Pedestrians Live in Decatur
Decatur Metro | May 26, 2011
Transportation for America has created a very detailed and enlightening interactive map showing pedestrian traffic fatalities from 2000-2009 all over the country.
And while in the Atlanta area, the I-85/I-75 connector, portions of Ponce intown and Buford Highway (remember my “Death by Buford Highway” post?) seem to be real pedestrian fatality hot spots, Decatur – city of walkers – is a virtual island in a sea of fatal collisions. From my casual observation, the city of Decatur hasn’t had a single pedestrian fatality in the past 10 years, unless the 78 year-old male on Church Street (highlighted in the screenshot above) was inside the city limits.
This map makes a pretty compelling case that traffic fatalities are primarily caused by unsympathetic pedestrian infrastructure, and not necessarily determined by population or # of active pedestrians in an area.
Interesting stuff.
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That’s great for Decatur. Maybe that is a result of low in town speed limits and courteous drivers? Our family of young walkers and usualy a baby stroller routinely makes the trek into town from WP. Crossing College at Candler is always stressful and never feels safe. Yes, there’s a crosswalk, but then there’s no way to get a stroller down onto the sidewalk by DQ without breifly going into the road. I would hope this crossing would be high on the list of important pedestrian upgrades. And that these upgrades include a way to “roll” across.
Not to be a smarta## but it might have to do with there not
being any six lane highways in Decatur that have to be crossed.
I live about three miles north of the city limits and could easily walk or bike to events and restaurants there if I did not have to cross Scott Blvd. and Church St. to get there. Speeding cars, oblivious to pedestrians and bikes, make this very dangerous.
What if some of the dollars devoted to widening roads went to traffic enforcement instead?
I hear you and commiserate, Ronda. I live just barely outside the city limits but walking requires that I cross the Bermuda Triangle where Ponce meets Scott. I walk it often but that part is hair-raising. I’ve seen enough wrecks there that they know my name at 911.
That’s great, but not just a Decatur thing. Our intown siblings – Va-Hi, Inman Park, Candler Park, Druid Hills, and Lake Claire – had no pedestrian fatalities either.
Yep. Streetcar suburbs.
Infrastructure.
That’s because everybody walks in the street. We have taken over. Everyone knows cars are second-class in Decatur.
Not sure if your joke comes from a pro or con position, but I find it continually interesting that folks this Decatur policies make cars “second-class”.
I used to think this was the case too. But I’ve come to realize that the city’s policy is much more inclusive than a “war on cars”. Sure there is a minority of bikers and walkers, who have eliminated the car from their lives who turn their nose up at motorists. But I’ll show you a minority of drivers that feel the same way about walkers and bikers.
Decatur’s goal is to decrease the dominating influence of cars in the community. Does lessening their impact, but acknowledging they will always be the dominant mode of transport in the city, make them second-class?