Photo Credit: Jason Getz on file at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Reader Discretion Notice: This article discusses recent incidents of violence, including a fatal attack and other assaults. It includes references to death, injury, and public safety concerns that readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised. June is National Ride Transit Month, a time to celebrate the joy, freedom, connection, and possibility that public transportation brings to our community. The month arrives as Atlanta prepares to welcome an estimated 500,000 international visitors for the World Cup games who will rely on public transit as a primary way to move through our city. However, for many, a shadow is cast on these festivities.

On Friday, May 8th, more than 200 advocates, neighbors, and supporters gathered for the 2026 Blinkie Awards to celebrate the people and projects transforming Atlanta’s streets into safe, inclusive, and thriving spaces for people to ride, walk, and roll. Guests heard moving remarks from awardees like Jay Reid of Dope Pedalers and the parents behind Atlanta Bike Bus, watched stories of community impact captured by Community in Focus, laughed along with comedian Mark Kendall, and danced to beats from DJ Mike Zarin of Zegi throughout the night. The evening was filled with laughter, music, and powerful reminders of what’s possible when people come together around a shared vision for Atlanta’s streets.

The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) Budget Hearing, which happened on Tuesday, May 19, revealed an important uncertainty beneath the surface of visible infrastructure progress: How will the City sustain transportation project delivery long-term? Throughout the hearing, ATLDOT highlighted resurfacing, sidewalks, ADA upgrades, traffic calming, bike lanes, and Complete Streets improvements happening across Atlanta, but several major themes emerged around staffing, project delivery, maintenance, and long-term operational capacity.

Safety improvements have been in the works for several years for Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard in Atlanta’s West End.  At the next Atlanta Streets Alive on Sunday, May 31st, you’ll have the chance to think about the street’s history and where it can go from here.  Abernathy, named in honor of Civil Rights activist Ralph David Abernathy, is home to historic neighborhoods, schools, cultural institutions, local businesses, and places of faith in Southwest Atlanta. It serves the high-ridership MARTA bus route #71 Cascade, but it’s also part of the city’s High-Injury Network — a group of relatively few streets that account for most traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the City.

In 2022, Atlanta voters approved major investments in safer streets — sidewalks, safer crossings, and protected infrastructure — through Moving Atlanta Forward. These weren’t abstract ideas. They were real commitments to make everyday travel safer. But today, only 13% of safer streets and sidewalk projects have reached the street. The vast majority remain stuck in planning, design, or early phases, while people continue navigating unsafe conditions every day.

Well, another legislative session is behind us in Georgia. I think we all breathe a little easier as we walk, bike, or wait for the bus downtown with fewer harried out-of-town drivers to deal with. There are a couple of things we’d like Governor Kemp to do before May 12. (That’s the deadline after the Legislature adjourns to sign or veto the bills passed by state lawmakers. At the end of the 40 days, any remaining measures automatically become law.)