Georgia remains deadly for pedestrians

• Joeff Davis/CL File
• USE CAUTION: Too many roads are designed to move cars, not people, new report says

More than 1,500 men and women were struck and killed by cars while walking along Georgia roads between 2003 and 2012, a recent study by a national smart-growth group says, making the Peach State the fifth most dangerous state in the country for pedestrians.

According to the report released last week by Smart Growth America titled “Dangerous by Design,”1,564 pedestrians were killed in roadway collisions during the period of nine years. Fulton, DeKalb, and Cobb counties led the state in pedestrian fatalities during the timeframe with 198, 181 and 107 deaths, respectively.

Part of the reason why Georgia and other Sun Belt states are such danger zones for pedestrians, says Sally Flocks of PEDS, one of metro Atlanta’s leading advocates, is because the local, state, and regional officials focus too much on relieving congestion for motorists rather than protecting pedestrians.

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In addition to metro Atlanta’s auto-oriented infrastructure, Flocks attributed the problem to the lack of sidewalks, crosswalks, not enough funding for safety initiatives, and insufficient staff focused on the issue at Georgia Department of Transportation. The position of State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, for example, has been vacant for more than a year. (GDOT, pointing to hiring records, says recent attempts to fill the position have been unsuccessful.)

“This is a very serious issue that is not going to be solved without additional resources,” Flocks says.

Byron Rushing, the bicycle and pedestrian planner at the Atlanta Regional Commission said he was disappointed by the results. However, he notes that steps have been taken to improve pedestrian safety in some areas. On Buford Highway, for example, GDOT has been installing refuge islands in the middle of the seven-lane road.

But funding is a considerable challenge to safety initiatives. In some cases, the state has to buy the property to install crosswalks and crossing beacons, which can cost up to $250,000 each.

According to the report, minorities make up a larger percentage of pedestrian fatalities due to their more concentrated populations in areas with more dangerous roads. “I think it’s primarily that people walk more, and there’s a lot of overlap between poverty and minorities, and people who cannot afford a car are basically adapting to their conditions,” Flocks said.

Rushing says safety measures put in place by the state such as median refuge islands and more advanced flashing beacons can take years to show their effects. Rebuilding roads to add wider sidewalks takes time as well. Between getting enough funding to make changes and bringing enough attention to the subject, it looks like a slow road ahead.

“It’s going to take a huge effort by a lot of people to even decide that we want to do something different and then even to start to make that happen,” Rushing said.