Micromobility issues dominated the agenda the Atlanta City Council transportation committee meeting on Wednesday.
Residents from District 12 and advocates for safer, more accessible streets for people with disabilities showed up to make public comments about the disrepair or lack of sidewalks in neighborhoods like Capitol View in Southwest Atlanta.
“We’ve been told repeatedly that there’s no money for sidewalks, yet you recently approved borrowing $120 million to improve downtown streets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” said Eric Jacobson, president of Capitol View Neighborhood Association and former executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.
“While the city should be applauded for making downtown more accessible for people with disabilities, many of the neighborhoods where those same folks live full-time remain inaccessible because of missing or crumbling infrastructure,” he said.
Other community members shared the dangers of having to walk or ride wheelchairs in the street alongside traffic in areas where sidewalks are nonexistent or seriously damaged and urged city council to pass more funding for pedestrian infrastructure like sidewalks and crosswalks.
Antonio Lewis, city council representative for District 12, expressed his solidarity with his constituents.
“I’m fighting as much as I can to get as much funding to the Southside,” he said, noting that further south than Capitol View many District 12 neighborhoods have no sidewalks at all.
The committee voted to approve an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) advisory committee for Atlanta, which is required as part of the May settlement of a lawsuit brought by wheelchair users against the city due to Atlanta’s lack of compliance with the ADA.
“We’re mandated to address ADA deficiencies throughout the city over a 25-year period,” Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) Commissioner Solomon Caviness said. “This is part of the process.”
Councilmember Alex Wan from District 6 requested that ATLDOT begin considering how to fund the project needs that will be identified by this advisory committee.
“Get ahead of that. Let’s not wait for the recommendations; let’s figure out how we’re going to fund some of these sidewalks, some of these intersection improvements,” Wan said.
Members of the transportation committee also had a lengthy discussion with ATLDOT Commissioner Caviness and Atlanta Police Department (APD) Assistant Chief Carven Tyus about e-scooters in Atlanta, ultimately moving forward a measure to allow scooter rides between midnight and 2 a.m. in the city.
Atlanta implemented a ban on nighttime e-scooter usage between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. after four scooter-related deaths in 2019. In 2022, the city council decreased the restrictions to the hours between midnight and 4 a.m.
APD requested a review of data about crimes committed by suspects on scooters before proceeding with the change in policy.
“When we start looking at scooter riders after midnight, at 2 a.m. — it just gives us concerns. Those scooters have historically been used in crimes sometimes. There’s a propensity for accidents,” Tyus said. “We’re all about the connectivity and people using scooters, but we just see a different breed of people using those scooters after midnight.”
Lewis and Amir Farokhi both pushed back on the idea of limiting access to scooters due to crime concerns, noting that residents in their districts use e-scooters to get to and from work at late-night restaurant and hotel jobs.
“We’re playing favorites here on transportation modes that I think are unfair to residents and to workers who need to get around at night,” Farokhi said. “The crime that’s occurring late at night—the scooter is not the culprit there.”
Council members requested additional data on scooter accidents and fatalities and APD officials said they would provide more information on late-night crimes and whether they involved scooters, bicycles, or cars.
The committee advanced legislation to add a speed table on Annie St. NW between Marietta St. NW and Alma St. and also requested that ATLDOT provide a list of the backlog of traffic calming projects in the city and estimated timelines for completion.
Farokhi noted that some speed table requests in District 2 have been in the queue for about three years now.
The committee also moved forward legislation to provide additional funding for Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, funding for Path400 from Loridian Rd. into Sandy Springs, an expansion of the scope of work for resurfacing and safety improvements in Buckhead along Mount Paran Rd. and funding for Dekalb Ave. safety improvements and Cheshire Bridge Rd. repairs.
About the scooters…none of the vendors has complied with the requirements of the scooter program. Scooters are a nuisance in my neighborhood, littering the sidewalks, harassing pedestrians and I’ve seen them used to get away after committing a crime. I’ve seen many accidents. ATLDOT says that people don’t feel comfortable riding on the street so they have to ride on the sidewalks until more infrastructure is built to accommodate them safely. To that I say, “if you don’t feel safe riding them in the street as the permit requires, just walk instead.” The average ride is reported to be well less than a mile. Let’s walk.
As your article mentioned, in advance of the vote, City Council asked for scooter data for accidents, injuries, fatalities and in relation to crimes committed. Those data did not arrive. Since the data is all collected by the vendors, why would they produce data that reflects the true picture of their business model?
Wouldn’t you know, City Council went ahead and approved a resolution allowing these vendors to monetize their equipment for 2 additional hours every day. Rewarding the for bad behavior. The text of the legislation 24-R-4212 itself listed 6 “whereas” paragraphs, only one of which is true and the rest are NOT. City Council has been fed erroneous data for 7 years and upon these data, decisions have been made that cost me in terms of quality of life and cost me as a taxpayer far too much money. The only data that is colledted about parking violations is what the public report to ATL311.
Elsewhere, cities hold vendors to very conditions for these shareable dockless vehicles and many cities have banned them entirely.
Is anybody interested in laying the ground for a successful shared dockless micro mobility program? It is simple: the vendors contract must include paying the actual costs of full-on enforcement of all laws governing the operation of motor vehicles on the public right of way, for parking, as well as geo-fencing to prevent use on private property and for speed control. ADA personal mobility devices are restricted to 5-7 MPH and scooters at that speed are safer and less of a threat to other users of the public right of way.
Please. It’s been 7 years of deterioration in the pedestrian experience in the Downtown Central Business and Hospitality District. Help!
Yes, sadly, scooters and bikes make city sidewalks – and also the beltline – pretty much unwalkable. I say this after being sideswiped, forced to jump aside to avoid being run down, surrounded by children veering and racing on scooters, and witnessing other walkers being verbally threatened by cyclists for “moving 2 inches to the side and getting in their way.”
It’s difficult to understand why the city allows this to happen. Pedestrians in Atlanta have NO rights, and for anyone with even a slight disability, it’s downright hazardous.