Recent dog maulings that lead to the death of a 6-year-old boy, Logan Braatz and severe injures to a 5-year-old girl, Syari Sanders have lead lawmakers to search for ways to keep these kids of tragedies from happening.
Some have called for bans of certain breeds. Those dogs were identified by officials as a pit bull mix and border collie. Most counties and cities in Georgia that have vicious dog bans include pit bulls among restricted animals. Although the attack took place in Atlanta, DeKalb County removed pit bulls from its list of prohibited animals in 2012. Sharon Sutton, a DeKalb County Commissioner at the time, said she believes it’s important to look past the breed of a dog, and at its behavior.
Some of the most recent proposed legislation came from Atlanta Councilwoman Keisha Bottoms who introduced an ordinance restricting dangerous dogs from being near schools and other places frequented by children. She said if zoning wasn’t an option, perhaps requiring owners of certain breeds or sizes of dogs to have fenced property would do.
While many understand the frustration, nobody seems to know how to keep the public safe while still respecting the rights of a pet owner.
What should or could be done?
We want to know what you think. Send comments to communitynews@ajc.com. Your response may be published in print and/or online.
LAST WEEK: HOW SHOULD NORCROSS HANDLE RAILROAD CROSSING IN HEART OF DOWNTOWN?
Norcross officials met with citizens Tuesday evening to discuss ideas for transportation and pedestrian safety at the Norfolk Southern Railroad Crossing at Holcomb Bridge Road. The city has been studying the intersection for several years, but the latest train collision with a tractor-trailer has escalated concerns.
Maintenance of the railroad tracks has, over many years, resulted in a steep grade leading up to the intersection. Large trucks can easily become stuck on the tracks as the one did last fall, despite signs posted prohibiting trucks weighing over 13,000 pounds or 30 feet in length.
The city has engineering studies recommending options ranging from creating a ramp up to the intersection to permanently closing the road. Ultimately, the decision lines in the hands of Gwinnett commissioners since the county and not the city maintain this section of road.
Here’s what some readers had to say:
Crowd source funding for high tech product to alert train drivers to likely broken down vehicle or backed up traffic on tracks. I.e. tackle the problem head on [so to speak]. If we can have driverless cars, I'm sure we can have safe crossings. — Francis Carden
Why not convert the crossing into a tunnel/overpass? The road may dip instead of climb, but I don't think it would be as steep, nor as dangerous as the climb is now. There seems to be enough space there for a tunnel with two lanes and a sidewalk for both cars and pedestrians to pass safely beneath the railway. There would be a height limit, but trucks really shouldn't be passing through town via Holcomb Bridge Road in the first place, and can just as easily use Jimmy Carter Blvd. — Zack and Crystal F.
Leave it like it is. It's been there for more years than I know. If people don't know it's not for big trucks, then they are not aware of much of anything. Besides, it keeps traffic slowed down and trucks out of town. — Walt Weaver
Duluth has done a better job. — Delane Wilson Cunningham
Ban ALL commercial traffic across the tracks at that crossing. You could even put height restrictors in to make sure heavy trucks don't attempt the crossing. 2) Close the crossing altogether, and convert the streets of W. Peachtree St. and S. Peachtree to one-way traffic (southbound and northbound, respectively) to Autry Street, which should be widened over the tracks. The problem with this suggestion is that there would be increased traffic around a residential area, particularly at rush hour. 3) If money were no object, change Holcomb Bridge to a tunnel that bypasses downtown Norcross (and of course, the crossing) altogether. — Hal Crawford
Have 3-way stop at both sides of the tracks. — Bruce Sullivan
I got places to be, put in a bridge over all crossings. — Jennifer Roberts Richter
It seems ridiculous that the truckers, driving large/heavy commercial vehicles, consistently ignore multiple signs and warnings and still cross the tracks. Closing the crossing altogether would cause issues for many homes in the area, as well as make the downtown more cut off. I believe the businesses would suffer financially. I drive through there every day. A tunnel would be great, but financially, a pipe dream. There is currently a 3-way stop, on each side, already; it's only the traffic that has crossed the tracks, that doesn't stop, which would make it a 4 way stop (no room for that, too close to tracks). So, it seems, number 1 [banning all commercial traffic through downtown Norcross] is the logical, first step solution. — Claudette Richelle
Put an emergency box on each side of the crossing that would instantly notify the railway that a vehicle is stuck. Even if the driver at fault does not use it, someone else who sees the problem might act. I presume that an approaching train, five minutes away, can stop on time. The box should be in the form of "break-glass in case of emergency." Perhaps it is possible to electronically detect a stuck vehicle. Or, put a pre-installed winch on each side. Emergency personal could use this to quickly clear the tracks. Part of the problem with that crossing is that Holcomb Bridge intercepts with Thrasher St, which is about 8 feet below the height of the tracks. If Thrasher was either raised or disconnected, the angle from the tracks could be reduced. The other side of that equation is to lower the rail bed by 2 to 4 feet. Since the crossing is nearly flat at Jones Bridge, the height reduction would have to start south of that crossing and continue south to Autry St. — Paul Carpenter
As a resident who lives a mile from the railroad crossing, the issue is lack of warning signage. First, the current signage is inadequate if not completely useless. The warning signage about length and weight as referenced in this article is actually posted right as you cross the tracks, not far enough away from the actual crossing area itself. From the perspective of a truck driver, the signage is basically "too late" to be acted upon as the truck would already be in the process of crossing the tracks. In addition, the signage is inadequate as it should be much more visible on Buford Highway, and at the Cemetery/Holcomb Bridge intersection, Buford Highway/Mitchell Road intersection and at Holcomb Bridge/Atlantic Blvd. intersection in order to create a "detour effect" for trucks BEFORE entering the downtown area (present signage does not adequately define what "no trucks" constitutes to a typical truck driver). Considering there has been no effort in over ten years to improve signage, it is no wonder the problem continues. Recommendations have been outlined and supplied to the city, but my fear is the problem will be solved by spending a massive amount of money to solve an otherwise manageable issue. — Charles Franck
The only solution that eliminates all the above mention problems is a grade separation. Since the topography of the area would seem to rule out a roadway overpass, an underpass, while expensive, would appear doable. Although this solution would impact the business district due to a change in traffic patterns, it should not doom the downtown business area to failure. The least expensive solution would be to close the crossing and reroute the traffic to the grade crossings on either side of the Holcomb Bridge crossing. As part of this consideration, perhaps the two remaining grade crossings in downtown Norcross could be upgraded to four quadrant gates to improve vehicle safety in the city. — Gary Henderson
There are not a lot of options that don't involve the rail company, and given they have an easement from the state, there is no city ordinance or plan that can withstand legal standing challenges if the rail company does not want to participate. There are even worse crossings on that line that have NO arm, just lights and the train horn. I don't think we would have much sway for downtown crossing upgrades. — Tim Ryan
Upgrade the entire city. And make it user friendly for every vehicle. Number one if you have a restaurant or any type of business, you're going to have products delivered to you and, if you're going to have products delivered to you, they are going to have to have a way to get to you, and get to you in a user friendly way. — Stacy Bigsby
Karen Huppertz for the AJC
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