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.

Looking for Answers

To better understand what happened, we submitted an open records request to determine why the raised crosswalk was removed from the project and why the installation stalled.

The response was surprising.

The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT), the entity responsible for delivering the project, could not identify who made the decision to change or pause the project. Further, the City reported that it had no responsive records explaining any of these updates.

That leaves us where we started: without a clear explanation for why a planned safety enhancement disappeared.

For everyone who has followed or advocated for this project, and especially those who have been personally impacted by the lack of safety improvements, this is incredibly frustrating. Public projects that affect people’s safety should be transparent, and major decisions should be documented and justified.

What Happens Next

While we still don’t have the full answer, one thing is clear: moving this project forward will require building even broader stakeholder support.

For this reason, we are now shifting our attention from fact-finding to relationship-building.

Over the coming months, we’ll meet with Downtown residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to build support for a safer, more people-focused Peachtree Street.

These conversations will guide the identification of the most effective strategies to move this project forward, including building a coalition, securing stakeholder sign-ons, and advancing focused advocacy.

Advocacy Isn't a Straight Line

As we continue this work, we are reflecting on the fact that advocacy is rarely a straight line.

Sometimes progress comes through a ribbon-cutting. Other times, it means uncovering gaps in transparency, asking difficult questions, and building new partnerships.

While we haven’t yet achieved the progress we hoped for, our work so far has given us a better understanding of what it will take to create change see this project completed/prevent this type of project stall from happening again, and we’re committed to seeing it through.

Thank you to everyone who has asked questions, attended meetings, and spoken up for safer streets. We're especially thankful for the partnership and advocacy of Atlanta Families for Safe Streets, whose members have shared their lived experiences with traffic violence, reminded us what is at stake if safe street designs are not actually built, and helped keep the focus on preventing future traffic deaths and serious injuries.

We’ll continue to share updates as we learn more, and we’ll let you know how you can help move this effort forward. Let’s continue working toward a safer, more vibrant Peachtree Street together.