Johns Creek once again finds itself on the short end of negotiations with one of its neighbors over street improvements.
The City Council decided earlier this month to move forward with installing a traffic signal at Nesbitt Ferry Road and Brumbelow Road, even though the intersection lies mostly in Roswell, and Roswell has refused to help pay for the project.
Johns Creek council members grumbled, but agreed to commit $180,000.
A warrant study conducted by Roswell shows the intersection has enough traffic to justify a signal, Johns Creek leaders said. The study shows some 20,000 vehicles enter the intersection daily. It ranks 11th in the number of accidents among all municipal intersections in Johns Creek.
Johns Creek officials said they were surprised Roswell turned down a chance to help improve safety on its own road.
“I’m very disappointed with Roswell, but where I come down is, ‘What is the right thing to do?” Councilwoman Kelly Stewart said at a City Council work session. “The right thing to do in my perspective is to put up that light.”
Councilwoman Karen Richardson was less accommodating.
“I think that this continues a slippery slope for us in terms of covering for other cities,” she said.
Roswell Mayor Jere Wood said his city would have gladly helped pay for the traffic signal at Nesbitt Ferry and Brumbelow roads if Johns Creek had been willing to share maintenance costs for Nesbitt Ferry.
“It serves both cities,” Wood said. “In fact, more citizens in Johns Creek use it than Roswell.”
But Wood said Johns Creek officials were not willing to go any farther than the intersection.
“We said, ‘Let’s share across the board, share an intersection improvement and paving the road,’ and they said, ‘No.’”
Wood said a traffic signal is simply not a major contender for limited street funding in Roswell.
“It may be at the top of Johns Creek’s list, but it’s not at the top of our list,” he said.
This is the second time in three years that Johns Creek has gotten nowhere after seeking roadwork help from a neighbor.
The city spent $83,000 in repairs to McGinnis Ferry Road after Forsyth County, which shares the northern half of the road, declined to pitch in.
In some cases, such as bridge work and signal maintenance, the costs typically would be shared, city officials said. But other damage occurred entirely on the north side of the road, on Forsyth’s property.
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