One of the many benefits of living intown is the close proximity to Atlanta attractions. However, poorly managed traffic measures over the past several years have led to many residential streets becoming NASCAR raceways.
I live on Howell Mill Road in west Atlanta. Three weeks ago, a catastrophe nearly occurred when the driver of a speeding car decided that the timing of a young girl boarding her school bus was taking too long, so he zoomed past. Unfortunately, it was one of many “near” mishaps on the road recently. Hundreds of walkers, joggers, baby-stroller pushers and others use the sidewalks every week. If more traffic improvements aren’t made soon, someone is going to be seriously hurt.
We bought our house 11 years ago knowing we would compete with a busy, noisy street. What we didn’t expect was the considerable increase in traffic and speed, starting around 2005.
Growth is inevitable and part of a city’s expectations. However, poorly managed traffic patterns as a result of growth can be destructive. The real frustration in all of this is the consistent message from the city that “not much can be done.”
Awhile back, a group of neighbors met with then-city Councilwoman Clair Muller, Nursef Kedir from the Department of Public Works and traffic engineer John Yang. We walked up and down the road, brainstorming various ways to “calm” the street’s traffic and speed. Many ideas were discussed, but the only solution deemed possible by the city was the narrowing of the white border traffic lines and the installation of bike lanes.
Although a noble attempt, this has simply resulted in creating a somewhat dangerous path for bikers. In the meantime, neighbors have witnessed several near fatalities — and taken measures into our own hands to slow down the traffic.
Case in point: The Wildwood Civic Association, our neighborhood entity, purchased a speed radar monitor and mounted it on the road. We were hopeful the flashing speeds would slow down oncoming cars. We recorded the data over a period of several weeks. The results? The median speed of drivers was 10 miles per hour above the posted speed of 30 mph. Several vehicles were driving above 50 mph.
It’s also routine practice for some cars to pass other cars traveling at the posted speed. Forget the fact that there is a double yellow no-passing line throughout this whole stretch of road. And we almost have to laugh at the occasional front lawn fixture, created when drivers misjudge the appropriate speed and weave their car onto a resident’s property.
The city has its reasons why additional traffic-calming measures cannot be implemented, and at first glance they actually seem legitimate. The feeder roads don’t warrant enough traffic to justify four-way stop signs; narrowed curbing is too expensive; speed bumps are not allowed because of the road’s classification; and a roundabout is determined to not be “engineeringly” possible.
All of these may be true, but at some point common sense has to prevail and, it is hoped, the realization that an increased hazard needs to be resolved. In the interim, we’ll continue to work earnestly with the city and our local council members to find some practical solutions.
L. Alex Smith is president of the Wildwood Civic Association.
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