November 2020
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The PEDS Board of Directors is very pleased to announce the appointment of Larissa Bradburn to serve as our Interim Executive Director.

Larissa has a wealth of knowledge and experience with PEDS and has been instrumental to its success.
She has served as our Director of Finance and Operations since 2016 and will continue to provide her expert skills in this role, in addition to serving as our Interim Executive Director. 

Larissa has shown unwavering dedication and commitment to PEDS and its mission. 

Please join us in welcoming Larissa as our new Interim Executive Director.
Carolyn H. Rader, Chair
PEDS Board of Directors
Georgia Walks Summit - Success!

The 5th Annual Georgia Walks Summit that was held recently was a tremendous success, engaging more than 150 people! The virtual program was packed with 24 outstanding breakout sessions presented by a diverse group of 50 speakers. We’re grateful to everyone who participated.

We received terrific feedback. Just a few of the comments:

"Excellent presentations by keynote speakers on big picture issues"
"Interesting and diverse sessions"
"Great sessions and the organizers did an excellent job with the virtual format"

Everyone can now view the presentation slides HERE.

The Georgia Walks Summit is an annual statewide gathering of transportation and public health professionals, elected officials, and community advocates committed to making our streets and communities great places to walk.

Stay tuned for the 2021 Georgia Walks Summit!
Eliminate Jaywalking Laws
Charles Brown and Angie Schmitt, who both spoke at this year’s Georgia Walks Summit, describe how the enforcement of jaywalking laws is racially biased.

They have noted that despite heavy-handed and selective jaywalking enforcement over the last 10 years, pedestrian deaths in the US have increased dramatically.

In addition, they believe that now is the time to revisit or eliminate laws like jaywalking that are primarily used as a pretext to stop Black and Brown people despite rarely protecting pedestrians in the first place.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
"The core problem lies with street design, not human behavior. Tellingly, pedestrian deaths in cities around the country are concentrated on certain types of roads: wide, fast arterials."
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Pedestrians First

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has created “Pedestrians First,” a guide and set of online tools to aid urban planners, local officials, and citizens in assessing inclusivity of their cities’ transit systems as well as the walkability of their neighborhoods and streets. 
The guide includes walkability data for nearly 1,000 metropolitan areas around the world, which users can explore in an interactive map. ITDP says this is the first-ever worldwide analysis to measure walkability in cities globally. 

This data can make a city more accessible to people on foot, which is crucial to avoid surging car traffic, as well as to improve air quality, increase social inequity, and make streets safer.
Pedestrians First - guide to assessing walkability of neighborhood streets.
Giving Tuesday is coming!
Save the Date!
#GivingTuesday is December 1!

We’re proud to be a part of this global celebration of giving. 
Your gifts help make safe sidewalks and crossings a reality.