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Athens in Motion previews May mobility mixer, flags rising crash totals and schedules Safe Streets vote
Summary
At its March 24 meeting, the Athens in Motion Commission announced a May 6 'Pedals and Pathways' mobility mixer, received crash reports showing 387 January crashes and 423 in February (one fatality each month), and heard staff say the Safe Streets for All Plan will be up for a vote on April 7; staff also reported near-completion of Firefly Trail Phase III.
Athens in Motion Commission Chair Lauren Blais opened the commission's March 24, 2026 meeting at 4:05 p.m. in the ACC Gov Planning Department's Planning Auditorium and outlined several transportation and safety items staff will bring forward in coming weeks.
Blais announced an event, "Pedals and Pathways: Mobility Mixer" (also described as "The State of Alternative Transportation in Athens"), scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Athentic Brewery, with BikeAthens listed as a confirmed partner and volunteers and staff assigned to tabling and roaming duties.
Katie Goodrum, Vision Zero coordinator with Transportation & Public Works, presented crash data for early 2026. She reported 387 total crashes in January, including one fatality, and 423 total crashes in February, including one fatality. The commission received the figures as part of regular safety reporting.
Daniel Sizemore, the bike, pedestrian and safety coordinator, said staff have shared 20 priority projects with consultant Toole as part of the plan revision process and reviewed strategies tied to the plan's five goals.
Todd Miller, park planning coordinator, gave a construction update on local trails: Firefly Trail Phase III is 98% concrete-complete in segments 1 and 2, with anticipated completion in May 2026 as staff work through a remaining property-owner request. Miller also said the Greenway Trail MLK Parkway segment (North Ave to East Broad St) is on the Georgia Department of Transportation's schedule to be let for construction bidding in 2030.
Planning Department staff (Samantha Eberhard and others) and Transportation & Public Works staff (including Jason Jones and Sizemore) summarized additional items: the action plan for the Safe Streets for All Plan will be presented for a vote to accept on April 7; the Newton Bridge Road corridor study held its final stakeholder meeting; a Bike Audit is scheduled for April 7 and a Roadway Safety Audit on April 9; and work under the Reconnecting Communities Program (including the Hawthorne corridor and segments of Oglethorpe, Prince and Mitchell Bridge) is in contract negotiations.
Corridor chairs and committee leads reported no new substantive updates. During the commissioner round, Scott Long of BikeAthens announced a community joy ride Friday evening and Blais noted a Firefly 'ticket to ride' event Saturday. The meeting adjourned at 5:57 p.m.; the next meeting is set for April 28 at 4:00 p.m.
Actions taken at the meeting were procedural: the agenda and corrected February minutes were approved unanimously, and the commission adjourned by unanimous motion.
