Sign Atlanta Bicycle Coalition's 2021 Policy Agenda
Updated: November 4, 2021
All candidates who qualified to have their name on the City of Atlanta Mayoral 2021 Runoff, November 30, ballot are shown below.
Question 1: What is the main way you get around Atlanta on a daily basis?
Candidate responses are listed alphabetically by first name.
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | I grew up in Atlanta, and took pride in walking, biking, carpooling and riding MARTA. Over the past several years, I have continued to rely on a diverse set of methods to move around the city, including all of the above! No one of these answers represents my transportation modalities, but I am proud to have used almost every one of the options ABC has listed (I have not used a wheelchair). |
| Felicia Moore | Carpool |
Question 2: Please share your vision for transportation and mobility in the city of Atlanta. How would you support transportation options for the 16% of Atlantans who don’t have access to a car, have a disability, and/or prefer to get around by sustainable, healthy modes of transportation such as transit, walking, biking, etc?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | I have been working my entire term to promote a vision of transportation that prioritizes safety, connectivity and equity. I championed Vision Zero framework which resulted in numerous positive impacts, most significant is reduction of speed limits to 25MPH across city surface streets. I wrote and passed legislation to authorize study for ATL DOT, including input and participation from representatives from ABC, PEDs, and others. I formed Atlanta Accessibility and Inclusion Task Force to ensure City managed streets/sidewalks/facilities around city hall are safe and accessible for all transportation modes, including non-car modalities. I led City Council's efforts to regulate micro mobility vehicles and ensure safe travels for all transit modes but creating designated parking areas, rules of the road, etc. with input from a broad coalition including ABC, Planning Department, Chief Bicycle Officer, scooter and ride-sharing and companies, and others. I also believe that our roads, sidewalks, transit, vehicle fleet and other infrastructure are sorely in need of investment. Efforts have been made for some improvements using temporary solutions but now it's time for us to commit to a massive infrastructure campaign. As a Councilman, I supported every Complete Streets vote, and have consistently called for the administration to deliver on promised timelines. As mayor, I will work with Atlanta City Council to designate more ‘complete streets’, implement more bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks, fulfill promises of More MARTA and BeltLine Rail to ultimately bring infrastructure up to our expectations of a world-class city. I’ll ensure that infrastructure projects include the expansion and preservation of arts and culture within the city. And finally, I will ensure that federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan and forthcoming Infrastructure Plan are used efficiently and without waste or graft. |
| Felicia Moore |
As our next Mayor, I will work with the More MARTA program to expand the reach and accessibility of public transit systems in Atlanta. In the long-term, I would like MARTA or the COA to provide shuttles that go deeper into neighborhoods where people rely on public transit as their lifeline, so they don’t have to walk, laden with groceries and strollers, a mile up and down the rolling hills of our streets to get to and from the major connection point. In the short-term, I will ask MARTA to implement more disability-friendly buses, ensuring that there is adequate handicap seating and working real chair ramps and storage on every MARTA bus. I will also make sure that buses have bike racks to promote interchangeable modes of transportation and promote more cross-city movement. I will also make sure that federal infrastructure dollars dedicated to our city are used to improve and expand bike lanes throughout the city and to make them safer and more efficient, as well as fixing cracks and dips in sidewalks will make them safer and more accessible for people with wheelchairs and for visually impaired people. |
Question 3: The Atlanta Department of Transportation estimates the City has a sidewalk funding gap of close to $1 billion dollars. How would you fund sidewalks and other urgent transportation needs in the city?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | My citywide contingent of constituents and leadership of Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee acquainted me with Atlanta's myriad of unmet and unfunded needs, but the experience also illuminated a path forward. All too often, worthwhile projects have come before that committee, seeking funding, but misaligned against priorities from federal, state and other local authorities and budgets. City Hall makes it much harder than it should to overlay those projects, impacted areas, and funding sources, and fixing that inefficiency will be one of my first priorities as mayor to begin to address the infrastructure backlog. I created the Atlanta Department of Transportation for this very reason. I will leverage my experience as an engineer to repair systemic issues with procurement and permitting that both cause frustrating delays and increase costs in contracting. Other strategies include attracting private investment, enhancing our technology/digital infrastructure in each neighborhood and each city department, incentivizing the construction of infrastructure and making the most of what will likely be a once-in-a-generation infrastructure package that has been proposed by President Biden. Additionally, I will lead the charge to pass the next TSPLOST/Renew Atlanta Plan that I will push to require at least 50% financial prioritization for sidewalks and complete streets. |
