Propel ATL and Atlanta Families for Safe Streets held a press conference on Wednesday (Feb. 11) to call for a mid-block raised crossing and the funded safety project to be installed on Atlanta’s signature street, where multiple people have been killed and injured while attempting to cross. Two members of Atlanta City Council, Jason Dozier (District 4) and Matt Westmoreland (Post 2, At-Large) were present to speak and lend support.
Puja Jabbour (left) addresses media representatives and supporters while her mother Deepa Sood (2nd from right) looks on.
The event honored the life of Pradeep Sood, a 67-year-old business owner at AmericasMart killed while crossing at this location, adjacent to 225 Peachtree Street. Daughter Puja Jabbour and widow Deepa Sood were present, along with other family members.
“My family would give absolutely anything to go back and change the events of that day,” Jabbour said. “We cannot. But we can ask for something meaningful to come from our loss. To the city officials here today, we're asking for collaboration, for compassion, and for a shared commitment to making Atlanta safer for everyone who walks these streets.
“It's because this stretch of Peachtree Street is not just asphalt and traffic lanes; it’s a place where people live, work, gather, and connect. People cross here because it makes sense to cross here. A visible, well-designed crosswalk at this location would not just be an infrastructure improvement; it would be an acknowledgement that pedestrians matter, that safety should reflect real human behavior, and that this city values the citizens that make it home.
“The crosswalk will not erase the hole in my heart, but if my father's death leads to even one safer crossing, even one person making it home to their family, then his life continues to carry meaning beyond my grief. That is the legacy I’m asking for in his name.”
During the press conference, a steady stream of pedestrians crossed Peachtree in the unmarked, mid-block spot where the crosswalk is planned.
City-approved designs for this crossing, obtained by Propel ATL via an open-records request, include two options:
1. a standard painted crosswalk with a pedestrian beacon, and
2. a mid-block raised crosswalk with a pedestrian beacon that elevates the roadway at the crossing and physically slows vehicles.
“This crossing has already been studied,” said Satya Bhan of Atlanta Families for Safe Streets. “The designs already exist. Only one truly prioritizes safety: a raised crosswalk, one that forces drivers to slow down and make it unmistakable that people walking have priority.
“So today, we are not asking for another study. We are asking for leadership. Our ask is simple and direct. We are calling for Mayor Andre Dickens to make a public commitment to build a raised crosswalk here on Peachtree Street, and to provide a clear timeline on when it will be completed, because delay is not neutral. When designs are ready and people are still being harmed, delay becomes a decision.”
In March 2025, the Atlanta City Council passed a resolution calling for the installation of a safe crossing at this location by June 30, 2025. That deadline passed more than seven months ago. We expect the resolution to be reintroduced when Council reconvenes on Monday.
Atlanta City Council members Jason Dozier (far left) and Matt Westmoreland (far right) attended to offer words of support.
“What we're seeing on Peachtree Street is part of a broader pattern throughout the city,” said Rebecca Serna of Propel ATL. “Safety projects that have been studied, studied, designed, and even approved are not being delivered. That's why this effort is part of our campaign: ‘Where's my project?’ This campaign aims to ensure that promises to the people—to keep us safe as we move throughout the city—translate into on-the-ground infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Peachtree Street was recently repaved in a four-lane configuration without additional traffic-calming measures at this crossing. This move follows the ahead-of-schedule removal of the Peachtree Shared Street project in 2022, which included a marked crosswalk along with narrowing and other traffic-calming measures.
That crosswalk was paved over, leaving people to cross without any formal pedestrian crossing on a high-speed roadway. Voters also approved funding for safe streets projects, including Peachtree Street, through the Moving Atlanta Forward referendum in 2022, but that project has not advanced significantly in the four years since.
“Paint and buttons are not enough here,” Serna said. “A mid-block raised crosswalk changes driver behavior by design. That is what safety looks like — and that is what families are asking the City to build.”
Advocates are calling on the Mayor’s Office to meet with Atlanta Families for Safe Streets in the coming weeks to explain why the raised crosswalk option has stalled and to provide a clear timeline for construction.
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