Recent news coverage highlighted several crashes involving the protected bike lane barriers on Cherokee Avenue. It's an understandable story. Photos of vehicles perched on top of concrete barriers naturally raise questions about whether the design is working. But those images also present an opportunity to ask a more important question. How should we evaluate street design? Too often, we judge transportation infrastructure by how quickly it moves cars or whether every driver navigates it perfectly. Modern transportation safety takes a different approach. It asks whether the transportation system protects people when inevitable mistakes occur. That distinction is at the heart of why protected bike lanes exist. Read more

For nearly everyone in Atlanta, tripping on broken sidewalks is an annoying fact of life. But for people who use wheelchairs, bad sidewalks often mean the choice between risking injury or staying home. The City’s failure to fund sidewalk maintenance has been the biggest obstacle to change. For decades, the City of Atlanta has failed to enforce the ordinance assigning responsibility for repairs to abutting property owners. Instead, officials used it as an excuse for doing nothing. PEDS, the pedestrian advocacy organization I founded in 1996 that became part of Propel ATL after I retired in 2019, tried for decades to get the City of Atlanta to fix broken sidewalks. Op-eds, walking audits, presentations, advisory committees — you name it, we did it. But sometimes the only way to get across the street is through a courtroom. Read more

Atlanta Families for Safe Streets draws a crosswalk made of hearts at 225 Peachtree during Atlanta Streets Alive Over the past several months, Propel ATL has been working to understand what happened to planned pedestrian safety improvements on Peachtree Street in Downtown Atlanta. Originally, the project plans called for a raised crosswalk near 225 Peachtree Street — a proven traffic-calming feature designed to slow vehicle speeds and make crossing safer for people walking. Later, those plans changed to a standard crosswalk. Then the project was paused altogether. No public explanation was given, so we set out to find one. Read more

Earlier this month, a life was lost on Campbellton Road — another preventable death on one of Atlanta’s deadliest corridors. We still don’t know their name. Since January 2025, five people walking or biking have been killed on this road alone: January 30, 2025 — A 68-year-old pedestrian was killed February 24, 2025 — A 39-year-old pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run February 12, 2026 — A 26-year-old pedestrian was killed March 28, 2026 — A 65-year-old pedestrian was killed by an impaired driver  June 9, 2026 — A 65-year-old bicyclist was killed by a delivery truck Read more

Earlier this spring, Propel ATL’s Shifting Gears Program faced a major setback when 26 bikes and essential equipment were stolen from our youth cycling afterschool program in partnership with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation. These bikes represented more than just gear—they were tools for confidence-building, independence, and safe mobility for Atlanta’s young riders. Shifting Gears Program in action before bikes were stolen Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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.) Read more

Residents, advocates, and community partners gathered for the Buford Highway Community Walk Audit Propel ATL hosted a community walk audit on Buford Highway on February 28, 2026, bringing together residents, advocates, and community partners to document what it is like to walk, bike, and access transit along the corridor. The audit was designed to capture real-world conditions on Buford Highway, where many people face missing sidewalk connections, difficult street crossings, and daily barriers that make even short trips feel unsafe or inconvenient. The findings confirmed what residents have long experienced: Buford Highway is not working well for people who rely on walking and transit. Participants described missing and narrow sidewalks, crossings that are hard to reach or take too long to navigate, and everyday trips to bus stops, stores, schools, and apartments that can feel stressful, disconnected, or unsafe. These conditions show why residents are asking for practical improvements that make the corridor easier to move through and more responsive to how people actually use it. Read more

Each year, the Blinkie Awards recognize the individuals, organizations, and initiatives that are helping transform Atlanta’s streets into safe, inclusive, and thriving spaces for people to ride, walk, and roll. These sustainable transportation leaders are advancing this work in different ways — some through advocacy and community building, others through storytelling and public leadership. Regardless of their method, all winners share a commitment to creating an Atlanta where everyone can move safely, easily, and sustainably throughout the city. Read more

Lately it seems all of Atlanta is under construction, in a flurry of last-minute cleaning for the international football party we’re hosting in June.  Some of it is good — curb ramps being installed that let people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers have safe access to sidewalks which are also getting repaired. Decades-long projects huffing it out over the finish line (looking good, Juniper and S. Boulevard!) Trail crossings were added a few years after the trail was completed (Arkwright over Moreland Ave). And Atlanta’s most iconic street-level photo booth (Jackson Street) no longer blocked by cars — plus a new spot for bridge pics opening up (Clifton Street). Read more

Every day in Atlanta, someone walking, biking, taking transit, or simply crossing the street, doesn’t make it home. Behind every crash is a person, a family, and a story that doesn’t end when the news cycle moves on. For too long, many families in Atlanta have had to carry that loss, trauma, and confusion on their own. That’s why we’re bringing Atlanta Families for Safe Streets (AFSS) back together. Read more