The Politics of the Status Quo

So meanwhile, what about the Beltline, Atlanta's visionary project of 22 miles of new transit, trails and greenspace? Tonight the Advisory Committee held its monthly meeting, and I'm sorry to report that it's still in the planning stage, with no end of planning in sight.

I got involved in this project in a citizens' participation role back in 2005, when planning already seemed to be fairly far along. By 2007, the Feasibility Plan, Redevelopment Plan and Five-Year Work Plan were completed, and in addition to the Advisory Committee, I also joined the Steering Committee for my local Sub-Area Master Plan. The plans for the first five of ten sub-areas were supposed to be completed that year (2007), with the remainder completed the following year (2008), but the first round wasn't completed until early this year and the second round hasn't even started yet. And now the Environmental Impact Study is just beginning, and showing no signs of moving along any more rapidly than the other plans.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, the planning is being done mostly by the City of Atlanta Planning Department, and when they're done planning, what will they have left to do to justify their jobs? It seems that for them, this on-going planning is a sort of annuity, something they can rely upon year after year for their livelihood. The last thing they're ever going to want to do is actually finish their planning and get on with the actual implementation.

The CEO of the Beltline project recently resigned, and this year the mayor and the City Council are up for re-election. Perhaps some change and new blood are exactly what this potentially transformative project needs.