The three hens that freely roam around Wyatt Gordon’s White Street property offer a sense of calmness, while cars whiz by less than 100 yards away on busy Howell Mill Road in Atlanta.
He used to have four hens. But a speeding car -- using White Street to avoid waiting on traffic lights -- killed one this weekend. The next time, it could be worse, he said.
That is why Gordon and his neighbors are fighting a potential traffic light that would go up at the intersection of White and Howell Mill.
Neighbors claim a traffic light would cause congestion down White Street, while allowing impatient drivers to cut through their neighborhood to avoid the light.
But the city, using an old study, said the light is needed to cut down on accidents and control speeding.
Wednesday, at the city’s Transportation Committee meeting, Councilwoman Felicia Moore will introduce a resolution that bans the use of the previous study, while commissioning a new one that her office would pay for.
“I am committed to doing a new traffic study,” said Moore, who opposes the light because the community doesn’t want it. “The age of, the type of study that was being used, and the fact that it was being paid for by an outside company concerns me.”
The 2009 study, commissioned by a shopping center at the intersection, suggested that a traffic light should go there.
Workers had started installing the light until forced to stop by Moore.
Public Works Commissioner Richard Mendoza, who favors installing the light, said the intersection is dangerous.
“This intersection has had a high rate of accidents,” Mendoza said. “So I am balancing that with the needs of the neighborhood. ... There is nothing worse than not doing anything and someone gets hurt in an accident.”
Rasheed El-Bey, a barber at Profreshional Cuts, a barbershop at the intersection, said a light is needed there. He said it is almost impossible to cross the street by foot.
“And at least once a week, maybe once every two weeks, there is an accident,” he said. “Somebody is going to get hurt real bad if they don’t put a light up.”
Mendoza said that he is willing to do an updated traffic signal study to see what the impact of a light would be. He is also moving forward in synchronizing all the lights in the area.
Moore said before she pays for a study, which could cost up to $20,000, she wants to make sure the lights are indeed synchronized and that other traffic calming measures have been employed.
Also, Moore said, “I would not allow legislation to authorize the light without the ability to remove it if it adversely affects the neighborhoods.”
Back on White Street, Gordon sits on his front steps with his hens and watches his 6-year-old daughter get off the school bus.
In the past week, neighbors have photographed tractor-trailers, MARTA buses and tow trucks coming through their quiet street. Instead of using his driveway and garage, Gordon parks his two cars on either side of the street to force cars to slow down.
“When we moved here in 1999, my wife and I used to sit on our porch and just watch the cars go by and it didn’t bother us,” Gordon said. “Until we started having kids. Now things have changed.”
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