Metro Atlanta 10th Worst for Pedestrians

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.