Mayor Reed: BeltLine transit should be funded with up to $4 billion in public private partnership

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by bu2

Rail on the beltline has nothing to do with transportation. Its another project to try to steer development to certain areas.

What's run with the Beltline just being a huge linear park?

I take it that you meant to say what is WRONG with the Beltline just being a huge linear park....

Because the whole original idea was to take unused rail lines that encircled the core of Atlanta and transform them into a circular transit line. The parks have always been the icing. The transit is and always has been the cake. The transit will transform the city as a whole. The parks will just be parks. Nice, but just that: nice. Not transforming of an entire city core.

[Ant131531]

Clearly, these 'parks' have already started transforming certain neighborhoods like O4W near PCM and Inman Park. That's without transit...

[arjay57]

Public private partnerships are really the only way to raise capital for major infrastructure projects these days. People are maxed out on taxes and state and federal governments are tapped out as well.

[gerrythesnake]

Outside of the obvious routes what additional routes should the city look into?

[Cameron H]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Public private partnerships are really the only way to raise capital for major infrastructure projects these days. People are maxed out on taxes and state and federal governments are tapped out as well.

Well, now, how does that work? The way this would typically work is that the project would get a large up-front injection of private capital to construct the asset (in this case, Belt Line transit), and then would pay it back through some combination of direct payments over very long terms and of course signing over the revenues and rights to operate the asset to the private consortium.

Whether you're paying back municipal bonds or paying back the investment consortium, you're still paying. Now, traditional public financing for something this huge may simply be impossible, and P3 may be your only option if you want to assume an obligation on such a massive scale. But you shouldn't imagine that you're getting anything for free. Private direct investment on these projects is typically quite small, as far as I'm aware. Taxpayers and users still have to pay for it.

What happens if the Belt Line Consortium goes bankrupt? Does the CoA just let it be liquidated? Maybe a bailout?

To be clear, I'm a big fan of the Belt Line. I hope it happens. But there almost seems to be a perception that P3 means the private sector pays for it and the taxpayer is off the hook.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

Clearly, these 'parks' have already started transforming certain neighborhoods like O4W near PCM and Inman Park. That's without transit...

Parks transform neighborhoods. This transit project will transform the city.

[Mutiny77]

I'm glad Mayor Reed is making this a priority!