Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier has been hit by a car twice while bicycling through city streets. Once in 2016 riding in Grant Park and again just last week — but this time with his 4-year-old daughter, Rayna, in tow.
While returning home from the tie game between Atlanta United and Chicago Fire, the pair was struck from the side by a car making an “improper U-turn” on Peter Street SW in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, according to a police report.
Video of the incident obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows Dozier and his daughter being hurled to the ground on impact along with their electric bicycle — after the car crossed two yellow lines. They quickly made their way to the sidewalk to check for injuries.
According to the police report, the driver was issued two citations.
“The fact that we walked away after is sort of a miracle,” Dozier told the AJC.
Although shaken, Dozier hopes the startling accident doesn’t dissuade Rayna from sharing his love for cycling when she gets old enough to ride by herself.
But, like other parents who prefer alternate modes of transportation to get around the city, he must weigh the risks of navigating Atlanta’s streets that weren’t built with bikes in mind.
“I want my daughter to be a cyclist one day, regardless of what happened last week,” he said. “I hope that this incident spurs more radical transformation in making our city a more bikeable city.”
The incident comes as Atlanta’s leaders are looking to expand its popular e-bike voucher program as part of an effort to cut back on the city’s car-forward culture.
Credit: Brandon McKeown
Credit: Brandon McKeown
Legislation introduced by the City Council would dedicate additional funding to continue the program that helped more than 500 Atlantans buy e-bikes last year.
Applicants can apply for a standard or “cargo” e-bike — the latter is designed to carry additional weight and is popular among parents with young children.
Rebecca Serna, executive director of PropelATL, described being hit by a vehicle while on a bike with a child as “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
“Biking in general has so many safety benefits and health benefits, social connections,” said Serna, whose youngest child is 10 years old. “I know it’s good for my kids overall, but still in the back of your mind, there’s also that worry.”
Upon seeing the startling video of Dozier’s accident, Serna remembered having to swerve on her bike to avoid a driver making a U-turn on the same road when she was pregnant.
“This was two decades ago,” she said. “And, still, the corridor hasn’t been improved yet.”
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Safety upgrades nixed in some infrastructure projects
Jessica Estep met her husband, Johann Weber, while they were working as bicycle safety advocates. They’ve been on that case for years.
Now, Estep said, they use bikes as a primary mode of transportation to work, and to take their 5- and 7-year-old children to school or other activities around their Ormewood Park home.
“I tell everyone our electric cargo bike is kind of our minivan, it’s how we get around the city,” she said. “It’s very freeing and liberating.”
Estep said she feels safe riding with her children in areas of the city where infrastructure prioritizes cyclists. And that projects with promised upgrades like Boulevard Complete Street would be “transformative” for families like theirs.
“When the infrastructure is safe, I feel safe,” she said. “If we’re riding through the park, in a protected bike lane, on a trail, I feel very safe riding with my kids.”
Although city leadership has increased its focus on infrastructure, like protected bike lanes, many say Atlanta has a long way to go before becoming a bikeable city.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Dozier was already an outspoken advocate for dedicated pedestrian and bicycle safety upgrades after his first accident left him with permanent shoulder damage.
He told the AJC that he hopes this recent crash with his daughter increases pressure to rethink the city’s streets — particularly around Mercedes-Benz stadium, where hundreds of thousands are expected to flock for the FIFA World Cup next summer.
“If something like this could happen to a the City Council member who’s advocating every single day to make our streets safer, it can happen to anybody,” he said.
It’s just one in a string of recent examples of the dangers of navigating Atlanta’s car-crowded streets as a pedestrian or cyclist.
Recently, two pedestrian fatalities occurred just blocks from each other on Peachtree street in Midtown.
In May, 71-year-old Michael A. Crabtree was fatally struck during a hit-and-run while crossing at Peachtree and Baker streets. In February, a 67-year-old merchant, Pradeep Sood, was fatally hit on Peachtree Street while walking from the AmericasMart to Peachtree Center in a faded crosswalk.
Downtown’s streets are already plagued by congested traffic, and are only expected to get worse when Atlanta hosts eight soccer matches for the international tournament — including a coveted semifinal game.
A recently released survey from ParkMobile, a major parking ticket provider, found that one in six Americans is planning to drive to host cities, spiking the number of cars on the road.
Atlanta has plans for a massive, $120 million downtown revamp of its roadways ahead of the games. 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.
Council members amended legislation last fall that required all previously approved infrastructure projects to be updated with “Vision Zero-aligned” safety upgrades.
The Vision Zero program aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries through safer street design, speed management, and other strategies.
But during the transportation department’s annual budget briefing in May, Atlanta DOT Commissioner Solomon Caviness told the City Council members that the bond package “only covers resurfacing” and that the department doesn’t have current plans to integrate new safety measures into construction.
“When I voted yes on this $120 million it was with the understanding that it wasn’t quote ‘just for resurfacing,’” Council member Matt Westmoreland said at the time.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
And then in June, Council member Alex Wan alerted his district’s residents that the long-awaited Monroe Drive Safe Street project would move forward without the bicycle lanes for which the community advocated.
“The department has decided to proceed with the project as currently planned as the width of the corridor in various locations will not accommodate appropriate safety considerations for cyclists,” he wrote in his monthly newsletter.
Caviness did say during the May budget hearing that the city has plans to spend $3.3 million during the fiscal year that started July 1 “focusing on eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2040.”
For transit advocates like Serna, the city’s inability to institute safety upgrades into already planned projects doesn’t increase confidence ahead of major events like the World Cup.
“A lot of people who like soccer also tend to bike or scoot for transportation,” she said. “Especially when we’re going have that many people in the city, they’re not going to be driving around on our streets — and if they are, we’re going to be in a mess.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
