Amtrak, GDOT, Beltline: We can work it out?
February 2, 2009 at 7:32 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsYou know that whole Beltline dispute? The one in which the Georgia Department of Transportation and Amtrak basically told Beltline officials that they’d have to make room in Northeast Atlanta for a commuter rail line? Officials from the agencies and departments involved met this morning and had what I’m sure was a very interesting sitdown. They’ve requested the federal government give them 30 days so they can try and resolve the dispute as a group.
So sayeth a joint statement from the agencies:
Atlanta – A meeting of officials from key organizations including the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Beltline, Inc., Amtrak, the Atlanta Regional Commission, MARTA and the Transit Implementation Board along with staff from Congressman John Lewis’ office was held today to discuss the critical issue regarding plans for the Northeast Beltline Corridor (“Decatur Street Belt”) and future options for multi-modal passenger terminals (MMPT).
The overarching goal of the meeting was to share information, communicate directly, discuss alternatives and seek out viable solutions for an amicable outcome that is in the best interest of our customers. To that end, the Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta Beltline Inc./ Atlanta Development Authority, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern have agreed to formally request that the Surface Transportation Board issue a 30 day stay of their proceedings in this matter in order to work towards a common solution that accommodates the Beltline vision, intercity and high speed rail in the region.
During this time, a technical team will work to investigate the potential alternatives. An Executive Team will also work to develop a final agreement between all of the parties.
All of the organizations involved acknowledged the importance of the Beltline project to the City of Atlanta and the region. Each recognized the common goal to provide much needed regional transportation options for the residents of and visitors to the City of Atlanta which have a profound effect on the economic future for the entire state of Georgia.
After the jump, exclusive video of Beltline officials confronting the GDOT Beast about its plans.
(Hat tip to Nick Douglas)
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
What do you expect? You got everyone SO heated up over this issue with your relentless coverage!
But seriously, very nice work covering this. It’ll be interested to see what they come up with since neither party seems to think the other’s options are all that possible.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Video is funny and apt. But can we also infer that the writer has a bit of the Ren Fair in his closet?
February 4th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
For two seasons, I was the Black Knight in the jousting contests. Can’t really recall what happened. As they say, “If you can remember the Renaissance Fair, you weren’t really there.”