Creating streets for people, sidewalk repairs

August 2015

In This Issue

Save the date: Jan 26, 2016

Think big, and save the date: January 26, 2016

Wow! Nearly 20 years have passed since PEDS was founded in 1996. In J anua ry, we'll stand back to celebrate long-term progress that has transformed the Atlanta region into a place that values walking.

The PEDS is 20! Celebration will take the place of the Golden Shoe A wards Celebration we've held each fall to recognize achievements made during the past year.

Please save the date: January 26 at 6 PM at the Wrecking Bar at 292 Moreland Avenue, NE in Atlanta. Stay tuned for details.

Creating streets for people:

Identify problems, recommend solutions and speak up

Picture this: You've just gotten off a bus at Boulevard and Morgan and need to get to the park on the other side of the street. You look across Boulevard. Four traffic lanes, two on-street parking lanes and people driving over 40 miles per hour. The closest traffic signal is over 500 feet away. In 2010 a 5-year-old boy was tragically struck and killed here.

Are you comfortable stepping out into the street, knowing that your only protections are warning signs and a faded crosswalk?

Clayton County bus route that lacks sidewalks and safe crossings

K irsten Cook documents lack of sidewalks and safe crossings along a high speed, multi-lane bus route

Designing streets for people

Fortunately, Atlanta's new infrastructure maintenance bonds provi de resources to transform roads like this into ones that are safer for people who use transit, ride bicycles or walk.

To ensure that pedestrian-safety solutions will not be an afterthought in upcoming projects, Ian Sansom and Kirsten Cook have inventoried conditions on Boulevard, Howell Mill, Campbellton and other roads.

Transportation professionals are grateful for data and recommendations we've provided. Many projects are underfunded -- so continued vigilance is essential.

Moving from recommendations to reality

City officials will begin holding public meetings about projects soon. By attending meetings and voicing your support, you can help turn recommendations into reality. We'll keep you posted on events and other opportunities where your voice matters.

Step by step to safe sidewalks in Atlanta:

Set priorities, fund repairs and report on progress

In July Atlanta City Council members approved a sidewalk ordinance that takes positive steps forward but falls far short of needs. Our foot is in the door. But to bring sufficient funding and transparency, much work remains.

Establish priorities

The ordinance requires Public Works to implement repairs "upon a prioritized basis." It doesn't, however, define what factors Public Works should us e to set priorities.

The current first-come, first-served system mus Broken sidewalk - sinkhole

t be re placed by one that considers multiple factors. How bad is the problem? Is the sidewalk located where it's especially dangerous to walk in the road? How important is the sidewalk to people who walk? Is it near a school, park or on a transit route? And what about demographics? Do many seniors, children, people who don't own cars or have disabilities want to walk here?

Researchers at Georgia Tech have gathered data that answers these questions. The next step: helping Public Works incorporate their findings into an equitable prioritization system.

Show us the money

The new ordinance authorizes Public Works to use public funds to pay for repairs, if funding is available.

Yet to our dismay, the ordinance maintains Public Works' authority to bill p roperty owners for repairs to s idewalks adjacent to their property. Public Works is unlikely to exercise this authority, so we don't expect it to prompt sidewalk repairs. Instead, continuing to authorize Public Works to bill property owners may keep city officials comfortable approving budgets that grossly underfund sidewalk repairs.

The ordinance doesn't set a minimum that the city must allocate to sidewalk repairs each year. Given that, we will continue to push for a fair share of funding for sidewalk repairs.

Increase transparency

The ordinance also requires Public Works to make quarterly reports on how much it spent on sidewalk repairs -- and where these were made.

This a good st ep forward, but far more is needed. We also need current data on the cost of repairs Public Works lacks funding to address. How many letters did it send asking property owners to pay for re pairs to adjacent sidewalks? And what did Public Works do if the property owner was unwilling to pay to repair the sidewalk?

By calculating and reporting this information, Public Works will enable taxpayers and city officials to know how well the current system works. What share of the estimated need is the city actually addressing?

With your continued support, we will inspire Atlanta officials to answer these questions.

Schools in. And with your help, speeding is o ut.

Kids are back i

n school, which makes this an especially important time to remind drivers to slow down. Yard signs are available at Abbadabba's shoe stores i n Litt le Five Points, Buckhead, East Cobb and Kennesaw. Thank you for helping make the Atlanta region a safer place to walk.

Your support makes advocacy happen.