In the Georgia State Legislature, several bills and initiatives are being discussed to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders. A Senate study committee is being proposed to investigate pedestrian and bicycle safety following an increase in fatal crashes involving walkers and cyclists. There are also two bills addressing automated speed enforcement in school zones, with one aiming to ban speed cameras and the other suggesting reforms. Additionally, two bills could change how cyclists interact with traffic, including allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yields and enabling them to pass through malfunctioning traffic signals. Advocacy groups emphasize the need for infrastructure redesigns to ensure safer streets and better enforcement of traffic laws.

We’re currently following five pieces of legislation:

• A bill to create a Senate study committee into pedestrian and bicycle safety in Georgia
• Two bills related to automated enforcement of speed in school zones: one would ban speed cameras altogether, and the other would reform how these devices are used
• Two bills that would affect how people on bikes signal and stop

Veronica Watts used her first-hand experience to advance a Georgia Senate Committee that would study pedestrian safety throughout the state.

Over the past 15 years in Georgia, the proportion of fatal roadway crashes involving a person walking or cycling increased from 11 percent in 2007 to 19 percent in 2021. However, these crashes are often not reported, or are recorded as being less severe than they are.

Veronica Watts took a terrible experience – being hit and very seriously injured by a car driver – and is turning it into positive change for people who walk and bike in Georgia. This week, powerful state lawmakers sponsored a resolution to create a committee to tackle pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, sometimes referred to as Vulnerable Roadway Users, in Georgia. 

The committee would be composed of five members (including a representative of Propel ATL) to hear from experts and consider legislative ideas through the end of 2025. 

The resolution includes a key element related to our work: that Georgia's infrastructure budgets and plans should be reviewed to ensure appropriate investments are being made in safety countermeasures to reduce roadway fatalities and injuries. 

SR 216: Senate Study Committee on Vulnerable Roadway Users

Read more: Atlanta pedestrian seeks stiffer traffic laws after being run over in Midtown

Some lawmakers want to ban automated enforcement of speeding in school zones. Others want to reform speed cameras. We say: redesign streets to prevent speeding in the first place so cameras can act as the final safeguard.

HB 225: State Representative Dale Washburn is sponsoring a bill to ban automated enforcement of speeding in school zones, saying the cameras don’t improve safety, just the bottom line of local governments. (Current Georgia law on speed cameras) 

Speed cameras aren't a magic solution – after all, they penalize speeding after it has occurred, and don’t necessarily prevent it. What we really want is for drivers to slow down to protect kids, families, teachers, and staff on their way to and from school (not to mention everyone who uses our roads). That shouldn’t be a big ask. 

But many of the streets kids cross to get to school are designed more like highways than places you’d feel comfortable walking, much less sending your child to cross alone. 

State lawmakers who want to get rid of speed cameras haven’t come up with a better solution to protect kids.

Speed cameras in Georgia school zones were first installed in 2023. We called for a data-driven approach to determine if they are effective at reducing crashes. The Georgia Department of Transportation’s safety team is currently studying the issue, and their results should be ready by the end of the year. Without this information, no one can say if they improve safety on the streets where they have been installed in Georgia. (In New York, locations with cameras had 14 percent fewer injuries and deaths.)

Speed cameras do have downsides. While we need consequences for breaking the law, the fines don’t change whether you’re making a comfortable living or barely squeaking by. Fines and fees have an inequitable impact on lower-income drivers and can create a downward spiral. Another bill would help address the concerns about revenue by capping the percentage of local governments budgets that can come from fines and fees.

There’s also the potential for the private companies who install and operate them to program them incorrectly, leading to confusion among drivers who want to obey the law. That’s something SB 75, introduced by Senator Max Burns, would address. This bill proposes to reform the system instead, by limiting ticketing times and improving signage. 

We are advocating for comprehensive safety overhauls of streets equipped with school-zone speed cameras to proactively reduce speeding. In the meantime, we support efforts to reform and measure the impact of these devices.

The Public Safety Committee will consider SB 75 on Monday, Feb 24 at 1 p.m. in Georgia State Capitol Room #450. Contact committee members about the legislation or find your state legislator here.

Finally, cyclists may get to keep on keeping on

Our partners at Go Georgia have been hard at work on the Georgia Yield bill (HB 393), which would let people on bikes treat stop signs as yields at certain intersections. HB 393, which also requires hand signals from cyclists when safe to make them, passed the House Motor Vehicles Committee unanimously. Track the bill here

There’s also HB 461 making its way through the Senate that would allow bikers (both cyclists and motorcyclists) to proceed through a broken traffic signal and require drivers to stop at crosswalks with pedestrian activated rectangular rapid-flash beacons. Track the bill here

Next week, we’ll share news about MARTA’s efforts to keep cars out of bus-only lanes.