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Speak Up for Pedestrian-Friendly Transportation
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BELTLINE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY
MARTA and Atlanta Beltline,
Inc. are conducting an Environmental Impact Study that will
examine the impacts of building transit and trail facilities along the
22-mile Beltline Corridor and determine the precise location where these will be located. "Scoping Meetings" scheduled for August 19 and August 21 provide a great opportunity for you to help ensure safe and convenient pedestrian access to and along the proposed trail and transit line. View meeting schedule (PDF).
CONNECT ATLANTA
Connect Atlanta, the City's first comprehensive transportation plan, is shaping up to be an extremely visionary and pedestrian-friendly plan. Thanks to the generous support of our members and donors, we've provided input at committee meeting after committee meeting. And with your continued support, PEDS will do all it can to ensure the plan gets approved, funded, and implemented.
Meanwhile, we encourage you to help refine the plan by participating in the last round of public meetings, which are scheduled for September 8-18. View meeting schedule (PDF).
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| Filling Up on Crosswalk Law Awareness |
 During the final months of summer, PEDS is putting safety messages in
the hands of drivers, literally. A unique educational campaign
we launched last week uses two ads (ad 1, ad 2) that appear on gas pump handles at 40 metro Atlanta gas stations. Drivers filling their tanks can't help but see these ads reminding them of their responsibilities to pedestrians.
The message is simple: PEDESTRIAN + CROSSWALK = STOP. The ads target two of the most common driver violations:
driving past a pedestrian in a crosswalk and turning into a
crosswalk when a pedestrian is in it.
PEDS thanks the Governor's Office of Highway Safety for funding this campaign. Next time you need gas, check out the ads at the gas stations on this map. |
Ticketing Reinforces Educational Campaign
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 Ticketing violators gets drivers to take crosswalk laws seriously. With our help, Gwinnett County held its first crosswalk sting earlier this year, with 62 drivers cited for failing to stop for an undercover officer using the crosswalk.
In the City of Atlanta during the past 12 months, five police departments -- Atlanta, Georgia State University, MARTA, Fulton County and Georgia State Patrol -- issued 478 tickets to drivers who failed to stop for pedestrians.
Drivers ticketed for failing to stop for pedestrians get far more than a slap on the wrist. According to Atlanta Municipal Court records, the average fine paid by
crosswalk-violating drivers in Atlanta was $390. Contrary to rumor, judges dismiss few of the cases that are contested in court. Eighty percent of drivers ticketed for crosswalk law
violations paid a steep fine. Right on!
Help spread the word: cops in metro Atlanta's core counties are cracking down on crosswalk violators. Pedestrian + Crosswalk = STOP.
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Membership Matters
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Not yet a member of PEDS? Join today
and add your voice to the hundreds of local pedestrians who already
look to PEDS to protect their rights and promote their dreams of making
communities in metro Atlanta safer and more enjoyable places to walk.
More than ever, this is a time when people who share our commitment to pedestrian safety and access need to stand together. The City of Atlanta's pedestrian-friendly Connect Atlanta Plan clashes with priorities adopted by regional and state agencies -- and strong support from PEDS will be needed to help prevent the state's preference for high speed, long distance travel win out over pedestrian's need for better connectivity and safer vehicle speeds. That is why I'm asking you to take the important step of becoming a full-fledged member of PEDS right now.
Thanks to the support of our members and donors, we've prompted pedestrian-friendly policy changes at local, regional, and
state levels, including the use of red light cameras, high-visibility
crosswalks, and in-street crosswalk signs. But we need your help to keep the momentum going!
Financial support from our members is what enables us to provide a voice for pedestrians at planning meetings, work with traffic engineers to eliminate hazards, and hold government officials accountable. If you're not yet a member, join now!
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Radar Gun Available to Member Neighborhoods
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a speeding problem where you live? Prove it! Neighborhood organizations that are
members of PEDS can borrow our Bushnell Speedster radar gun for a
week at no charge. Neighborhood Association membership is just $50. Contact Brenda Young at 404-522-3747 or walker@peds.org to reserve the radar gun.
Documenting vehicle speed can help your neighborhood justify the need for
police enforcement or traffic calming. Pointing the radar gun toward oncoming traffic also serves as a great speed deterrent, as drivers realize their velocity is being recorded. Check out this CNN video clip about an 11-year-old in Kentucky who uses his own HotWheels radar gun to slow down drivers. |
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