Atlanta mayoral candidates debate Beltline ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - City Council member and candidate Mary Norwood told the some 250 people at the event that the project's future is all about the nuts and bolts of planning the line:

"I intend to have a commissioner of planning and development to work with the Beltline and take the politics out, and get the design right, so that what you want to do every say is say, 'Now, what part of the Beltline do I want to go to today?'"

The rail line is to encircle Atlanta with 22-miles of track, mixed-use development, parks and hiking trails.

Both State Senator Kasim Reed and businessman Jesse Spikes focused on the opportunities they hoped to see the project bring Atlanta's youth.

City Council President Lisa Borders, however, sounding a note of caution, said getting funding for the estimated $2.8 billion project won't be easy:

"...looking at the economy that we have today, looking at the floods we had in the last two weeks, and all the federal focus that's being put on that, I don't know that Atlanta is right in line, strategically, to get ready to put transit on the table."

The Beltiine Network and other groups supporting the 25-year, light-rail project hosted the forum. © Copyright 2012, WABE