Residents urge action on mid-block crossings and heavy trucks; committee and ATL DOT to follow up

During the public comment period at the June 25 Transportation Committee meeting, two residents raised separate safety concerns that committee members said staff would follow up on.

Peachtree mid-block crossing: A speaker introduced to the committee as Miss Brooks urged the committee to delay further dockless deployments and to reconsider a proposed crosswalk at Peachtree Center. Brooks said that decorative iron fences historically directed pedestrians to corners and that removal of those barriers during a tactical urbanism project encouraged unsafe mid-block crossings. “So that letter points to the failure of the program and serious deficiencies,” she said, referring to vendor correspondence, and added: “Crossing at the corner is a whole lot safer.” She suggested reinstalling the short ornamental fences between tree wells to discourage mid-block crossing.

Grove Park heavy vehicles and speed: Wanda Barlow, who said she recently moved to Atlanta and lives in Grove Park, described high volumes of traffic and heavy commercial vehicles on Holly Street and North Avenue, saying she counted “372 regular vehicles passing through the intersection … in 1 hour” and that six-, 12- and 18-wheel commercial trucks frequently use residential streets. Barlow said the heavy vehicles caused house shaking, obstructed sidewalks and even knocked down a stop sign. She asked for speed bumps, speed signs and enforcement and noted an ordinance restricting commercial vehicle parking in residential areas.

Committee response and next steps: Chair Byron Amos said staff and Captain Baldini had already visited the Grove Park site after prior outreach and that ATL DOT would send someone to identify the exact street segment so the department could begin work on traffic-calming measures. On the Peachtree matter, the committee is handling a separate agenda item concerning a crosswalk and a substitute resolution that attaches a memo of support from the Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association; that item was substituted and approved on the committee agenda.

Action vs. direction: No formal policy votes resulted directly from the public comments; however, the committee directed ATL DOT and police to follow up on Grove Park enforcement and traffic-calming options and noted intent to coordinate on the Peachtree crosswalk matter as part of the relevant resolution.

Ending: Committee members thanked both speakers for bringing safety concerns to the record and asked staff to provide follow-up with residents.