We’re gathering feedback on our draft 2026–2029 policy agenda.
The agenda is organized by jurisdiction, agency, or decision-maker to ensure each item is clear and targeted. For each section, you’ll see proposed priorities, a short description, and space to rank and comment. These are actions, funding decisions, and policy changes that Propel ATL is considering advocating for each jurisdiction, agency, or decision-maker to take. Entities include the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County, the Governor of Georgia, the Georgia State Department of Transportation, the Georgia Legislature, and MARTA.

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* 1. Please provide your name so we can keep in touch

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* 3. If you're representing an organization, please list it here.

Actions we could advocate for the City of Atlanta to take
The following are policies and priorities that fall under the City of Atlanta. These are actions, funding decisions, and policy changes that Propel ATL is considering advocating for or implementing within this jurisdiction.

Please rate each item on a scale of 1–5:
1 = Least Important | 5 = Most Important

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* 4. Reallocate revenue from speed cameras to the ATLDOT Safety & Mobility Fund

Speed camera revenue should go towards making school zones safer. Ultimately, we want to eliminate speeding and speeding tickets. We can do this through safer street design changes that make it uncomfortable to drive fast near schools. In the meantime, money collected by speeding ticket fines should go towards these projects.

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* 5. Create a Vision Zero Implementation team to install "Quick Build" projects that make streets safer

Quick Build projects (also known as Tactical Urbanism) are a way for communities to install safety improvements relatively quickly and inexpensively. But there are too many barriers for most neighborhoods to install these projects. Propel ATL is working to overcome one barrier—insurance—by securing a policy available to communities who partner with us. But neighborhoods, especially those in under-resourced communities, will still need support to install projects.

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* 6. Create a transparent, data-driven system for traffic calming projects and start using the $10 Million allocated in Moving Atlanta Forward to eliminate the backlog of traffic calming projects.

In 2021, we advocated successfully for a new traffic calming ordinance, clearing the path for a better process to request street modifications to slow down high speeds. However, four years later neighborhoods still make traffic calming requests through Councilmembers, an arbitrary and ineffective process. What's more, the Moving Atlanta Forward fund allocated $10 Million towards traffic calming in 2022 that hasn't been activated yet. There should be a traffic calming landing page on the ATLDOT website explaining the process for communities to request traffic calming projects, with information on projects in the pipeline.

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* 7. Update existing transportation design guides and policies created before the ATLDOT came into existence

Atlanta's transportation guides, policies, and standards were mostly adopted before the Atlanta Department of Transportation was created in 2019.

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* 8. Host annual Multimodal Streets workshops for elected officials, agency staff, and consultants.

Atlanta has complete streets language in several policy documents, but sometimes political opposition prevents safety from reigning as the top priority. A workshop on designing safe, complete, multimodal streets can raise awareness of how street design influences human behavior, and how design changes can save lives while helping local businesses to thrive.

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* 9. Adopt zoning that supports transit, with incentives for developing equitable projects on corridors where transit projects are planned

As MARTA invests in faster, more frequent transit service, land use must change to better support transit ridership. Zoning changes should proactively avoid people being displaced from their homes by ensuring affordable housing and equitable development are prioritized.

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* 10. Update Atlanta Police Department (APD) pursuit policy so only suspects who pose an immediate threat to the public can be pursued in a high-speed chase

Earlier this year, Atlanta Police chased a robbery suspect. The high-speed chase ended in a crash that killed an innocent bystander. The suspected crime? Using pepper spray to rob several Chic-Fil-As. Instead of engaging in this dangerous practice that puts everyone at risk, APD can use technology such as Flock cameras and GPS trackers to find suspects who don't pose an immediate threat. Limiting pursuits to cases involving a grave and imminent threat to the public would prevent needless loss of life without compromising public safety.

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* 11. Communicate clearly and transparently about transportation projects, programs, and street closures, including sidewalk and bike lane detours

Atlanta residents, businesses, and visitors increasingly value safe, accessible, and sustainable transportation options. Clear, transparent communications can help answer their questions about progress on projects and maintain support for future public investments. Project dashboards on the ATLDOT website should be revised to be user-friendly and accurate.

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* 12. Revise permits that allow sidewalks or bike lanes to be closed so they require temporary alternatives

City requirements for requests to close sidewalks for construction or events are fairly stringent, but those requirements don't apply to bike lane closures, leading to safety issues.

