The older adult population in metro Atlanta is expanding quickly. Thanks to medical advances, more and more people are living into their 80s or 90s. Most of us will lose our ability to drive long before we lose our ability to walk.
For me, it happened early. I moved to Atlanta in 1977. A year later, my doctor told me I had epilepsy and asked me to quit driving. I was fortunate to live in Midtown, where sidewalks, well-connected streets and frequent traffic signals have enabled me to walk to work, transit or to buy groceries.
Most people in the region are not so lucky. Due to lack of sidewalks and safe crossings on suburban transit routes, many seniors are likely to become homebound, dependent on others for rides to secure even their most basic needs.
Pedestrian facilities are often seen as a local issue. The proposed project list adopted by the regional roundtable, for example, dedicates just one-third of 1 percent of the regional funds to pedestrian and bicycle projects.
Yet the Atlanta Regional Commission’s 2010 on-board transit survey confirmed that nearly three-fourths of transit trips begin with walking trips. Research by the ARC also suggests that people who walk to transit are among the region’s most vulnerable road users. From 2004 to 2008, one-fourth of all pedestrian crashes occurred within 100 feet of transit stops.
For people on foot, the combination of wide roads, infrequent crosswalks, no pedestrian walkways and high speeds often has tragic outcomes. On New Year’s Day, for example, a boy was struck and killed while trying to cross five-lane Flat Shoals Road with his stepfather.
Each year in metro Atlanta, vehicle-pedestrian crashes result in about 1,000 injuries and 70 fatalities. In 2009, pedestrians accounted for one of five traffic fatalities in the 10-county region.
Despite the high number of fatalities and the dependence of transit on safe walking conditions, few public resources have been used to retrofit dangerous roads with pedestrian safety improvements. On much of Buford Highway, the deadliest road in Georgia for pedestrians, traffic signals and crosswalks are few and far between and sidewalks are missing from both sides of the street.
In 1995, surgeons removed a brain tumor that had been responsible for most of my seizures. Eager to help others who don’t drive regain their independence, I created PEDS, an advocacy group dedicated to making the region safe and accessible for all pedestrians.
By collaborating with government agencies and others, we’ve helped the region’s transportation professionals recognize the need for increased investment in pedestrian facilities. With support from Kaiser-Permanente and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, we recently organized a Safe Routes to Transit Task Force that will begin meeting this month. Composed of representatives of local, regional and state transit and transportation agencies, the task force will develop regional guidelines on bus stop location and crossing facilities on various road types.
Everyone walks. And like me, you or the ones you love may someday find it necessary to adapt to driving less, or even being car-free in a region designed for automobiles. Please join me in encouraging our elected officials to dedicate more transportation funds to sidewalks and crossing facilities.
As president of PEDS, I’m often asked to attend evening meetings in areas near or outside I-285. One such meeting, the Gwinnett “Moving to Opportunity” Forum is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Thursday on Jimmy Carter Boulevard. Getting there from the Doraville MARTA station would require me to cross Buford Highway in the dark. And crossing Jimmy Carter Boulevard is hardly a walk in the park.
Am I willing to put my life at risk to attend? Or should I tell the organizers “I can’t get there from here?”
Sally Flocks is president and CEO of PEDS (peds.org), a nonprofit group advocating for pedestrian safety and access.
About the Author
