Liam's policy

"Atlanta lost part of its future last night. We lost a friend," was said about Liam Rattray, who passed away Monday night after being hit by a drunk driver. He dedicated his life to making communities and food systems more sustainable and had just received a $50,000 grant for a renewable-energy project at Truly Living Well, an Atlanta community garden with organic fruits and vegetables.



Hearing that a person like Liam, a person so motivated and intelligent, a person who not only dreamt of change but became the change he wanted to see, was killed by drunk driving is disgustingly unfair.

In the face of this tragedy (a word I use sparingly) and loss of all he would have done for Atlanta, I ask that policy makers take a hard look at this city’s transportation, one in which the car rules and sidewalks are optional and pedestrians account for about one in eight automobile-related fatalities. To take a look at 331 lost lives from our State alone to alcohol impaired driving.

I want them to know that MARTA is the largest transit agency in the US that does not receive any operational funds from the state. In Governor Perdue's Fiscal Year 2011 budget, he asks for 300 million dollars in General Obligation Bonds to fund transportation projects across the state. While the list includes numerous road projects and port improvements, rail enhancements are conspicuously absent.

Then I want them to know that a more extensive public transportation system, one in which MARTA moves beyond the cardinal directions, is widely accessible, and stays open later, and one where bus routes increase rather than disappear, could help.

According to a 2009 study from Cornell, each additional hour of late night public transportation reduces fatal accidents involving intoxicated drivers by 70%.

I ask you, Atlanta, to do something about this. I ask you, reader, to try to help too.

I will be working with Carly Queen to pressure policy makers to offer safer, more sustainable alternatives to drunk driving because it does not seem right to just stand by and say, what a shame. Liam would have done something and I always admired him for that.

Please visit the Facebook page for Liam and Remembering Liam, a site dedicated to his memory and works, and a site that we all hope "will transform into a living and breathing community dedicated to the ideals, priorities, and plans seeded by the late Liam Rattray." I also hope that in Liam's honor a number of campaigns grow, no matter if it is for sustainability or against drunk driving, because it will take everyone's effort to fill just one man's shoes.