Home > Snellville.Talk > Archives > 2008 > February > 07 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USRoad improvements and creative driving
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Time for a shout-out.
And a bit of a “shout-at.”
Both involve Snellville traffic.
If you’ve never tried to maneuver through our city during evening rush hour, count your blessings and move on. You can skip this commentary and instead read about Britney or Paris or a plan to double bus fares in Gwinnett - all three of which reflect similar levels of wisdom and sensitivity.
If, however, you have found yourself locked in the southbound, got-to-get-home line-ups along Ga. 124 and North Road, this one’s for you.
The shout-out goes to the city of Snellville and Gwinnett County for — just last month — making North Road a southbound, one-way corridor from Wisteria Road to Oak Road. This reduces southbound backup by allowing weary travelers on North Road to more quickly turn left onto Wisteria, a major route home.
Moms who have watched their children outgrow car seats while waiting to make that turn salute you, local leaders. Now, instead of three or four cars getting through each light, about 12 to 14 are making it, according to unscientific monitoring by the city.
Another improvement is on the way, said Snellville City Manager Jim Brooks. A right turn lane will be added to North Road at Wisteria to further relieve southbound traffic — though a date for the work is uncertain.
North Road’s problems were created by people trying to avoid the notorious backup a block away on Ga. 124.
If necessity is the mother of invention, our fellow travelers are clearly some mighty needy — and inventive — folk.
Further proof presented itself to me on a couple of different occasions recently as I waited in the snake of southbound traffic to turn left from Ga. 124 to Wisteria.
(This is where my “shout-at” comes in.)
Drivers more important than the rest of us — you know the ones I’m talking about — breezed by those of us in line with our left lights blinking. They scooted a half-block farther, made a U-turn on Ga. 124 and then doubled back to smoothly turn right onto Wisteria.
What ingenuity! What imagination! What incredible arrogance!
I wavered between being impressed and outraged.
Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead said Wednesday he hadn’t heard about this latest trick. But he wasn’t surprised. Drivers cut across private property, cruise along in turning lanes and try assorted maneuvers to get ahead of the crowd, he said.
The funny thing is, he said, many times it is all for naught.
“Often when they cut through private property, by the time they get back on the road, they are farther behind,” Whitehead said.
:-)
What new or creative driving techniques have you noticed? Has the change at North Road improved your ride?
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
Comments
By Harold
February 7, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
Why do people move somewhere with such a vastly increased chance of death or serious injury in an automobile crash? Isn’t the tiny risk of a mugging in a densely populated and walkable area less than the risk we take by using cars? Are we idiots or what? Some folk say the city is too expensive, but once you factor cars and the damages caused by them into the equation for living in the ‘burbs, the burbs are more expensive. Everybody should get a better I.T. job at http://www.my.computerjobs.com/userlogin.aspx?_panel=1&mkt=t3 and then we could all afford to live in the city and avoid these traffic problems that cause crashes and pollution and high blood pressure. Cars are killing us! No cars on Peachtree by 2012!!!!!
By From Sandy Springs to Snellville
February 7, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
Why did you tell everyone about the “secret” of North Road? Now everyone will just cut across earlier. Argh! Curses! Please don’t mention the new light with turning signals at the QT.
Honestly, I love the new “one way”. It has made life so much easier.
By MySnellvilleBlogDotCom
February 7, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this
As a business owner who needs to access the Snellville Post Office on a regular basis, I HATE the one way. It means I have to exit left out of the Post Office and then turn right onto Oak Road, sit at the long light and turn right again onto Hwy 124, to turn right again onto Wisteria…when before, I could turn right out of the Post Office and then right onto Wisteria. It has made the bad situation at the Snellville Post Office worse than ever, and I feel sorry for the businesses in that corridor who will not get the traffic from business people leaving the post office anymore. But yes, I can see the overall improved picture for those turning left from North Road onto Wisteria.
By pete
February 7, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this
The new one way section has indeed made it easier to turn left onto Wisteria. It has also increased traffic at North and Dogwood, North and Pinehurst, North and Pharr, North and Ridgedale, North and Mt.Zion and North and 124 as more and more people use this residential street to cut through. What is being planned for these intersections as they become even more overloaded than before? The traffic did not go away, it just moved. By the way, congratulations to Mayor Oberholterzer. His “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” attitude meant that the striping was done in the rain, hence the faded and blurry line south of Wisteria. He must have been afraid someone would publicize the fact that the traffic consultants (and I use the term loosely) only looked at the intersection of North and Wisteria and totally ignored Oak and North as well as 124 and Wisteria to say nothing of the previously mentioned intersections.
This is symptomatic of the way things are happening these days. The mayor and council look at small areas without looking at the big picture. Heck, things are no better now than when Emmett was in charge. Too bad Brett moved on to greener pastures. Maybe he would have stayed true to his campaign of slower, better thought out growth. Now the city is faced with service cuts or tax hikes. Jerry is prompt to point out the free trash service. Wonder how long that will last? Oh well.
By Scott
February 8, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
Actually watched a woman ignore the HUGE DO NOT ENTER signs & dartleft from Oak at the post office onto the street…I hate to say it, but I sort of chuckled, as she quickly got into the post office parking lot…
By Larry
February 8, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
Two quick comments about this change. It was first proposed and planning started during the time Jeff Timler was city manager. Redtape, courtesy of your county government, held up implementation until Mr. Brooks was on board. Secondly, one writer said he hated the change because he now has to drive onto Hwy 124 to get back to Wisteria. Instead, he should use the drive beside the post office that is next to and parallel to North. Follow it around the back of the post office to the drive leading to Wisteria. A bit more of a hassle than before, but much less of a headache than using Hwy 124.
By Mary
February 8, 2008 5:14 PM | Link to this
I hope the LEFT turn off Wisteria onto 124 is changed to NO LEFT TURN and closed soon. This was promised by the powers that be, last summer, then mid-October, and now - who knows?? The people turning left into Harbour Oaks from the turn lane on 124 are very often met head on by an irate left turner from Wisteria. (I’ve had to move out of the way several times - they do not yield once they turn) Not an ideal situation!! Needs to be fixed!!
By Audrey
February 10, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this
I agree that the one-way section has helped with the backup for south bound North St. What I would like to see addressed is the intersection of Oak & Hwy 78. For those of us driving north on Henry Clower to cross over Hwy 78 onto Oak, it is very frustrating to have to sit and wait thru OUR green light for the intersection to clear. Drivers coming east on Hwy 78 & ones turning left from Oak both seem to think it`s OK to keep on coming thru the intersection well past the yellow light. If traffic is slowed & backing up into the intersection, why do they think they can keep coming forward when they should have stopped & waited for the next light? Just one block back at Hwy 78 & 124, they would be getting a $75 red light camera ticket. Do these cameras have to be installed at every intersection to keep drivers from doing this?
By SpringTraining
February 12, 2008 7:13 AM | Link to this
Snellville is just wrong period. They think by making it one way at the end of North Road they are going to fix things? These intersections are not good anywhere. Coming off Pinehurst and making a left turn onto 124 a driver takes their life in the hands every time. They refuse to give a green turn arrow there. Whats up with that. I guess one of their reletives have not been injured there yet.
By cofthenight
February 12, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this
Yes! It’s impossible to turn left onto 124 from Pinehurst! I just don’t do it! That is a perfect place to install a turn signal… why hasn’t it been done yet? Esp. since the new Walgreens, LA Fitness, etc. opened back there… there’s plenty of new traffic to warrant it. Sorry, I’ll have to continue to go around the back and use North road and contribute to clogging it up!