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Increasing pedestrian visibility in Georgia's safety plans
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Transportation professionals met recently to discuss updating Georgia's Strategic Highway Plan. In response to a request from PEDS President Sally Flocks, team leaders agreed to stop bundling pedestrians and bicyclists as "non-motorized" road users. Separating pedestrian safety issues from those of other modes will help ensure they receive a fair share of attention in the state plan.
Georgia has made steady  progress in reducing injuries and fatalities for motorists since 2005. Yet pedestrian fatalities during the same period increased by 12 percent. With 168 deaths in 2010, pedestrians now account for one out of seven traffic fatalities in Georgia.
PEDS is eager to increase the visibility of Georgia's serious pedestrian safety problem. To that end, Sally asked planners to include a chart showing how pedestrian fatality trends differ from those of vehicle occupants. Shining a spotlight on these contrary trends is a critical step towards achieving much-needed safety investments.
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ARC's Last Mile Connectivity program
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The Atlanta Regional Commission's 25-year transportation plan allocates $12.5 million per year to a new Last Mile Connectivity Program. ARC planners are currently meeting with local jurisdictions to identify priorities for these funds.
The last time ARC called for new projects for its short term transportation plan was in 2005. That was before national guidelines or agencies approved the use of HAWK signals or  Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons, so local jurisdictions have had little opportunity to obtain funding for these cost-effective tools. The last call was also before ARC learned that 48 percent of pedestrian crashes in the region occurred within 300 feet of transit stops.
The minimum federal funding award for a project--or for a program composed of multiple smaller projects--will be $500,000. Twenty percent of the project cost must be paid from non-federal funds.
Please contact your local transportation planners to ask them to invest your city or county's share of Last Mile Connectivity funds in projects that make it safer to cross the street near schools or transit stops.
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Developing Regional Safe Routes to Transit guidelines
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The Safe Routes to Transit Task Force PEDS created has brought together local, regional and state transportation and transit planners, engineers and others to develop regional guidelines on providing safe access to transit.
Over 20 transportation professionals attended our January meeting. All showed a strong desire to increase safety for people who walk to transit. Sally Flocks began the meeting with a short presentation showing the dependence of transit on safe pedestrian access. Following that, participants identified task force goals and.
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Best Practices Researcher Andy McBurney (l) and ARC Bike-PED Planner Byron Rushing
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At our second meeting, Andy McBurney presented slides showing the effectiveness of various safety tools. He also sought feedback from participants on barriers to increased use of HAWK signals, refuge islands and other devices.
Between meetings, Andy is preparing a toolkit on effective crossing devices, bus stop location, accessibility and other issues for use in the regional guidelines. Meanwhile, Josh Levin is conducting focus groups that will help us learn more about the needs and behavior of people who rarely speak up at transportation planning meetings.
PEDS thanks Kaiser Permanente and the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway  Safety for their support for this project.
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 Help make metro Atlanta walkable!
  
PEDS is a member-based advocacy group dedicated to making metro Atlanta safe and accessible for all pedestrians. 404-685-8722 peds.org
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