Authorities in DeKalb County have begun an effort to caution pedestrians crossing major thoroughfares who aren't using crosswalks or are distracted by their electronic devices. WSB-TV reports DeKalb Police were on Memorial Drive on Friday evening, giving warnings about the risks to pedestrians.
The crackdown by police is in partnership with DeKalb County Board of Health, which received a $30,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety last year for a "Live Safe DeKalb" program. The state office says that about one-third of the of the 196 deaths related to motor vehicle crashes from 2014 to 2016 in DeKalb County involved pedestrians.
On Memorial Dr. outside Interstate 285, where four miles of raised median was built in 1990, there are long stretches with no pedestrian crosswalks and a 45 mph speed limit. Traffic engineers say medians encourage cars to go faster, a phenomenon that can be readily seen on Memorial Dr.
Authorities plan similar enforcement efforts on Buford Highway, Covington Highway, Wesley Chapel Rd. and Moreland Ave. Buford Highway has been ranked in the past as Georgia's and, at one point, the nation's most dangerous road for pedestrians.
