Much of the coverage and discussion lately surrounding the Peachtree Road project has been misguided and uninformed. We understand the challenges and frustrations of the day-to-day users. It is these same challenges and frustrations that we are working to address through this proposed project.
Safety is undoubtedly the primary objective in everything we do at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Whether it is our maintenance forces performing routine functions, our HERO operators providing roadside assistance, developing engineering solutions to reduce crash rates, or encouraging safe driving behavior of the traveling public; the safety of the citizens of Georgia and our employees is paramount.
The Peachtree Road project from Pharr Road to Deering Road, currently under development by the department is no different. Between 2009 and 2013, the Peachtree Road corridor experienced more than 800 crashes between the midtown and Buckhead areas. That is the equivalent of almost one crash every other day. We share the concern of many residents and travelers through the corridor that the road has a higher crash rate than other comparable routes. As most can attest, there are significant operational and safety challenges that include limited right-of-way width with no room to widen, difficulties turning left due to the lack of turn lanes, underutilized center lanes ( only 15 percent utilization rate), congestion, lack of multimodal options and high crash rates. At GDOT, we consider it our job to address this transportation need that exists.
In an effort to improve both operations and safety of the corridor, the department has proposed the installation of a Two Way Left Turn Lane (TWLTL) on Peachtree Road between Deering and Pharr Roads. The installation of the TWLTL will be accomplished through differing roadway configurations on the southern and northern sections of the corridor based on differences in the built environment, traffic flow patterns, and the natural barrier of Peachtree Creek that prevents other options for multimodal connectivity.
Any future project on Peachtree Road must provide operational improvements with an increased level of safety. We know the instillation of the TWLTL will offer these benefits. In addition, dedicated bike lanes have proven to increase safety for motorists, bikers and pedestrians.
Precision modeling utilizing state-of-the-art traffic simulation software indicates that both the safety and operations of the corridor will be improved through this project. The installation of the TWLTL helps to reduce rear-end and sideswipe crashes by removing left-turning vehicles from the travel stream; it allows the creation of left turn bays and protected left turn signal phases at key intersections; and it creates a much more uniform traffic flow, which will improve the efficiency of the roadway and allow Peachtree Road to handle more vehicles per day. We are collaborating with the city of Atlanta, the community, and the Buckhead CID to determine what the problems are and what solutions will bring a safer system with improved traffic flow.
The department has previously demonstrated positive results through a similar project that was recently completed on Ponce de Leon Avenue. Since the implementation of that project, the number of crashes on Ponce has been reduced by 25 percent year-over-year and the efficiency of the roadway has increased to allow over 10 percent more vehicles to travel on the corridor per day.
Additionally, operational improvements helped to reduce the desire for motorists to cut through adjacent communities, resulting in reduced traffic and improved safety. These results were seen immediately upon completion of this project, and we expect similar results on Peachtree Road.
We will provide the opportunity to meet with the engineers who have spent long hours studying the corridor, see how the project was developed and formally provide comment. We welcome all who are interested to come with open minds to discuss the facts driving the planning on Peachtree Road and how we can be successful in our number one goal of creating a safer environment on Peachtree Road.
The next opportunity will be a scheduled public information open house on Thursday, Oct. 29th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Shepherd Center, 2020 Peachtree Road NW. We hope to see residents and users of the corridor as this will be a forum to share your concerns, provide feedback and answers to additional questions.
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