PEDS Blog: March, 2010

GOOD URBANISM 101:
Lessons for Designing Cities
Tuesday and Thursday evenings, April 15-May 4, 2010
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Good Urbanism 101 is a six-class course focusing on quality urban design. It is sponsored by the Georgia Conservancy. Learn about the history, principles, and current practices of urban design, including an emphasis on walkability, integration of alternative transportation options, sustainability, and the relationship between urban infrastructure and the urban experience.

Who should attend?
Anyone interested in planning, designing and building a better Atlanta – neighborhood residents, government officials, engineers, non-profit advocacy and advisory groups, architects, landscape architects, planners, attorneys, financial professionals, developers, and real estate brokers.

Register Now! – Space is Limited (click here for registration information)

Congratulations Lyubov Zuyeva, whose participation in PEDS hazardous wire hunt landed her a $75 gift certificate to Phidippides shoe store yesterday in our first of two random prize drawings. Lyubov is a PEDS member who grew up in Novgorod, Russia and now serves as a senior planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Lyubov’s not Irish, but St. Patrick’s Day was her lucky day.

We encourage everyone to keep reporting loose wires to PEDS.  Keep your eyes out for utility wires, telephone lines and metal cables in the sidewalks area, and report them to PEDS.  Our next prize drawing will be March 31.

Here’s a sample of photos submitted with recent wire reports.

This Wire Hunt includes Alpharetta, Atlanta, Conyers, Decatur, Dunwoody, Marietta, Newnan, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and unincorporated Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Report hazardous wires to PEDS in March and you might win a prize.

Wire Hunt details here. Questions? Contact Jo Ann Zyla at 404-522-3747.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood issued a new policy statement on March 16th that calls for full inclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists in transportation projects, with particular attention paid to transit riders and people of all ages and levels of mobility. Blogging, Secretary LaHood wrote: “This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”

Key recommendations for state DOTs and communities include:

• Ray LahoodConsider walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes;
• Ensure convenient choices for people of all ages and abilities;
• Go beyond minimum design standards;
• Integrate bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on new, rehabilitated, and limited-access bridges;
• Collect data on walking and biking trips;
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling and track them over time;
• Maintain sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are maintained, and
• Improve non-motorized facilities during maintenance projects.

The new USDOT policy gives PEDS what we need to prompt pedestrian-friendly policy change in metro Atlanta. The new policies are especially relevant to our efforts to promote better sidewalk maintenance and safer street crossings at bus stops. The National Complete Streets Coalition calls the new federal policy a full embrace of Complete Streets principles.

(Consider submitting this article to your community newsletter!)

Finally after an unseasonably cold, rainy winter our beautiful trees, bushes, flowers and shrubs are beginning to flourish! Please check to see if spring has sprung into the pedestrian path. Do you know, as a property owner you are responsible for trimming trees or vegetation along the sidewalk in front of your house?

Sidewalks should be accessible to all people, including wheelchair users and the visually impaired. The American’s with Disabilities Act says the clear zone must be at least 36 inches wide and 80 inches high. No bushes, flowers or grasses should protrude into the sidewalk area. Please make way for walkers by trimming your hedges and tree branches.

If the vegetation is in the public right of way (the grassy strip between the street and the sidewalk) and too big for you to handle, you may need to contact your local public works office. If the overgrown sidewalk belongs to a neighbor, start by politely asking the property owners to trim their plants so pedestrians can safely use the sidewalk. If the vegetation is on land owned by an absentee landlord or a government agency, such as a park or transit station, use PEDS’ hazard reporting tool to report it.

Walking through the neighborhood is a great way to enjoy the greening and flowering of spring. But it’s no fun if you’re ducking and side-stepping to avoid vegetation. So please, remember to make way for walkers by keeping your sidewalk area clear.  Thanks!

Concerned citizen Vernelle Hall called PEDS to tell us about her frustrating experience with the utility companies.  Here’s her story.

Ms. Hall found a utility wire hanging down in her northwest Atlanta neighborhood.  So Ms. Hall contacted Georgia Power about the issue, but when Georgia Power’s guys came out they claimed they couldn’t do anything because the dangling wire is a cable line belonging to Comcast Cable.

So Ms. Hall called out Comcast for a visit. But the Comcast repairmen said they couldn’t touch the wire because it’s on Georgia Power’s pole.  It’s a classic case of passing the buck.

PEDS has sent letters to local government agencies reminding them that, ultimately, local governments are responsible for making utility companies clean up their tangled mess. Each jurisdictions has a franchise agreement with utility companies that should include provisions for penalties and fines. No more pointing fingers. It’s time our local governments hold utilities accountable for their loose wires.

If you notice a wire or cable in the pedestrian path, report it online.

You could win a prize by reporting hazardous wires.  Utility wires, telephone lines or metal cables across the sidewalks can trip people up and cause serious injury. Help PEDS untangle our sidewalks. The more wires you report in March, the more chances you have to win! Full details here.

How to Win

1. Find and record the location of hazardous wires (telephone lines, cables or other utility wires) in the sidewalk zone. Take photos if possible. Use our printable form to make reporting easy.
2. Use PEDS’ online hazard reporting tool to submit your wire reports and photos.
3. Cross your fingers.