Roswell roundabout meeting attracts crowd

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Brent Hayes was one of 150 Roswell residents who looked over videos, aerial photos, pamphlets, maps and chartsfor the town’s first proposed traffic roundabout Thursday night at the Adult Recreation Center.

The information involving the project at Grimes Bridge Road and Norcross Street largely was positive. Hayes still doesn’t want the roundabout.

"My concern is with the traffic flow never stopping," said Hayes, who lives on Elaine Drive, a few streets from the proposed site. "It will be dangerous for me to get out of my driveway. I’d be in favor of some turn lanes.”

Among the complaints, people said the roundabout would disrupt the neighborhood, destroy trees and greenery, and make traffic worse because Georgia drivers don’t know how to navigate one. More than 100 people signed an online petition who were against the project.

“The people I talk to fall into two camps,” city Transportation Director Steve Acenbrak said. “(It's) I’ve seen them before and what’s the problem? Or I’ve never been in a roundabout before and it scares me to death.”

A roundabout is a circular intersection that sends traffic counterclockwise around a center island. City officials want a safer intersection. Grimes-Norcross is rated as the area's 12th busiest. .

About 70 roundabouts exist in Georgia, including Cobb, Douglas and DeKalb counties in metro Atlanta. This would be Roswell’s first roundabout, though several more have been planned. It costs $1 million, the same as installing turn lanes, Acenbrak said.

Bonnie Lege lives on Chattahoochee Street, in a different neighborhood, but fears the spread of roundabouts.

“If they get this one they’ll put one on my street,” she said. “We don’t need more development in the neighborhoods.”

The city wants toacquire athe needed right of ways within two months and put out bids. The city council approved local funding for the project in October 2008.