The resolution will go into effect on Wednesday, September 30th unless signed onto legislation earlier by the Mayor. It would require the Atlanta Mayor’s Office, in coordination with MARTA, the Beltline Inc., and relevant City departments, to collaborate to present an implementation path, funding strategy, and timeline to construct Beltline Rail by January 26, 2026.
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