People that rely heavily on their ability to walk from one destination to the next are often put at risk and forced to take extra precautions. One constant in the life of a pedestrian is a sidewalk. Sidewalks are a common site in Atlanta. However, the condition of some sidewalks leave something to be desired. The importance of these structures is sometimes overlooked and not thought of. When the state of sidewalks begins to hinder mobility it becomes a problem of architectural exclusion as people who primarily walk are then limited to areas with well-kept sidewalks. Additionally, pedestrians may face trouble when crossing streets. Some drivers stop too far ahead at stoplights, leaving walkers to go around cars rather than stay on the crosswalk. Tragedies, such as the one that struck the Nelsons, can be the result of many things. In the case of the Nelsons, long wait times for public transportation and far apart crosswalks resulted in fatality. The Nelsons were victims of architectural exclusion and had to take extra steps to get to where they needed to go. In its underdevelopment, the public transportation failed the Nelsons and continues to fail people every day.
The poor condition of some sidewalks in Atlanta.
(source 2): Paget-Seekins, Laurel. “Atlanta: Unsafe at Any Speed: Transit Fatality Raises Issues of Race, Poverty and Transportation Justice”. Race, Poverty & the Environment 19.1 (2012) : 22–24. JSTOR Journals. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
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