Sign the petition to call for a physically separated, multi-use path for people biking, walking, and scooting along Campbellton Road

What's in MARTA's plans and what could be added

MARTA's most recent plans include a "buffered" bike lane. The image below from the MARTA Campbellton Road project website shows a bike lane with potential space for physical separation like posts. We are calling for the project to include high-quality infrastructure for people biking and scooting, ideally raised above the street surface, making it feel more like a trail. This type of bike/scoot facility is easier to maintain than posts.

Image on left from MARTA Campbellton corridor webpage; image on right from NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide

MARTA's most recent plans include bus lanes separated by a curb (good!) and painted at intersections. Bus lanes must be protected to prevent misuse. When people driving cars mistakenly use bus lanes, it slows down bus operations. While there are limits to how much can be done to prevent this, the NACTO Transit Street Design Guide suggests bus lanes should be painted red, at a minimum, with additional protection options ranging from rumble strips to concrete curbs. 

Designing the dedicated bus lanes in a way that prevents people driving cars and trucks from using them is a preventative measure - it prevents dangerous traffic interactions, and it also prevents unnecessary police interactions. Relying on enforcement is not a good approach. Let’s prevent these problems before they start. 

Image from NACTO Transit Street Design Guide

All of the More MARTA projects funded by voters in 2016 should result in safer and more complete streets that meet a variety of people’s needs. MARTA’s goals for the program include “improve first and last-mile connectivity.” Campbellton is one of the first high-quality, high-frequency transit projects to advance from More MARTA, so it’s important to set a good precedent. 

Let's keep advocating for bike and bus lanes that are the highest-quality possible, so these lanes will be used as intended - for sustainable transportation - and preserve the safety of people using them.

Bike/scoot and bus lanes should be painted AND physically separated from car traffic.

A line of paint doesn’t do much to prevent people from driving cars or trucks in bike lanes. Instead, physical protection – think concrete barricades, raised curbs, and posts – is what makes bike/LIT lanes safe for everyone. 

Some of the many who benefit from bike lanes that are protected from motor vehicles: 

• Kids biking around the neighborhood with friends, experiencing the growing freedom that comes with independent transportation
• Adults biking or scooting to patronize local businesses 
• People using the sidewalk – especially older adults, people with disabilities, and children –  who rely on the dedicated space of the sidewalk to easily get around without faster-moving vehicles like bicycles vying for space
• People driving who rely on easily understood markings and the predictable behavior of other people 
• Residents and all those who want to use the road safely

References

• Campbellton Corridor Transit Project | MARTA  
• Media coverage of MARTA plans
• Protected bus lanes: NACTO Transit Street Design Guide; Seattle, Chicago examples