PEDS Blog: November, 2009

On November 10, PEDS presented Golden Shoe Awards to people, projects and places that have contributed significantly this year to making metro Atlanta communities more walkable. See photos here.

These awardees offer hope that the region will become safer and more inviting for pedestrians. Last Monday, two national organizations released a report ranking metro Atlanta the 10th most dangerous place in the country for pedestrians (details here). PEDS thanks the winners for all they’re doing to make metro Atlanta more walkable.

2009 GOLDEN SHOE AWARDEES:

Pedestrian-friendly Development: Selig Enterprises and Daniel Corporation for the 1010 Building, a high-density, mixed-use development that is transforming an entire block of Peachtree Street in Midtown into a magnet for pedestrians.

Pedestrian-friendly Road Diet: Midtown Alliance for eliminating dangerous right turn lanes and converting two lanes of Peachtree Street in Midtown to parking spaces, median refuge islands and an inviting piazza near Colony Square and the Woodruff Arts Center as a gathering place for people on foot.

Pedestrian-friendly Public Engagement: City of Atlanta and Glatting Jackson for the Connect Atlanta Plan’s public engagement process, which educated Atlantans about the contributions short blocks and a well-connected street grid make to creating truly walkable communities.

Pedestrian-friendly Traffic Operations: City of Suwanee for installing Georgia’s first HAWK signal, an innovative tool for creating safer street crossings at locations where traditional traffic signals are not warranted.

Pedestrian-friendly Enforcement: Georgia State University Police, for addressing risks created by people who talk on cell phones or text while driving. GSU police issued 100 “failure to show due care” citations to motorists using cell phones while violating crosswalk or other laws.

Pedestrian-friendly Activism: Jim Durrett whose leadership at the Livable Communities Coalition and the Urban Land Institute created thriving regional organizations that encourage dense, pedestrian-friendly development and transportation investments linked to land use.

Pedestrian-friendly Journalism: Writer John Becker, whose Take to Task columns in the AJC, are bringing attention to perils for pedestrians caused by broken infrastructure and for his persistent efforts to hold government officials accountable for addressing hazards.

Funding Pedestrian-friendly Education: The Buckhead Coalition, for offering to pay 75 percent of the cost of speed radar signs in Buckhead neighborhoods. By providing instant feedback on driving speed, radar signs encourage motorists to slow down.

Dangerous by Design (PDF), a report released last week by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Group, ranked Atlanta as the nation’s 10th most dangerous large metropolitan area.

PEDS isn’t surprised. In the region’s 5 core counties:

• 3 pedestrians are struck by drivers every day.
• 60 pedestrians were killed and more than 1,000 were injured in 2008.
• Safe crossings are few and far between on high speed, multi-lane streets.

Metro Atlanta ranks poorly because our transportation agencies don’t invest enough in sidewalks and safe crossings. Pedestrians account for 9.7 percent of all traffic deaths in Georgia. Yet only 1.7 percent of Georgia’s federal transportation funds are used for pedestrian facilities.

PEDS partnered with the Livable Communities Coalition to release the report to local media. Watch the CBS News Video.

Metro Atlanta’s poor ranking is a call to action. Transportation agencies must:

1. retrofit multi-lane roads with sidewalks, safe and convenient crossings and infrastructure that discourages speeding.
2. commit a fair share of transportation funding – at least 9.7 percent – to projects that support pedestrian safety.
3. adopt “complete streets” policies to ensure future transportation investments safely accommodate all transportation users.