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Atlanta Bicycle Coalition calls for street safety overhaul after 14-year-old student killed near Grady High School
Alexia Hyneman, 14, was struck by car in intersection while cycling home from school.
ATLANTA (Feb. 14, 2016) - The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (ABC) demands immediate action to improve the safety of the intersection at 10th Street and Monroe Drive, after Grady High School freshman, Alexia Hyneman was hit by a vehicle on Thursday night while crossing the intersection at 10th Street and Monroe Drive.
The ABC invites supporters to gather at the corner of 10th Street and Monroe Drive on Monday, February 15 at 11 a.m. to honor Alexia Hyneman and to support her family. Supporters are then encouraged to advocate for safety improvements by attending the Atlanta City Council meeting following the memorial on Monday, February 15 at 1 p.m.
"We're devastated by the news of Grady High School student Alexia Hyneman's death while riding home from school," said Rebecca Serna, Executive Director of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. "Grady High School, Piedmont Park, a protected bike lane and the Atlanta BeltLine all meet at 10th and Monroe. It's one of the city's busiest intersections for people on foot and bike, and everyone who uses it deserves to be safe."
The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition calls for immediate safety improvements:
- Configure the light at 10th/Monroe so it is easily understood by people on foot and bike
- Shorten the wait time for people on foot and bike to cross the street; lengthen and automate the walk phase
- Improve street lighting at 10th Street and Monroe Drive, including the BeltLine intersection
- Accelerate the Monroe Drive Complete Streets project, funded in the Renew Atlanta bond
- Create a bicycle connection on Monroe Drive to make it safe and predictable for all pedestrians and cyclists
ABC appeals for increased enforcement of red-light violations and a public campaign to end drivers from running red lights at all city intersections.
“The City of Atlanta has made great strides in the past few years toward the kind of infrastructure that makes everyday walking and biking good transportation options. But as more and more Atlantans bike or walk to their destinations or to MARTA, we can’t leave them stranded in dangerous gaps between very good pieces of infrastructure. Each trip is only as good, and as safe, as its worst crossing. What Alexia’s death tragically shows us is that Atlanta’s street network must prioritize safety over minimizing delays to traffic,” noted Serna.
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The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition is Atlanta’s voice for better biking. www.atlantabike.org