We’re so excited to celebrate Atlanta’s recent decision to adopt Vision Zero and safer speeds legislation! Atlanta is joining the ranks of Vision Zero cities across the world, and we couldn’t be more proud of this citywide effort by all of the organizations, neighborhood associations, and community advocates we partnered with to propel Vision Zero and safer speed limits into reality (City's press release touting the bill).

This is just the first step into all the Vision Zero work ahead; but first, we have to celebrate this achievement. Since we can’t gather in person, we're asking you to submit a short video to tell us why Vision Zero and Safe Speeds matter to you! 

[This post has been updated with outcomes from our campaign to improve the design of the DeKalb Avenue resurfacing by adding some elements of the defunded Complete Street project. For status updates on the DeKalb Ave project, visit the Renew Atlanta / TSPLOST webpage. Construction was initially scheduled to start in December 2020 but as of January 2021, it has been postponed to summer 2021.]

On Thursday, February 27th, 2020, the Atlanta Department of Transportation showed the most recent concept for DeKalb Ave. The project is described as “DeKalb Ave Safety Improvements,” and while it’s true that removing the reversible lane is an important safety improvement, the overall design would not fulfill the City’s commitment to improving safety for everyone on this key corridor.

Our vision for DeKalb Ave is of a greenway similar to the BeltLine alongside a safe street for all. In our vision, DeKalb Ave facilitates easy access to transit, prioritizes the safety of the most vulnerable people first, and provides transportation options that go beyond cars for the growing number of businesses and residents along the corridor. 

Atlanta’s 2017 pedestrian fatality rate was the 23rd highest out of the 175 largest cities in the nation. In 2018, a person walking or biking was killed somewhere in this country every 73 minutes - 6,283 pedestrians and 857 cyclists - the highest figures in 30 years. 

Cities across the U.S. and the world are setting safer speed limits to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. By lowering the speed limit, top outlier speeds go down. 

We are joining forces with Voices for Healthy Kids/American Heart Association, PEDS, AARP Georgia, other organizations, and a growing number of Atlanta neighborhood associations and NPUs to add Atlanta to the list of cities with safer speed limits.

Act now: Tell your City of Atlanta elected officials you want a safer speed limit of 25 mph on city streets.

Celebrating a win! In April 2020, the City of Atlanta approved Safe Speeds & Vision Zero legislation. Read more.

What's next for the goal of setting safe speeds? 

• Because the legislation adopted does not cover all streets, we are seeking expansion to cover collector streets (e.g. Atlanta Student Movement Blvd) and minor arterials (e.g., Cascade Road).
• Legislation passed by Atlanta City Council in May 2020 reduced the speed limit on Hosea Williams Dr (a collector) from 35 to 25 mph. This originated with a neighborhood transportation committee request in fall 2019 so neighborhood advocates, let us know if you'd like help reducing the limit on a street in your community! 

It’s a constant complaint in every neighborhood meeting: Drivers are going too fast. For some Atlantans, it’s just a nuisance or a fact of life in a city. For people who use our streets outside of vehicles (that’s everyone at some point), even a small increase in driving speed becomes a matter of life or death in a collision. 

In 2018, 6,283 pedestrians and 857 cyclists were killed in the U.S. That means a pedestrian or cyclist was killed somewhere in the U.S. every 73 minutes. That number is the highest it has been in 30 years, even though overall traffic fatalities went down slightly last year. This doesn’t include an unknown number of scooter-related fatalities since they rolled out nationwide since 2018.

On top of that, children, older adults, and people of color face a disproportionate risk of injury and death walking on our streets. This is a serious issue in Georgia. Our state moved from #10 to #6 in a national ranking of pedestrian danger based on fatalities from 2008 to 2017.

Atlanta stands out when it comes to deaths in pedestrian crashes by population. In 2017, Atlanta ranked 23rd out of the 175 largest cities in the nation for our pedestrian fatality rate: that’s how many pedestrians were killed as a percentage of total traffic fatalities. What that number tells us is that pedestrians are especially vulnerable in our city.

Slower streets are safer and better for people.

It’s simple: The faster a driver is going in a collision, the more likely a pedestrian will be killed or seriously injured. That seems obvious, but it’s important to understand that a small change in speed can have a significant difference in the outcome. From a driver’s perspective, the difference between 15 mph and 30 mph is a light tap on the gas pedal. For a person walking across the street, a small change in speed can be the difference between a bad day and a life-changing injury or death.

Research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that the risk of severe injury or death of a pedestrian quickly increases with speed. 

The risk for children and elderly pedestrians is even greater at lower speeds. The animated graphic below was created by ProPublica from the same AAA data: 

(Source: ProPublica animation of data from AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.)

On top of that, the popularity of SUVs brings a higher risk of injury and death when compared to conventional cars, in part because it’s more likely that pedestrians will be run over rather than roll up onto the hood. We’ll save the topic of distracted driving for another day (it’s not good).

It’s not only the force at which a driver strikes a pedestrian that is important. Higher speeds reduce the sight distance and reaction time a driver needs to avoid a collision in the first place. The images below show a driver’s field of vision at different speeds. When speed goes up, it’s more difficult for drivers to see and respond to objects and people outside that view.

(Source: NACTO Urban Street Design Guide)

Reducing speed limits is an effective way to reduce speed.

Cities across the United States and the world are reducing speed limits as one way to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. Vision Zero is an international movement that Atlanta must join if we are going to truly realize our commitments to equity, mobility, and sustainability. That’s why speed limits and Vision Zero are important parts of Atlanta Bicycle Coalition’s policy platform.

By reducing the speed limit, top outlier speeds are reduced. In Boston, default speed limits on most local streets were set at 25 mph. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found the odds of drivers exceeding 35 mph fell by almost 30%. In Seattle, the city has established 25mph speed limits on all its arterial streets and 20 mph on all its local streets. In a pilot study in Springfield, Missouri, reducing the speed limit in some neighborhoods from 30 mph to 25 mph had a proven effect of slightly slowing down all driver speeds, even with no other street changes. 

Citywide speed limits are still a relatively new trend in the United States and it will take more time to see data on their benefits. There is a large body of evidence in other countries showing the safety benefits of reduced speed limits. In Bristol, UK, researchers found a 63% reduction in fatal injuries since a city-wide 20 mph (30 kph) speed limit was enacted.  

Lower speeds don’t necessarily mean it will take longer to get where you’re going in a city. During the times of day when traffic in Atlanta is the most congested, speeds on many streets average less than 25 mph. What's more, 25 mph allows vehicles to travel a more consistent pace with fewer stops and starts, smoothing traffic flow. In fact, in congested conditions, traffic can flow better at lower speeds. Often in Atlanta, drivers are only driving at high speeds between traffic lights, which is both unsafe and inefficient.

Redesigning streets takes a lot of time and money. We will continue to advocate aggressively for engineering solutions to make our streets safer, including protected lanes, crosswalks, traffic calming, signal phasing, and much more. Lower speed limits won’t solve everything, but lower speed limits will help save lives right now while we continue investing in the future.

It's time to adopt safe speed limits in Atlanta.

Join these organizations in calling on the City of Atlanta to

reduce the speed limit on city streets to 25 mph.

The following neighborhoods and NPUs have approved this campaign by a vote of their members: 

• Capitol View Neighborhood Association
• Center Hill Neighborhood Association
• Cabbagetown Neighborhood Improvement Association
• Chosewood Park Neighborhood Association
• Grant Park Neighborhood Association
• Midtown Neighbors' Association
• Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League
• NPU I
• NPU J
• NPU W