e-newsletter header
January 2013  
In This Issue
Feb 19 Annual Meeting
Median refuge islands win!
Pedestrian fatalities rising
Feb 19 annual meeting: share your views on walking in Atlanta
Please join us on the 33rd floor of One Atlantic Center for PEDS' annual meeting.
Spectacular views -- and a great opportunity to share own views on walking in Atlanta.

We'll have a short presentation on key achievements last year and our strategies for 2013. We also want your feedback on proposed changes to the Atlanta's sidewalk repair policy.

Tues, Feb 19

6:00 to 7:30 PM 

  1201 West Peachtree St, 33rd floor
Close to Arts Center MARTA station 

Meet and share ideas with fellow advocates,
vote for board members, and enjoy great food and beverages

Free for PEDS members
$20 for non-members includes one-year free membership for first-timers
Great opportunity to introduce your friends to PEDS

RouteMatch logo
Big win for median refuge islands!
Median refuge islandMedian refuge islands are the number one safety improvement for pedestrians. Even at locations without marked crosswalks, installing refuge islands reduces the risk of pedestrian crashes by 39 percent.

When PEDS CEO Sally Flocks and Safe Routes to Transit Program Manager Andy McBurney met with Georgia Department of Transportation officials in December to encourage increased investment in refuge islands, engineers told us federal funds were rarely appropriate for low cost projects. 

Operations Engineer Kathy Zahul followed up on the meeting by asking officials at the Federal Highway Administration
whether federal funding can be used to install refuge islands on roads without sidewalks. To PEDS' delight, FHWA said yes. "This seems to give us more latitude than I initially anticipated," Zahul wrote. "GREAT news for Georgia!"

A few hours after hearing from Zahul,  Flocks made a presentation to Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner and board members focusing on the need for and benefits of refuge islands. They responded by calling these a "pragmatic solution" and and asked engineers to "err on the side of safety." 

Presentation to GDOT board members

State engineers and planners we spoke with after the meeting said they would incorporate this recommendation into the 2013 Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

Thank you for the support that enables us to help make median islands a major target for future Highway Safety Improvement Program funds.  
   
Pedestrians account for increasing share of Georgia's traffic fatalities
The worst year since 1997, 170 pedestrians in Georgia were killed in 2012. A 13 percent increase over the previous 12-year average, the fatalities provide strong evidence of Georgia's need to make pedestrian safety a major focus of the 2013 Strategic Highway Safety Plan and the updated Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

InGA pedestrian fatalities - 2000-2012 2012 pedestrians accounted for one of seven traffic fatalities in Georgia.

Due to increased use of seat belts and air bags, occupant fatalities have dropped significantly during the past decade. Pedestrians fatalities, in contrast, are rising.

PEDS is working with the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation to develop updated plans that include strong performance measures for pedestrian safety. 
ARC has created a pedestrian team that meets monthly. GDOT will hold its first statewide pedestrian team meeting in February.


Thick Logo  
   Help make metro Atlanta walkable!
      
                              
Donate!
  
PEDS is a member-based advocacy group dedicated to
making metro Atlanta safe and accessible for all pedestrians.
404-685-8722