Residents want safety changes to dangerous stretch of Midtown roadway
Residents want safety changes on dangerous stretch of roadway
Residents say they want to see major changes to a busy stretch of roadway in Midtown after they say accidents are constant. Many say Monroe Drive near Piedmont Park has become a racetrack for careless drivers and is the cause for accidents weekly.
ATLANTA - Residents say they want to see major changes to a busy stretch of roadway in Midtown after they say accidents are constant.
Many say Monroe Drive near Piedmont Park has become a racetrack for careless drivers and is the cause of accidents weekly.
Twisted metal, flashing lights and shattered glass is what could be found at the intersection of Monroe Drive and Park Drive Friday afternoon.
"I wasn’t surprised because it seems like accidents happen at this intersection almost at a daily basis," Craig Wilson said. "A typical accident is a combination of high speeds on this four-lane street through a pedestrian neighborhood and people making left lane turns. People are making left turns as the light is changing and people not expecting it to get as fast."
Craig Wilson lives nearby. Wilson knows the pain personally after a driver t-boned his car a few years ago.
Atlanta police say there have been over 20 reported accidents at this intersection in the last year. Residents believe that number is on the low end.
Pictures show several crashes at the Monroe and Park, and the Monroe and Amsterdam intersections.
One incident involved a pedestrian.
"I’m scared for my neighbors. I’m scared for my family and for the children that are walking to the park," Megan Tesnar said.
Megan Tesnar says changes need to be made.
"I think there needs to be speed limits monitored. Flashing light or signage that says blind turned," Tesnar said.
Wilson says the city promised to take traffic down to two lanes with dedicated turning lanes and another lane for pedestrians, bikers and scooters.
The city’s transportation department had this to say:
"The Vision Zero initiative has reduced the city’s speed limit to 25 mph. The aim is to eliminate fatalities and injuries along the city’s roadways. In addition, both the Monroe Dr / Boulevard Complete Street and Monroe Dr Complete Street projects are geared to improve vehicular mobility along this corridor."
Residents don’t believe the cities plan is working.
"This is actually hurting people and killing people and it’s worth getting this fixed," Wilson said.