Buckhead could have major public transit improvements on its plate if a MARTA sales tax boost is approved by voters. A new interactive website called “MARTA Menu” lets users see what they might get for the projected $2.5 billion in tax revenue.
Created by the advocacy group Citizens for Progressive Transit, “MARTA Menu,” at martamenu.com, is a map that highlights various proposed MARTA projects in Atlanta. Users can create their own map of priority projects and see the price tag add up until it hits the $2.5 billion limit.
In Buckhead, that menu includes such entrees as light rail on the BeltLine and Clifton Corridor and faster bus service on Peachtree Street.
MARTA is already funded partly by a 1 percent sales tax in DeKalb and Fulton counties that continues through the year 2057. This year, state legislation allowed city of Atlanta voters to decide on raising that sales tax by up to a half-percent, only within the city and only for MARTA projects largely within city limits.
The tax boost, which also could include another half-percent increase for road projects, could appear on the November ballot either this year or in 2017, though officials are pushing for this fall.
Atlanta City Council committees are still discussing the idea. MARTA expects a full council vote on a final project list on June 20.