Residents, advocates, and community partners gathered for the Buford Highway Community Walk Audit

Propel ATL hosted a community walk audit on Buford Highway on February 28, 2026, bringing together residents, advocates, and community partners to document what it is like to walk, bike, and access transit along the corridor. The audit was designed to capture real-world conditions on Buford Highway, where many people face missing sidewalk connections, difficult street crossings, and daily barriers that make even short trips feel unsafe or inconvenient.

The findings confirmed what residents have long experienced: Buford Highway is not working well for people who rely on walking and transit. Participants described missing and narrow sidewalks, crossings that are hard to reach or take too long to navigate, and everyday trips to bus stops, stores, schools, and apartments that can feel stressful, disconnected, or unsafe. These conditions show why residents are asking for practical improvements that make the corridor easier to move through and more responsive to how people actually use it.

The audit also made clear that basic safety and access issues remain unresolved. In addition to issues with sidewalks and unsafe crossings, people noted limited protection from fast-moving traffic and weak links between transit and the places residents need to go most often. For people who rely on walking for work, school, errands, and medical appointments, these gaps create real barriers and reinforce the need for safer, more reliable access to transit and other destinations.

A full findings summary is available for readers who want a deeper dive: Buford Highway Community Walk Audit Findings Summary.

The February walk audit will also serve as an important foundation for the April 17 walk audit with DeKalb County Commissioner Michelle Long Spears and other decision-makers. That conversation will help ensure that residents’ lived experiences remain central as partners consider where infrastructure and service investments are most needed along the corridor. The upcoming audit will focus on advancing more frequent transit service and identifying concrete improvements that make walking to transit safer, more comfortable, and more reliable.

Propel ATL will share a full report following the April 17 walk audit to capture the community’s observations and outline next steps for action.