Police: Pedestrian Hit in Virginia-Highland
A man was hit while crossing N. Highland Avenue on Thursday night.
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A cab hit a pedestrian crossing N. Highland Avenue at Briarcliff Place in Virginia-Highland on Thursday night, March 17, according to police.
Atlanta police are unsure if the pedestrian used the crosswalk when he crossed the street around 10:30 p.m.
"It appeared that he was intoxicated, but we don’t know if he came out of a bar in that area, or where he came from,” Atlanta police Capt. Van Hobbs told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Metro Atlanta residents packed the restaurants and bars in Virginia-Highland Thursday night to celebrate St. Patricks Day and watch the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The man was transported to Grady Hospital with head injuries, a police spokesperson said in a statement Friday morning, and no charges have been filed against the cab driver.
Georgia law gives foot traffic the right of way at designated crosswalks, and cars are required by law to stop for pedestrians to allow them to cross the street. In Virginia-Highland, crosswalks are marked with signs to remind drivers to stop for pedestrians.
Atlanta police are continuing to investigate the accident.
David Eckoff
12:38 pm on Friday, March 18, 2011
I hate reading about this accident and my thoughts and wishes for a speedy recovery go out to the injured person. I also can't help but think, that could have been any of us or a family member hit by a car in that area. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly been hit while crossing in crosswalks in this area. And many others have said the same. Cosswalks are marked by signs. However the crosswalks in the area are a disaster waiting to happen.
Last year, I and others raised this issue, and suggested the use of lights embedded in the crosswalk and in warning signs - that are off until sensors detect a pedestrian stepping into the crosswalk and then automatically flash to increase the visibility of the crosswalk. These are in place in other cities, see how they make crosswalks more visible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pDk7JUYU7c
Examples of intersections where these could be especially helpful: N. Highland & Briarcliff Place; Virginia & Todd; N. Highland & Virginia; and N. Highland near the fire station.
Our elected board for the VHCA neighborhood association are volunteers and spend many hours working to improve the neighborhood.
I'd like to see VHCA prioritize spending on safety improvement projects such as crosswalk visibility, or sidewalk reimbursement program, or other safety related projects - instead, of spending $6,500+ on a spendy website infrastructure upgrade that could be easily accomplished for low or no cost.
What do you think?