| Felicia Moore | As our next Mayor, my goal will be to allocate federal infrastructure funding to as many of the urgent needs of our city as possible. There are a number of state grants that we can also pursue from GDOT and SRTA. Most importantly, I will ask the state legislature to include sidewalk repairs in the definition of roadway maintenance, so that the Georgia Department of Transportation can address sidewalk issues during roadway resurfacing projects. I will also audit all of our existing programs to identify if we can find more efficient use of funds or savings that can be applied to complete those projects. Finally, since we are nearing the end of our current TSPLOST, I will consult with Council and the community to determine if and how we need to seek another referendum to close the gaps left on critical projects that will immediately improve the quality of life of our residents, businesses, and visitors. No matter where our infrastructure funds are resourced, I will put in place fiscal safeguards and transparent means of accountability to ensure that funds are used properly. |
Question 4: The number of people killed while walking in Georgia increased 22% from 2015 to 2019. Half of those killed were Black, a fatality rate more than twice that of white Georgians. In the city of Atlanta, out of the 16 pedestrians killed so far this year, 15 were Black and 13 were men. This mirrors the national trend of pedestrian fatalities increasing fastest among Black men. What will you do to make streets measurably safer for people biking, walking, and using scooters or wheelchairs? What will you do to address the disparities in whose lives are endangered the most by unsafe streets?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | I appreciate Atlanta Bicycle Coalition's commitment to apprising elected and appointed officials of the facts. As a Black man, I know firsthand that this is a problem deserving of real attention. Unfortunately, Black and Brown Atlantans are at the receiving end of too many negative statistics and disparities, and I pledge to be a Mayor who focuses on closing racial gaps across the spectrum, including the built environment and environmental racism. My experience as a Georgia-Tech trained engineer and the current Chairman of City Council's Transportation Committee have made me aware of other disparities that deserve our attention, and as Atlanta's next mayor, I will direct attention and resources to address these issues and make Atlanta a safer more accessible city for walking, biking and other modes of transportation. We will continue to focus on the High Injury Network of streets and corridors that plague our city which are overwhelmingly where black and brown people live. This is why I worked directly on the campaign and programming of Vision Zero to slow down drivers to 25 mph and to begin the process of redesigning our roads to reduce speeds and crashes. I've also worked with district councilmembers and Commissioner Rowan to push GDOT to provide pedestrian safety measures on Donald Lee Hollowell (which are now under way) where pedestrian deaths have occurred in the past, Memorial Drive, and Cleveland Avenue. Lastly, I asked the ATL DOT to conduct a street light study because I felt many of these areas weren't well lit. The study found that the city was short 8500 street lights and the majority of the missing lights were in areas of high crashes and high crimes. Under my administration, we will install 10,000 more street lights and make sure existing lights are functional which will provide for safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and wheelchairs. |
| Felicia Moore | Many Atlanta neighborhoods that are majority African American do not have sidewalks at all, and the ones that are present are in serious disrepair. Furthermore, there are not enough ADA compliant street crossings. Much of the disparity can be contributed to the lack of safe infrastructure in underserved e areas of cities. There needs to be an increase of working street lights, stop signs, stop lights, and safe and usable sidewalks to help drivers and pedestrians alike traverse safely. |
Question 5: In 2019, the City of Atlanta announced plans to "more than triple its on-street protected bike network" saying, "by the end of 2021, Atlantans will see more than 20 miles of safer streets.” Many of those projects are not on track to be complete by the end of the year, and while the pandemic challenged project implementation everywhere, building bike lanes and Complete Streets in Atlanta has always been slow. If elected, would you seek to speed up the completion of transportation projects intended to provide safe travel options for people who walk, bike, or have a disability?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | Transportation and infrastructure are just some of the challenges facing the city on our path to economic recovery after a devastating pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed many of the City of Atlanta's biking and pedestrian projects, and expanding that network is certainly a priority that deserves to be revisited post-pandemic. As a Councilman, I supported every Complete Streets vote, and have consistently called for the administration to deliver on promised timelines. As Chairman of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, I created the Atlanta Department of Transportation to take a stock of the city's full array of transportation needs and put a single agency at the center of figuring out how to deliver solutions. In 2015, I was proud to be named the Blinkie Award recipient for “Elected Official of the Year”. As Mayor, I will leverage my experience as an engineer to repair systemic issues with procurement and permitting that cause frustrating delays and increased costs in contracting. I will work with Atlanta City Council to designate more ‘complete streets’, implement more bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks. I believe that the highest expression of our city is one that includes walkability, and I'll pursue our pre-pandemic goals with well-earned experience and know-how. |