What's more, the City doesn't communicate about sidewalk and bike lane closures as consistently as it does when a regular lane of traffic is closed. For example, the Peachtree Center Ave cycletrack was closed for months following a resurfacing project without notice, and the Krog tunnel has been closed for repairs multiple times without clear communication letting people know the sidewalk remained open. As the department responsible for transportation and mobility, ATLDOT should review all transportation infrastructure closure applications, and all City websites should reflect this.

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* 13. Change the law to make sidewalks part of City Right of Way and City's responsibility to maintain

Currently, Atlanta property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk adjacent to their property. This puts an unfair burden on lower-income homeowners including those on a fixed income. Even for those who can afford to do the repairs, the process to fix a small section of sidewalk makes this an inefficient way to maintain a public good. Atlanta considered making this change in 2020 but held the legislation.

Many international cities already take responsibility for sidewalks. They repair potholes in the public street - why wouldn't they repair cracks in the public sidewalk? In the US, some cities are moving away from asking residents to maintain public infrastructure. Chicago, Dallas, Portland (OR), St. Louis, San Antonio, Los Angeles and Madison (WI) all have cost-share or rebate programs in place.

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* 14. Ensure the City's Vision Zero Action Plan is well-resourced and meets annual milestones shared in an annual report

The plan, adopted in November 2023, is extremely ambitious with many worthwhile action items, but the actions are lagging behind because there's not enough funding or staff to implement. If the City is truly committed to its goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2040, it must invest significant time and resources in ATLDOT and the entire City of Atlanta.

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* 15. Dedicate the next TSPLOST (a sales tax for transportation projects) completely to sidewalks

The estimated cost to repair Atlanta's sidewalks and fill in the gaps is ~$1 Billion. The 2022 TSPLOST (part of Moving Atlanta Forward) was expected to raise $350 Million over five years. This kind of money would put a large dent in the backlog, which was created over decades and will take years to address. That's all the more reason to start now.

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* 16. Create a "Sidewalk Squad" responsible for fixing sidewalks

The Atlanta “Pothole Posse” was revived in 2021 and filled some 4,000 potholes that year, while it repaired just 2.7 miles of sidewalks. Sidewalks are an even bigger safety and accessibility concern, yet the time to fix sidewalks is in the years to decades, while potholes get repaired quickly because they affect mostly drivers. Given the enormous need, public interest, and ADA settlement, the Sidewalk Squad should be given equal or greater funding and personnel to the Pothole Posse.

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* 17. Require the City of Atlanta to install planned safety and bicycle/pedestrian improvements during resurfacing projects

Repaving streets makes it easier for car drivers to speed, which makes those streets less safe unless countermeasures are taken at the same time. Despite language in multiple plans and policies calling for the City to "take every opportunity to make streets safer," resurfacing (repaving) projects are green-lit without making plans to install safety improvements or planned bike infrastructure (see example: World Cup bond-funded resurfacing projects downtown).

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* 18. Invest money raised from on-street paid parking in ATLDOT's Safety & Mobility Fund

Currently, the first $7 million in revenue goes directly into the City of Atlanta General Fund. Revenue over $7 Million is split 80/20. Because most curbside revenue goes into the General Fund rather than being reinvested in the streets, sidewalks, and facilities that make curbside parking valuable, the system doesn’t maintain or improve the infrastructure it relies on. Therefore, we recommend phasing out the contribution to the General Fund over the next 3 years. Funds should instead be reinvested through ATLDOT to directly support things like sidewalk and ADA upgrades, protected bike lanes, scooter corrals, and bus stop accessibility.

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* 19. Create a fully connected network of physically separated and protected bike and scoot lanes

A bike or scoot trip is only as safe and comfortable as the worst intersection it crosses. Gaps in the network prevent people who are concerned about being hit by cars from using bikes or scooters for transportation. This contributes to car ownership being the default, if bike/scoot infrastructure is not reliably safe, connected, and protected. As the City updates its Comprehensive Transportation Plan in 2026, ATLDOT should prioritize eliminating gaps in the network and adding physical separation to bike/scoot lanes.

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* 20. Do you have edits, comments, or additional ideas for the City of Atlanta agenda items?

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