Each year, the Blinkie Awards recognize the individuals, organizations, and initiatives that are helping transform Atlanta’s streets into safe, inclusive, and thriving spaces for people to ride, walk, and roll.

These sustainable transportation leaders are advancing this work in different ways — some through advocacy and community building, others through storytelling and public leadership. Regardless of their method, all winners share a commitment to creating an Atlanta where everyone can move safely, easily, and sustainably throughout the city.

Without further adieu, we are thrilled to share the 2026 Blinkie Award Winners. Drumroll, please…

🌟 Amber Berg & Tejas Kotak: Volunteer Impact Award

Amber Berg is a transportation planner with Alta Planning + Design and an advocate for transportation safety. Tejas is a Transportation Planner at ARC where he focuses on safety, climate change, and data analyses. Together, they supported Propel ATL's crash report, “The Human Cost of Mobility,” by verifying, analyzing, and mapping crash data across metro Atlanta.

🌟 Atlanta Bike Bus Program: Safe Routes to School Award

Atlanta Bike Bus is a coalition of parents and neighbors creating weekly opportunities for kids and families to learn how to bike commute in a joyous group setting. The bike bus rides a fixed route to school every Friday morning with riders joining along the way. They currently have rides at 8 different schools across the metro area and are always looking to help start more.

🌟 Atlanta Councilmember Jason Winston: Safe Streets Champion Award

Jason Winston has represented Atlanta’s District 1 on the City Council since 2022 and was re-elected in 2025 to continue delivering results rooted in community, service, and solutions. Jason serves on the Community Development and Human Services Committee and the Committee on Council. He was also named Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative Commission, a 2026 effort focused on ensuring every neighborhood has access to the tools and resources needed to thrive. 

🌟 Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine: Institutional Leadership Award

The Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is committed to advancing health equity through community-centered research, policy advocacy, and environmental change. Through the MSM REACH Program, our team works alongside residents of Southwest Atlanta and across Fulton counties to reduce chronic disease disparities and create healthier, more active communities for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino populations. Through walk audits, listening sessions, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven advocacy, our team ensures that the voices of legacy residents shape the policies and streets of their own neighborhoods.

🌟 Dope Pedalers: Expanding the Movement Award

Started in 2015, Dope Pedalers is a community minded bike club open to any and everyone looking to enjoy the pleasures of biking, networking and improving the communities in which we ride, work and live in. They see the benefit of maintaining a fitness regimen via cycling as well as bringing people from a variety of backgrounds together.

🌟 Krystle Chanel Terry: Community Storytelling Award

Krystle Chanel is an Atlanta-based artist and social practitioner whose work bridges art, community health, and social impact. Through photography and film, she engages communities to explore how the social determinants of health, as well as the natural and built environment, shape daily life. Her layered visual narratives highlight neighborhood strengths, environmental concerns, and community stories.

🌟 Kristal Dixon & Thomas Wheatley: Transportation Media Award

Kristal Dixon has been a journalist for 19 years. She began her career in 2007 covering education and local government at the Cherokee Tribune in Canton. In 2012, she was hired as a local editor with Patch.com and covered several cities across north metro Atlanta. In 2019, she began working at the AJC where she covered education and local government. Kristal joined Axios in 2021 and is the co-author of the Axios Atlanta newsletter with Thomas. She lives in Channing Valley with her dog Hannah.

Thomas Wheatley is a reporter at Axios Atlanta. Previously, he was the news editor at Atlanta Magazine and Creative Loafing, Atlanta's long-running alt-weekly. He's a native Atlantan, a cyclist and a dad. Thomas lives in Collier Heights with his family.

Congratulations to all award winners! We are excited to celebrate you at the 2026 Blinkie Awards on Friday, May 8th at 7PM at Wild Heaven - West End. In addition to honoring winners, we’ll have music, food, drinks, bike valet, and door prizes! We hope to see you there!