The Valdosta State University College of Humanities and Social Sciences invites everyone to come out and learn more about efforts to make South Georgia more accommodating and safer for bicyclists and pedestrians at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in the Student Union Theater.

Bicycle- and Pedestrian-Involved Crashes: An Experiential Learning Partnership with Southern Georgia Regional Commission

Students Nikki Ballard, Erica Glover, Autumn McAtee, Samy Pantoja, and Nashie Wesley, along with Brandon Atkins, senior lecturer in criminal justice, and Dr. Anne Price, associate professor of sociology, present “Bicycle- and Pedestrian-Involved Crashes: An Experiential Learning Partnership with Southern Georgia Regional Commission.” This presentation covers trends in bicycle- and pedestrian-involved crashes and fatalities in South Georgia over the past five years, as well as student reflections on the research experience.

A Bikeability Assessment Tool for 18 Counties

Dr. Paul Vincent, associate professor of geography and interim head of the Department of Physics, Astronomy, Geosciences, and Engineering Technology, discusses "A Bikeability Assessment Tool for 18 Counties," another partnership with the Southern Georgia Regional Commission. The presentation covers attributes of roads and other factors that contribute to bikeability and bicyclist safety on roads in Lowndes County.

Making South Georgia Better

The Southern Georgia Regional Commission’s Elizabeth Backe, planning and transportation director, and James Horton, planner, close the event with a discussion on how these projects support the SGRC’s mission to develop, promote, and provide services that make the region a better place to live and work.

The Southern Georgia Regional Commission is a regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that serves an 18-county area (Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner, and Ware) in South Georgia.

This event is part of the VSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences Lecture Series and reflects the university’s commitment to impacting regional progress across South Georgia.