The Issue

Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard in Southwest Atlanta, sometimes referred to as "RDA," is home to historic neighborhoods, schools, cultural institutions, local businesses, and places of faith. It also connects daily destinations such as grocery stores, parks, jobs, and serves a high-ridership MARTA bus route (#71). 

However, traffic safety data shows that people traveling on it experience too many preventable crashes, sometimes leading to injury and even death. The road, whether on foot or wheelchair, bike, scooter, or car, can be perilous due to high motor vehicle speeds, missing turn lanes, lack of bike/scoot lanes, narrow sidewalks, and jutting train tracks.  Today, Ralph David Abernathy is part of what’s known as the “High-Injury Network” – those relatively few streets that account for the majority of serious injury and fatal traffic crashes. One of our core goals is to save lives by abolishing the High-Injury Network.

Community-Based Solutions

After a long wait for local communities, safety improvements are coming. West End community members and businesses are working to improve the corridor. The “Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard Great Streets Study” is an initiative of the West End Community Improvement District (CID), supported by the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative. The goal is to come up with solutions that make using this corridor safe and pleasant for everyone, by all types of transportation. Check out the presentation to learn more.

These efforts are more than a planning exercise—there are two funded projects that could transform the corridor into one that better supports people walking, using wheelchairs, biking, scooting, and riding transit, as well as driving. 

Two projects being planned for the corridor:

1. PURPLE LINE ON MAP West of Metropolitan, RDA is a state route. GDOT is repaving this part of the street and planning a multimodal safety project. The safety project proposes to install a 4-to-3 lane road transformation with bike/LIT lanes, signalized intersections, and new left turn lanes, along with leading pedestrian intervals to make crossing the street safer! You can find more project details on GDOT's website.
2. BLUE LINE ON MAP City of Atlanta: East of Metropolitan, Abernathy is an Atlanta city street. The Atlanta Department of Transportation has it listed as a "safe streets" project through Moving Atlanta Forward scheduled to start design in 2025. The project page says it will include a protected bike lane and other safety improvements, to make it safe and accessible, such as vertical lane delineators, safe crossing treatments, lane narrowing, etc. The project is intended to support the Lee Street Trail and McDaniel Safe Street projects by providing east‐west connectivity. Check for updates on the Moving Atlanta Forward project list (search RD Abernathy).