I was recently on local social media (always a great source of calm!) and, like many of you have also probably seen as you scroll, people were talking about a nearby car accident.
The post had pictures of an ambulance, which always makes us hold our breath and realize that a family’s life may have just been forever, tragically, instantly altered.
People not only were joining into the discussion with concern for no injuries, but were talking about how dangerous that specific intersection was (in this case, Minix Road). Some residents mentioned that they’d tried to get the speed limit changed there, other people mentioned the lack of awareness about stop signs; obviously this site is a place where safety interventions are needed.
I am writing because all of us probably have a similar personal inventory of dangerous spots in the county where you have had, or have heard of, a near-miss or worse. Fortunately, the county has recently started a Safe Streets and Roads for All planning initiative, where the road network will be carefully evaluated for high risk crash areas through data-analysis and qualitative input.
This plan will focus on serious and fatal injuries for road users both inside and outside of cars, as people walking and biking are also road users and are more vulnerable to severe crashes. Once the plan is complete, safety improvements can be proposed and the county may be eligible for implementation funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
We all have the opportunity to contribute to this safety action plan, including a survey and an interactive map that you can zoom into and add pins and descriptions of locations: https://planningatpond.com/fayette_ss4a (or look up “Fayette County Safe Streets”).
Please take a few minutes to think about your travel around our area as you commute, do errands, run a zillion pickup/drop-offs for kids’ activities, etc., and add your important input.
I know that none of us like to stop and fill out yet one more form, but your personal knowledge will help make our streets safer and hopefully keep our social media feeds free of heartbreaking car crash posts (no promises of stress-free feeds, though, especially as we are in election season, ugh!).
Also a quick thank you to Peachtree City and Fayette County, who have been consistently putting in safety countermeasures like light-up stop signs and the new Redwine Road roundabout.
PTC Council recently approved the design phase for a roundabout at Crosstown and Peachtree Parkway, which has been on the books as a needed safety improvement for 20 years. As a mom with two new drivers, that is always a white-knuckle intersection and I truly appreciate seeing the commitment and real-time efforts to keep making our city safer.
Stephanie Wagner
Peachtree City, Ga.
