‘How many more people have to die’: 2 pedestrians killed in 3 months on Peachtree

The mayor‘s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Atlanta‘s Department of Transportation said in an email that “preliminary pedestrian safety improvements are forthcoming in early July with the potential of significant enhancements as part of the Peachtree Street Safe Street Project.”

The spokesperson added that public engagement sessions will be held to gather community input into the “design of this vital corridor, prior to the start of construction.”

John Fischer, president of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association, said the two deaths are especially troubling because they both occurred along a part of Peachtree Street — between Baker and Ellis streets — that had been part of a city-sponsored pilot program aimed at slowing traffic and reducing road racing.

The Peachtree Shared Space project, as it was known, had narrowed the three-block stretch in 2021 to two lanes of vehicle traffic and created two dedicated lanes for walkers and cyclists.

But commuters and a prominent building owner protested, and in 2022, the road was converted back to four lanes, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported.

The issue of pedestrian safety dates to the 1960s, when downtown was redeveloped so commuters could enter and depart on wide roads designed for speedy access to highways. Many suburbanites who work in the city want to keep it that way.

“If that would have been in place, I seriously doubt either one of these two fatalities would have happened,” Fischer said in an interview Tuesday, referring to Peachtree Shared Space.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Fischer called on the mayor‘s office to return that stretch of Peachtree to two lanes of vehicular traffic.

Fischer also said he is frustrated that the city’s Department of Transportation is prioritizing repaving streets as part of a downtown makeover in anticipation of the World Cup coming next summer. The City Council approved $120 million in infrastructure bonds for the project last year.

The money is slated to go toward 25 miles of street resurfacing, restriping 200 intersections, installing 150 new streetlights and 14 miles of sidewalk repairs. The City Council also passed an amendment that added safety requirements to the project stipulations as part of city goals to reduce pedestrian and cyclist deaths.

Repaving downtown’s roads only entices people to drive faster, Fischer said. He added that many of the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to come to Atlanta for the international soccer tournament will be walking and also would benefit from safety enhancements.

“Ultimately, the buck stops at his desk,” Fischer said, referring to Dickens. “We‘ve had two fatalities in a span of three months. We want to put our best foot out for the visitors but also safety for the voters. He needs to pay attention to what’s going on, and he needs to solve these problems.”

The DOT spokesperson said that restriping roads improves visibility and resurfacing “significantly enhances safety by eliminating hazards like potholes and cracks, creating a smoother, more predictable driving surface.”

At a budget briefing on Tuesday, Atlanta Transportation Commissioner Solomon Caviness said his department plans to spend $3.3 million during the fiscal year that starts July 1 on Vision Zero strategies and planning, “focusing on eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2040.”

He said the plan calls for resurfacing 25 miles of downtown roadways in advance of the World Cup, and that resurfacing already has happened on Peachtree Street, between Baker and Ellis streets.

“We heard from council, and we heard from our residents and constituents that Atlanta needs smooth roads, needs new line-striping and needs to eliminate potholes,” Caviness told council members during his presentation.

At the hearing, City Council member Jason Dozier said he is concerned about whether the city’s infrastructure projects include safety measures that the council has requested. Dozier also referenced Crabtree‘s death.

“I think it’s very important that we follow back up and ensure that we‘re putting in place measures to keep people from dying,” Dozier told Caviness.

In an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Dozier said: “My frustration, and the frustration of some of my colleagues, is that the resurfacing work is being done without safety improvements being included.”

“I say do both,” said Dozier, a cyclist who was hit by a car in 2016 while riding in Grant Park and suffered a permanent shoulder injury.

At Tuesday’s budget hearing, Council member Matt Westmoreland asked Caviness for an update on the plan to add a crosswalk at 225 Peachtree St., where Sood was struck on Feb. 11. The council requested the crosswalk be installed by June 30 in a resolution adopted in March.

“Do we expect one to exist by the end of June?” Westmoreland asked.

Caviness replied that the design is being finalized and a contractor is “standing ready.”

Sood was struck while walking in a faded crosswalk that the Atlanta DOT completely removed after his death.

Credit: Puja Jabbour

Credit: Puja Jabbour

Crabtree was walking through a crosswalk when he was struck at about 6:45 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the Atlanta Police Department. But Fischer, of the downtown neighborhood association, said APD Maj. Christian Hunt told him in an email that the accident “occurred approximately 10 feet from the crosswalk.”

Police officials declined to clarify which is correct and said they could not immediately provide the AJC with the incident report because it had not been finalized.

Serna, of Propel ATL, said the question of whether Crabtree was inside or outside a crosswalk is not especially important.

“It’s not surprising when people don’t use crosswalks,” she said. “Most of the space available is focused on pushing cars through rather than facilitating natural crossing locations.”

Relatives of Crabtree declined to comment Tuesday evening. His obituary says he had lived in Wilsonville, Alabama, and worked for more than 25 years as a senior sales manager for an oil company.

The obituary added that Crabtree, who went by “TC,” was working in Atlanta when the accident occurred.

“TC was a proud Alabama football fan, an avid golfer, and a lifelong fisherman,” the obituary says. “He had a quick wit, a generous heart, and a larger-than-life presence that made everyone feel welcome. He was deeply devoted to his family and lived each day with integrity, gratitude, and love.”

The police have not announced an arrest in the case.