When it comes to metro Atlanta’s traffic woes, Sandy Springs residents say they want city leaders to replace patchwork solutions and politics with better efficiency.
Those ongoing concerns, along with recommended solutions, were discussed at a recent community forum featuring transportation planners from both the city and Kimley-Horn and Associates. Both groups updated residents on the North Fulton Comprehensive Transportation Plan, a blueprint regional leaders are using to prioritize transportation needs.
The transportation plan was developed in 2010 as a partnership project among six North Fulton cities – Sandy Springs, Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell and Mountain Park — and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Residents are asked to provide input on how the region should handle public rail, roads, bus, and pedestrian walkways between the next 5 to 25 years.
Residents at the meeting last week provided planners with their own wish list of transportation improvements including a park-and-ride from Alpharetta to Sandy Springs, lane-widening along Roswell Road, sidewalks on Riverside Drive, and traffic adjustments near I-285 and I-75 in preparation of SunTrust Stadium's opening next spring.
One of Linda Reisman’s top priorities is MARTA expansion, an issue she said local politicians have punted for decades. “It needs to actually go someplace,” Reisman said, referring to MARTA’s absence along northern Ga. 400.
Updates to the plan are critical due to dramatic changes to Sandy Springs’ economic, residential, and industrial profile since the 1990s, said Christina Pastore, a traffic engineer and planner for Kimley-Horn and Associates, who is consulting on the project.
North Fulton’s population density has more than doubled since then — from 168,000 to 380,000 residents — with substantial growth up to the Ga. 400 corridor. Baby boomers and millennials are half of the population in the North Fulton area, and their incomes and lifestyles dictate transportation choices, Pastore said.
“Maybe they want to be able to live in a place where they can walk out of their house, and to a restaurant, or a grocery store, and to not have to drive everywhere,” she said.
Kathryn Hardy has lived in Sandy Springs since the 1970s, and has seen the city go from “small and laid-back” to an area that is swelling with high-priced apartments. That means more cars and more people — two things Hardy fears Sandy Springs can’t sustain.
“I think it's pretty grim,” Hardy said. "We're worried about the values of our homes going down ... it's too much for this little area."
Two community meetings remain for North Fulton residents eager to learn about updates to the Comprehensive Traffic Plan:
- Oct. 5: Alpharetta City Hall, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Oct. 11: Milton City Hall, 6 to 8 p.m.
An online survey is also provided for North Fulton residents to offer suggestions on future transportation needs.
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