Beltline WiFi grant cut, trail funding in jeopardy
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The $25 million grant would link the BeltLine to MARTA's Lindbergh station and a key link to North Fulton's growing trail system. Rendering: Courtesy of Atlanta Beltline Inc.
Federal officials have clawed back funding to bring WiFi to the entire Atlanta Beltline loop, project officials say, and a $25 million federal grant to build out a key trail segment in northeast Atlanta could be at risk.
Why it matters: The Beltline wouldn't be where it is today without federal funding, which has helped pay for the project's trails, brownfield cleanups, art installations and much more.
- Roughly one-third of the Beltline's revenues comes from federal, state, regional and municipal grants, according to Atlanta Beltline Inc.
- Wide-ranging and deep cuts to federal government under the Trump administration will force cities, including Atlanta, to rethink how they pay to build vital infrastructure.
Driving the news: Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO Clyde Higgs told Fulton County commissioners on Wednesday that a $9 million federal "digital equity" grant was officially canceled by federal officials the night before.
- "We thought that was going to be a game-changing opportunity, not only for just having WiFi support a lot of the schools surrounding the Atlanta BeltLine, but also the businesses," Higgs said.
- In addition to WiFi, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant was supposed to support public-safety technology, wayfinding, and digital literacy.
Zoom in: The future of a $25 million grant to fund the Northeast Trail segment linking the Beltline to the Lindbergh MARTA station is also uncertain, Higgs said.
- The 2.2-mile project includes connections to Path400, the Confluence Trail and the Peachtree Creek Greenway, further connecting the city to a growing trail system in North Fulton.
- When announced in June 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation grant was the Beltline's largest federal funding award in the project's history.
State of play: Beltline officials will continue seeking funding to keep the WiFi project on track and will ask private philanthropy for support, Higgs said.
- The organization might ask other funders to help advance money for the trail project if the $25 million grant falls through.
The bottom line: "If it were $2 million, we'd have an easy Plan B. But this is $25 million," Higgs told commissioners.
The other side: USDOT and NTIA did not immediately return Axios' request for comment.
What's next: Fulton commissioners told Higgs they would lobby federal officials on an upcoming Washington trip to advocate for reinstating or rewriting the grant criteria.