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Council adopts Safe Streets action plan, sets 2040 target to eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injuries on city streets
Summary
The council approved the city’s Safe Streets action plan — a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant deliverable — and amended the staff recommendation to set a target year of 2040 (staff had proposed 2050); council discussion focused on traffic calming, project costs and enforcement.
The Sandy Springs City Council voted April 15 to adopt the city’s Safe Streets action plan and to set a target date of 2040 to eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injuries on city‑owned streets.
Public Works Director Marty Martin presented the plan, noting that the city had received a grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation to prepare the action plan and that staff analyzed tens of thousands of crashes to identify high‑priority locations and strategies. "The focus of the plan is to eliminate, over time, fatal and serious injury crashes," Martin said, and he described a multifaceted approach combining engineering, education, enforcement and emergency response.
Councilmember Jody Rochelle moved to adopt the plan and set the goal and timeline; Dr. Melody Kelly seconded the motion. Councilmember John Paulson proposed a substitute amendment to shorten the target from 2050 to 2040; Paulson moved the amendment and T. V. DeGiulio seconded. The council adopted the amendment by voice vote and then approved the amended plan; no dissenting votes were recorded in the meeting record.
Council debate cited both behavioral and engineering elements. Paulson and other councilmembers urged a more ambitious timeline, arguing that a shorter target would better focus capital planning and behavioral programs; others described the goal as aspirational and noted capital costs and multi‑department coordination needed to reach a zero‑fatality outcome. Public safety, emergency response time improvements and post‑crash care were discussed as elements that also reduce serious injury outcomes.
Staff said the plan’s leadership commitment and goal‑setting were required by the federal grant and that the grantor encourages jurisdictions to set ambitious targets. Councilmembers asked staff to return with financial implications of accelerating the timeline and to consider traffic calming policy adjustments and program funding as part of the FY26 budget process.
Action details in the record identify the item as agenda item 2025‑084; the council’s voice vote approved the amended resolution without a roll‑call dissent noted in the meeting transcript.
