🚶 The Gist: Atlanta City Council is considering a groundbreaking ordinance to ban right turns on red in key neighborhoods to enhance pedestrian safety and support sustainable urban mobility.
🔍 The Details: The proposed ordinance aims to significantly improve pedestrian safety in Downtown Atlanta, Midtown Atlanta, and Castleberry Hill by prohibiting right turns at red lights. The measure aligns with Atlanta’s Vision Zero strategy, adopted to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The strategy seeks to improve the well-being of pedestrians and cyclists amid increasing traffic fatalities.
🚫 By The Numbers:
- Pedestrian fatalities in Atlanta increased by 23% from 2021 to 2022.
- Over 3,000 Atlanta families have been impacted by traffic violence since 2010.
- Studies show black pedestrians experience traffic deaths at more than twice the rate per mile walking as white pedestrians.
🌆 The Big Picture: The measure is part of a broader shift towards sustainable urban development, challenging the decades-old policy that allowed right turns on red as a fuel conservation measure. With pedestrian deaths at a 40-year high in the U.S., cities like Atlanta are reevaluating traffic laws to prioritize human lives over convenience and speed, drawing on successful models from cities like Raleigh, North Carolina, and Seattle, Washington.
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❗ Why It Matters: This policy change addresses critical safety concerns and the is part of a growing trend of large cities adapting to the realities of urban density, increased pedestrian traffic, and inclusive public spaces that ensure the safety of all citizens.
🛑 What’s Next?: The ordinance is up for a vote at Monday’s City Council meeting. If passed, it is slated to start by December 31, 2025.