| Felicia Moore | Increasing biking and walking pathways is a priority for me. Increasing accessibility to biking and walking paths improves pedestrian safety, city efficiency, and supports sustainable transportation practices. As our next Mayor, I will audit all existing infrastructure projects to uncover efficiencies. To speed up the process, I will expand construction efforts with a focus on local hiring options to support the city’s economy and workers. |
Question 6: Communities across the country have found stark racial disparities in enforcement of “jaywalking” and similar laws. In many parts of Atlanta, the nearest crosswalk is over a half-mile away. How would you address the over-policing of walking, biking, and riding transit, including crossing a street outside of a crosswalk?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | Since 2010, Atlanta has had the highest income inequality in the nation. An Atlantan born into poverty only has a 4% chance of making it to the middle class. My first post at Georgia Institute of Technology was recruiting diverse student populations with the talent and drive to apply a top-notch education to becoming a productive member of society. I have taken up the cause of fighting racial and income inequality in my capacity as an elected leader. I authored and passed legislation to increase the city's minimum wage from $10.10 per hour to $15 per hour. I also chaired the Council's Public Safety Committee in my first term. I will apply the same equity lens and commitment to bring the APD along to deprioritize policing of walking, biking, and riding transit, including crossing a street outside of a crosswalk. |
| Felicia Moore | Community policing and reforming the manner in which police are trained to interact with the public are part of my comprehensive public safety plan. As our next Mayor, I will require every sworn office on administrative duty -- including command staff -- to spend at least one 8-hour shift per week on patrol. Not only will this rapidly fill our force gap, but it will allow our officers to get back to the basics of walking a beat so they can get to know our neighbors and main street business owners. This will begin to change the dynamics so that our people feel safe in their interactions with police. By retraining our officers on how to interact more neighborly with our citizens, they will no longer escalate low level encounters like simple jaywalking and traffic violations; therefore not needing to de-escalate a situation. The people committing simple offenses will know they will be cited, so that will curtail those activities, but we will have more civilized relationships between our people and police. By dovetailing infrastructure improvements with police reform, I believe we will be able to change the culture towards more safe pedestrian and driver practices. |
Question 7: The More MARTA tax allocates $2.5 B to expand MARTA in the City of Atlanta over the next 40 years. What do you think the relationship between MARTA and the City of Atlanta should be in implementing this program? What considerations should MARTA be expected to provide for on-street facilities for people getting to and from transit?
Candidate |
Response |
| Andre Dickens | As Chairman of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, I have worked with my colleagues to hold MARTA and all of the city’s transportation stakeholders accountable via the legislative process. I’ve witnessed ‘More MARTA’ develop a robust presence at community events to engage residents across the city. As mayor, I will direct my administration to be more focused on organizing forums for citizens to engage with each other and More MARTA simultaneously, because directing the resources to improve transportation infrastructure is one of the most important tasks of city government. I will also insist that candidates for city appointment to the MARTA Board of Directors have adequate experience to contribute to Atlanta’s mass transit ecosystem. They will need to bring strong qualifications, the willingness to work together, and keep Atlanta at the forefront of the still-expanding transit system in order to earn my support for the board. Another meaningful change would be requiring that appointees follow the same course as other city board appointments and receive a final vote from the city council. |
| Felicia Moore | My plan is to strengthen the relationship between MARTA and the city to cultivate the most efficient programs possible. More MARTA will improve the cohesiveness of the transit systems, adding more routes, stops, buses and increasing the sustainability of the entire process. New stops will be placed near crosswalks and near intersections to allow for safer departure of riders and give them safer options for cross streets. I have ambitious plans to rapidly reduce traffic fatalities to zero (Vision Zero) that prioritize racial equity and focus on engineering instead of enforcement. |