FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
May 10, 2024
MARTA BOARD ADOPTS
AMENDMENT TO RAPID SOUTHLAKE ALIGNMENT
Amended Locally Preferred
Alternative Features Connection to Airport
ATLANTA - The
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) board of directors has
adopted an amended locally preferred alternative (LPA) for Rapid Southlake
to include a direct connection to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport, the state’s largest employer and the world’s busiest airport.
MARTA Rapid
is the Authority’s bus rapid transit system, the first in the region, and is
characterized by high-capacity buses running in dedicated right-of-way and
mixed traffic lanes on existing roads. The approximately 15-mile Rapid
Southlake route will connect to Southlake Mall, the Shops of Riverdale,
Southern Regional Medical Center, and Airport Station,
and has rail-like stations that will feature off board fare payment, seating,
and digital signage.
“We are thrilled
by the progress of Rapid Southlake, a dynamic project that will provide
generational impacts for those living, working, or traveling in Clayton
County,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood. “Additionally, we
see this direct connection to the airport’s Domestic Terminal as an opportunity
to provide improved access to thousands of airport-related jobs and strengthen the
project’s federal funding competitiveness.”
With the adoption
of this amended LPA, the project now advances to the 30 percent design phase
and submission of updated environmental studies. MARTA will submit an
application for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investments Grants
(CIG) Small Starts funding this summer.
To learn
more about MARTA’s Rapid Southlake project and to join the project’s
mailing list, visit www.connectclayton.com/southlake-bus-rapid-transit.
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