Over the last decade, traffic in Atlanta has become a nightmare for most drivers most of the time. Much of the media focus on traffic has been on the interstates. But a real problem for intown residents is the congestion on high-volume surface streets. A doctor would diagnose our city as suffering from “clogged traffic arteries.” An acute problem lies with real estate developers who shut down lanes with no regard for residents who have to use them.
Recently, I was stuck in midday traffic on Piedmont Road; it was backed up from Ansley Mall to Cheshire Bridge Road. The culprit? Construction on a retail project at Cheshire Bridge and Piedmont had all but one northbound lanes shut down, and the one open lane was perpetually blocked by cars turning left. It took over 40 minutes to go a mile. This is the third time this has happened in the last month.
Later that day, my wife had the same experience; she said that a Grady EMS vehicle, with sirens blasting, had great difficulty negotiating the logjam.
It’s happening all over Atlanta. For the past two years, the developers of the Buckhead Atlanta project along Peachtree Road have created a traffic quagmire for Pharr Road motorists by blocking all but one westbound lanes. I have also observed traffic on Peachtree northbound narrowed to one lane.
There are so many new developments now underway that this problem will only get worse. It does not seem anyone at the city has any concern for the problems such lane closures cause for residents who use these roads and pay property taxes.
The city should require developers who need to close traffic lanes to do so at night between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. with very few exceptions, and with detailed traffic management plans for those exceptions. Of course, this will add to the cost of the development, but shouldn’t the people benefiting financially from the development have to bear the costs?
It is unreasonable to expect Atlanta motorists to stew in traffic during the day when there are a lot of cars on the road. The city should also require developers to repair the roads their construction vehicles tear up; those costs should not be borne by taxpayers. And the city should add a position called “Public Traffic Advocate” whose sole mission would be to look out for the interests of motorists and who would have veto authority over lane closures and other traffic flow impediments.
I don’t profess to be a traffic expert, but common sense suggests there are other steps the city could take to improve traffic flow. Delivery trucks should not be allowed to block arterial traffic, period. They can park on side streets. And what about the folks who simply close lanes while they work on the wiring under the roads? Sorry, but that work should be done at night.
While we’re on the subject of left turns, they are by far the biggest impediment to traffic flow. The city would do us all a favor by installing “No Left Turn” signs in many locations where there are no stacking lanes or left turn signals. And why can’t the traffic lights along major corridors be synchronized? Do we really need lights that stay red for a minute on cross streets that have little traffic? Or “No Right Turn on Red” signs seemingly everywhere?
Without reasonable ability to move about the city, quality of life decreases for all of us. It doesn’t have to be this way. The city should re-prioritize.
