On Wednesday, the Cobb County’s Community Development and the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority are holding a meeting to get residents’ input on the possibility of renaming some roads. The roads in question are Six Flags Drive, Six Flags Parkway, Six Flags Road and Six Flags Way.
The hope, is that with the name changes, commuters and first responders will be less confused when negotiating the area.
As a traffic reporter, the four “Six Flags” roads in Cobb County haven’t been a real issue in reporting trouble or delays. Most incidents and delays occur on Six Flags Drive. The others are fairly benign in the traffic world. When it comes to delivering reports on the air, we have little trouble getting the facts straight.
But that’s not always the case.
For every traffic reporter there are some street names that always give us trouble. There are some street names that absolutely never roll off the tongue. For me, that street is South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road. For some reason I can never get that out cleanly. It’s my traffic reporting kryptonite. I didn’t even type that confidently. Ughh. I’m sure it’s a fine road, but when I have to report traffic there, I shrink like a scared turtle.
I’m not alone. My co-workers and fellow traffic reporters also have roads that make them cringe.
For Kim McCarthy, her least favorite road is Chevaux Court. It’s a small road in Northwest Atlanta that runs off of Lake Forest Drive, and Kim admits she never knows how to pronounce it.
For Doug Turnbull it’s the Buford Spring Connector.
“It’s such a long name and people call it by so many names, it becomes difficult to identify,” said Turnbull.
Turnbull also dislikes Minola Road in Dekalb County. The road is near Panola Road and since they rhyme, it can get confusing.
On the other hand, there are plenty of road names that bring smiles to our faces.
Captain Herb Emory, the dean of Atlanta traffic reporting, favors Nebo Road and Hiram-Sudie Road.
Ashley Frasca, morning traffic reporter for NewsTalk WSB and WSB-TV likes Scufflegritt Road in Marietta and Big Shanty Road in Kennesaw. She also confided in me that she has a soft spot for the intersection of Rainbow Drive and Cloud Lane in Dekalb County.
Turnbull is a fan of a handful of roads in Forsyth County, including Jot Em Down Road, Settingdown Road and Bottoms Road.
“I also like Old Bill Cook Road in South Fulton County,” Turnbull said. “Even though it is probably just identifying the road as old, it sounds folksy in calling Bill Cook, old.”
For me, my favorite is probably Brumbelow Road in Johns Creek, if for no other reason than the fact that I love the way Captain Herb pronounces it.
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