This Atlanta Corridor Makes Walking Normal and Deadly

Atlanta’s Buford Highway supports apartment communities, small businesses, and an international food scene that draws people from across the region. It also carries six to eight lanes of fast traffic, and drivers use it as an alternate route when nearby interstates clog. More than 20% of trips happen outside a car, yet roughly 90% of the corridor’s space is reserved for vehicles. Rebecca Serna, executive director of Propel ATL, and Sagirah Jones, the organization’s program director, hosted walk audits to put residents, planners, and elected officials on the same road and show how people navigate it every day. The audits exposed an unexpected barrier: many people supported bigger changes while remaining convinced that someone else would never allow them.

Additional Show Notes

• Rebecca Serna (LinkedIn)
• Sagirah Jones (LinkedIn)
• Propel ATL (Site)
• Buford Highway Community Walk Audit Summary of Findings (PDF)
• AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit (Site)
• 'We Built the Best Interstate System. Now It’s Falling Apart.' (Video)
• Mission Accomplished Report (Site)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

 

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