What we want:
Athenians should be able to safely and efficiently get where they need to go, whether they’re walking, biking, driving, or using public transit. The ACC Complete Streets Policy needs to be strengthened to apply more broadly and more frequently.
The benefits:
- Safer mobility. Roads with good bike and pedestrian infrastructure are much safer for those who utilize those transportation methods.
- More efficient transportation. Complete streets mean that people can choose the transportation method that works best for them. It also means people don’t have to take circuitous routes in order to find streets safe enough to walk or bike.
- Increased economic security. In a county with a 38% poverty rate, we should be ensuring that alternatives to the expense of car ownership are available to as many residents as possible, and we should focus our complete streets efforts on underserved neighborhoods.
- Protecting undocumented Athenians. Because they lack other safe and/or efficient transportation options, too many undocumented Athenians have to drive to work, school, or leisure activities without the driver’s licenses denied to them by the Georgia State Legislature. We should prioritize serving these communities so they need not risk the tickets, detention, and deportation that too often result from driving without a license.
- Climate change mitigation. More people bike and walk when those are reasonable options, reducing the emissions that result from driving.
- Better health. Walking and biking improve people’s health.
The political situation:
The current ACC Complete Streets Policy is ineffective. A4E and our allies at Complete Streets Athens will ramp up the fight to include bike and pedestrian infrastructure whenever streets are repaved, to enact a stronger Complete Streets Policy, and to win a Complete Streets-supporting majority in the May 2018 Mayor & Commission elections.