Advocates march to demand sidewalk accessibility in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Advocates rallied around Atlanta City Hall on Wednesday to demand action on sidewalks around the city.

Some people who gathered said they want Atlanta City Council members to ensure that Atlanta’s infrastructure can properly serve people with mobility challenges or disabilities.

“There’s an intersection that I have to walk through on my way to my child’s daycare every single day, where in the last year three people have been hit by cars. And if you expand out from that we’ve got lots of pedestrian injuries, broken legs,” advocate Allie Sudholt said. “So, the fact that we’ve been working for years to get one intersection resolved with high traffic on the way to the Beltline with no results is incredibly frustrating.”

Several people spoke out at a transportation committee meeting in hopes of the city approving a residential sidewalk bond.

In a press release distributed by New Disabled South, “advocates insist that if the city can allocate $120 million for tourist-related improvements, it must invest at least that amount in sidewalk accessibility for residents.”

According to New Disabled South’s website, the group fights for disability rights in 14 states.

“The ability to move freely and safely is a right, not a privilege,” said Dom Kelly, founder and CEO of New Disabled South. “For too long, people with disabilities and mobility aid users have been forced to navigate unsafe or nonexistent sidewalks. If Atlanta can spend millions to make the city appealing to tourists, it can — and must— invest equally in making sure all residents, especially those of us with disabilities, can navigate our city.”

Councilman Antonio Lewis, who represents District 12, said he’s standing in solidarity with everyone concerned.

“I made sure we gave a one-pager to the community members today that talked about specific projects that have already been identified and funded horizontal and vertical-wise. I think one of the biggest things we’ve talked about was the Allene Avenue, and some of the accidents there,” he said. " We funded that project. It just hasn’t happened yet.”

Lewis said he’s been advocating for things to be fixed below I-20 for a while now.

“Essentially the funding is there. Essentially the projects have been identified, and everything that I can control has been controlled. The things that I can’t control, I can’t control, and that means that it’s falling onto the other side, and I just can’t touch it,” he said.

Lewis said he also lives in the area where people are concerned.

“One of the things that I talk about during budget hearings is, how many project managers do we have in the Department of Transportation?” he said. " We have too many projects that the money is there, the idea has already been planned out, but we’re not doing anything, and I think it’s because we need to staff up.”

Sudholt, who lives in the Capital View area, said more should be done.

“Great to see there’s progress happening that’s what we want to see. We just like to actually see sidewalks get installed,” Sudholt said.

Organizers also said they want leaders to take action immediately and make Atlanta’s sidewalks equitable for everyone.

“For too long the City of Atlanta has deprioritized pedestrian safety at the expense of car traffic; and when finally pushed to invest in pedestrians, our leaders have chosen to spend that money on tourists rather than our neighbors,” said Zach Adriaenssens, Chair of the Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU). “If Atlanta wants to be a world-class city, it needs to provide its residents with world-class pedestrian infrastructure so that our seniors and others with mobility limits can walk in dignity.”