ATLANTA—With more and more people stepping outside of their cars to travel, complaints about obstructions on city sidewalks are on the rise.
Rob Billings is one of the lucky ones who can walk to work. There are times when he has to leave the sidewalk and step into the very traffic he’s trying to avoid.
“I would say once a month there's a sign on the sidewalk, multiple signs on the sidewalk,” says Billings.
Billings lives in an area of downtown Atlanta where construction, roadwork, or perhaps a film crew frequently take over a city street. Large orange signs appear warning commuters of road closures.
It's the placement of those signs that sometimes irritates commuters on foot.
Responding to Rob Billing’s concerns, 11Alive’s Commuter Dude found several signs along Ted Turner Boulevard blocking most if not all of the sidewalk. His camera captured a pair of pedestrians as attempting to avoid one sign, sending one into the street during the morning rush hour.
It's happened to Rob Billings.
“It was rush hour traffic,” says Billings. “You have to look over your shoulder and make sure there are no cars coming. It's unsafe.”
The city of Atlanta grants permits that do allow contractors to place signs on city sidewalks. The placement of those signs, according to the city, must meet the guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities Act. That means a minimum sidewalk width of four, but preferably five feet.
Commuter Dude found several instances where signs left less than foot of sidewalk.
Sally Flocks of the group PEDS says the city could do more to enforce the rules.
“I don't think they're handing out rules to people, reminding them, threatening them that we're going to inspect and if you're doing it wrong we're going to take away your permit,” says Flocks.
The city insists it does deploy inspectors and an enforcement team to monitor signs.
A day after Commuter Dude reached out to the city about the signs blocking Ted Turner Boulevard and other downtown sidewalks, someone removed them.
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office says citizens can call 311, or visit ATL311 with complaints about obstructions on city sidewalks.
