Comments on: Resident Reports Cyclist Hit By SUV Near DHS on Friday

By: MyNameIsNotSusan

MyNameIsNotSusan — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:03:53 +0000

Well, I’ve been walker and cyclist and, they don’t scare me! I am so glad that, even as a woman, I have a pair! Oh, and if you raise gas to $10/gal, the price of every single thing we need goes up. That’s right, every thing from baby forumula to organic, free trade chai tea leaves. Pretty poor thought process. Punish those who do/have what I don’t like. Brilliant.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:07:44 +0000

The streetscape improvements that will be done on McDonough (some day – it is GDOT, you know) will address many of these points. Take a look here: http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=167

By: BikeDecatur

BikeDecatur — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:54:22 +0000

Downtown’s not bad. We could cut off a street or two to motorized traffic (and that would further increase the appeal of downtown), but in general it’s good. What needs work are the areas farther out. McDonough, for instance, where the kid was just hit by an SUV, doesn’t need to be two lanes in either direction. One lane. Better crosswalks. We’re getting so much better, and there’s so much positive momentum. It’s exciting! If we keep it up we’ll be one of the top pedestrian-friendly towns in the country.

By: smalltowngal

smalltowngal — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:07:09 +0000

What DM said. Plus, closing the heart of downtown to motorized vehicles would slam the door shut for elderly people and others with physical impairments that make it impossible for them to walk more than a very short distance. My mother stayed active and fit past the age of 80, then lived for several more years after it became difficult for her to walk farther than about 50 feet (with even that representing a big deal). Another close relative suffered a disabling injury in early middle age (after coming out on the bad end of a pedestrian-car misunderstanding), and it is often painful for her to walk more than a block or two.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:51:04 +0000

Going from 2 lanes to 1 lane is one thing. Going from 1 to 0 is quite another.

As I understand it, much of the policies being put in place today are about giving people options. In 2011, car is still king, so much of the effort of diversifying transportation options is about taming car infrastructure to make our cities more amenable to other forms of transportation. However, eliminating the car as an option seems like it could be the same mistake as making it the ONLY option.

Of course, areas without cars do exist – Times Square being the most recent, high-profile example – but I don’t think Decatur has the grid network around downtown (not to mention the sheer size) to handle run-off and other implications from a “no cars” downtown policy. As such, it would have a much more profound impact on the economic and traffic life of the city.

By: Bradley

Bradley — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:26:08 +0000

How about we just go ahead and do what everyone is really thinking: make most of downtown a pedestrian-only area. Let’s start at Clairemont, the courthouse, and go to Church St., Leon’s. Traffic wise, it’s a clusterf***.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:25:32 +0000

There are two issues with your suggestion:
1) Can’t be done on a state designated road, which leaves out several heavily traveled streets
2) Emergency responders would be significantly slowed down

By: No Pain No Gain

No Pain No Gain — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:15:09 +0000

How about we go ahead and make bike and pedestrian safety top priority inside the city limits. Just create large speed bumps 20 feet on either side of every crosswalk.

After awhile,many people will avoid cutting through Decatur just because of the speed bumps.