Home > Snellville.Talk > Archives > 2008 > April > 24
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Goodbye four-way stop
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The colorful little flags beside North Road in Snellville mark more than the location of utilities. They are signs of further change for the mostly residential corridor that has been overtaken by heavy, cut-through traffic.
Gwinnett County Department of Transportation is preparing to replace the legendary four-way stop at North Road and Pinehurst Road with a traffic light. (Is that cheering I hear?) Left turn lanes will be added to all approaches, and — depending on what research shows - right turn lanes may also be provided.
Right now, consultants are studying the area and collecting data. Construction will occur in 2009, probably in spring or summer, said Alan Chapman, deputy director of Gwinnett Department of Transportation.
Traffic counts taken in 2006 and 2007 show that 14,000 vehicles passed through the four-way stop daily, said Chapman, who manages the DOT’s capital program. He suspects the numbers are higher now.
“That’s a lot of cars for an intersection with a four-way stop,” Chapman said. He said a traffic signal may be needed whenever you get above 10,000 to 12,000 vehicles.
Motorists who travel North or Pinehurst know what he’s talking about. Backups are common at the intersection, particularly in afternoon rush hours when vehicles pour off of Ronald Reagan Parkway onto two-lane Pinehurst. Pinehurst not only connects with North Road in Snellville, but also serves as a route to the Grayson area.
Almost $1.5 million in Special Local Option Sales Tax funds has been set aside for the project, Chapman said.
North Road, which parallels U.S. 124 (Scenic Highway), has long been used by drivers trying to avoid the congestion of the main highway. That traffic and the continued commercialization of Scenic Highway caused some North Road homeowners to ask the city a year ago to change the corridor’s zoning from residential to commercial so they can sell their property for a reasonable price.
Snellville City Planner Jason Thompson said city officials are still considering what North Road’s future should be as they work out Snellville’s comprehensive plan and look at the possibility of special designations for the area.
Regardless of what is decided, that future will include at least one more traffic light. There are no funded plans to replace the remaining four-way stops on North Road with signals, Chapman said.
Just how much relief the new signal will provide is difficult to say until the traffic study is complete, Chapman said. But generally signals can bring service that is graded as a “D” or “C” up to an “A” or “B,” he said.
What do you think? Do you prefer traffic signals to four-way stops? What other intersections would you like to see changed?
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
