New SLOW DOWN Yard Signs!
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| Our SLOW DOWN yard signs are back, this time in black. The new look, which many of you helped us develop, is even more visible to drivers. Paid for by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, these yard signs are available to metro area residents at no charge. You can pick up signs at upcoming distribution events:
 Saturday, April 19,
2008
Lenox Square Mall: Earth Day festivities in the parking lot.
10:00AM to 2:00PM. MAP
Tuesday, April 22,
2008
Decatur: Oakhurst Village Earth Day celebration.
10:00AM to 2:00PM. MAP
Wednesday, April 23,
2008
Roswell
Area Park: Near the first parking lot on the left.
2:00PM to 6:00PM. MAP
Sunday, April 27,
2008
Grant Park: In the Zoo Atlanta parking area, at the traffic
circle, in front of the Cyclorama.
2:00PM to 5:00PM. MAP
You can see all these locations on one map. We encourage you to coordinate with your neighborhood association so that one person picks up signs on behalf of the community. Please spread the word by forwarding this email to others. Quantities are limited.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We need to load the signs in a car or truck, get them to distribution sites, hand them out and bring back the leftovers. You'll receive a lot of appreciation, plus a "My way or the highway" PEDS t-shirt, access to our Bushnell Radar Gun for a week and a chance to meet other people working to tame their streets. If you can help out--or if you want to coordinate a distribution day at another location--contact Michael Orta at 404-522-3747 or collaborate@peds.org.
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Wire Hunters Expose Treacherous Conditions
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 Thank you to the many volunteers who helped document and reportsome 250 loose, dangling, or otherwise hazardous utility wires to PEDS during our John Lamb Memorial Wire Hunt. Photos, descriptions, and street addresses of the dangerous wires that volunteers submitted will be compiled in a report and presented to the City of Atlanta.
The egregious hazards reveal a shocking neglect of pedestrian safety by both the utility companies and by the City of Atlanta's Public Works Department, which is responsible for monitoring sidewalks. Check out this 2-page photo collage (pdf) and you'll see we're not talking about small wires harmlessly dangling ten feet above the sidewalk. No, we're talking yards and yards of wire and cables directly obstructing the pedestrian path.
Atlanta's budget woes do not excuse its failure to monitor utility wires. If needed, the city should charge utility companies more for the sidewalks easements it provides. Inadequate inspection and regulation allow utility companies to externalize their costs on the backs of the city's pedestrians. This is not acceptable.
Congratulations to the winners of our Wire Hunt contest:
- 1st Place $200: Chester Perry (28 wires)
- 2nd Place $100: Matthew Harper (23 wires)
- 3rd Place $50: Paula Grad (21 wires)
- Random Drawing Winner $25: Mark Gayer (4 wires)
Watch The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's City Life section on April 24 for a story by John Becker on PEDS' Wire Hunt and our concern about hazardous wires that endanger pedestrians.
You can still report hazardous wires here.
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Satire Raises Awareness
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 Some are offended; others laugh aloud. By design, the dark irony of Bob
Fuller's Roadside Memorials always gets a response. Created for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Healthy Streets Campaign, this "service" targets reckless and inattentive drivers -- the
last ones who want to see a safe driving ad -- with a safety message that hits in a surprising way.
Check out the Roadside Memorials website and TV advertisement for yourself. We encourage you to use
this campaign to get people
talking about slowing down
and avoiding distractions.
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