Safety & Security on PATH400

path400camerasDenise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, gives us the dirt on PATH400 progress.

A Closer Look at PATH400…SAFETY

Safety on PATH400 has been a consideration from the start.  Let’s face it, if you don’t feel safe you aren’t going to use it – plain and simple. So PATH400 has several safety features that you may not even know are there.
 
Let’s start with the easy one. Do you always feel like somebody’s watching you? If so, you’re not paranoid! PATH400 is outfitted with state-of-the-art security cameras at all major points of entry…and those cameras are monitored in the Atlanta Police Department’s Video Integration Center. “The VIC” (as all the cool kids call it) is in the same room as the city’s 911 operators. So, should there be an incident (let’s hope not) the 911 operators can take over the cameras and see what is going on. Zone 2 can log into them and spot issues as well.

Now let’s talk about some of the less obvious safety features. Our designers began by following design principles known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). So what does that involve? Things that may seem like no-brainers, but they aren’t always. Here are some of the PATH400 examples.

No-brainerBLIND CORNERS ARE BAD. Duh? Not only could a cyclist coming the other way mow you down, but someone wanting to attack you could also hide around that corner, so you always want to avoid corners.

features-cptedNo-brainerDENSE VEGETATION is bad. So, screening is generally ok and accepted for providing adjacent neighbors’ privacy, but you will never see dense underbrush plantings close to the trail. Why? Same reason as #1 – you always need a clear view.

Not-so-obviousMILE MARKERS. Yep, these do belong in a safety conversation. If you need help, you need to know where you are. Navigational tools like mile markers help you describe your location.

Never would’ve thought of thatART and UNIQUE DESIGN FEATURES. Say you are on PATH400 and you pushed yourself too hard and need medical attention. You call 911 and they ask your location. You passed a mile marker a ways back but have no idea which one it was…what do you tell the operator? You look for an obvious trail feature, like the kids art or the chalk murals. These defining features help emergency responders know where you are and get to you faster. So we aren’t just making the trail pretty when we put these things in, we are making it safer.

Mama is always looking out for you – Safety doesn’t stop with crime — it also includes things that might result in someone getting injured. And who better to look for those places than the mother of a young child? As waterboy Bobby Boucher will tell you…MAMA knows best. Did you know the original plans called for PATH400 to tie in to Old Ivy Road at a 90-degree angle?

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Well, Mama said, “Bobby Boucher, that plan is the devil! You go out there and fix that plan to put in a nice gentle turn and bank it some so my baby don’t go off into no alligator pond. Everybody knows them alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush.”

That’s right – Mama’s looking out for you all. So get out there on the trail and enjoy it!

 

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