Sandy Springs is working on safety measures to reduce the number of accidents in the Roswell Road area of the North End.
The city will hold a public open house April 26 on a traffic safety study conducted in the North End and the traffic improvements being considered.
A study looking at the number of accidents in the area from 2016-2020 found there was a decrease from 328 to 264 during the first two years, but an upward trend in 2019 to 279 collisions. The number of crashes dropped 65% in 2020 due to the pandemic, the report said.
Officials are considering pavement markings for pedestrian crossings, islands and other measures to help slow traffic in the areas of Roswell Road, Northridge Road and Dunwoody Place. According to the traffic study report on the Sandy Springs website, a total of 28,000 vehicles travel on the North End section of Roswell Road per day; 25,000 travel on Northridge and 18,100 on Dunwoody Place.
A city statement said officials want to get residents’ feedback on planned safety improvements during the April 26 open house. The event will be held 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at North Fulton County Government Service Center, 7741 Roswell Road.
“I’m looking forward to the development of a safer more multimodal traffic corridor in the north end of Sandy Springs,” Councilwoman Melody Kelley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The North End Roadway Safety Analysis will inform that effort.”
Kelley represents District 2 which is located in the North End.
Northbound traffic is often stopped on Roswell Road during afternoon rush hour from nearly a half mile before Dunwoody Place to the city of Roswell.
Last November, Sandy Springs applied for a $7.7 million grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission to help rebuild a section of Roswell Road between Dunwoody Place and the entrance to the city of Roswell at Atlanta Street. The grant would help fund $10 million in improvements to the half-mile corridor on Roswell Road — called North End Boulevard by officials — that would include a raised median, a 10-foot multiuse path and sidewalk enhancements.
City spokesman Jason Fornicola has told the AJC that the portion of Roswell Road will not be officially renamed.
The road improvements would lead into Roswell. Sandy Springs and Roswell are divided by the Chattahoochee River. From Sandy Springs, the bridge leading to Roswell’s planned $50 million Historic Gateway project includes widening Atlanta Street from three to four lanes, a second bridge over the river, and other improvements.
The second bridge project will be funded by Roswell, Sandy Springs and the Georgia Department of Transportation, according to Roswell, and include bicycle and pedestrian paths.
Visit the Sandy Springs website to read the traffic study report.
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