Sandy Springs, rethink roundabouts
That was a very impressive article (“More drivers yield to roundabouts,” Metro, Aug. 26) raving about the pluses of roundabouts in Georgia. There are good reasons for their creation in low-traffic environments, but their presence should be carefully evaluated in large-traffic areas. One example is the plan for two roundabouts in Sandy Springs next to each other where Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road intersect, plus Boylston Drive and two drives accessing a 300-unit condominium complex. That adds up to seven two-way accessing points.
Less than 500 feet from the western roundabout lies Roswell Road and some of the heaviest traffic in the state. This is especially true when westbound Mount Vernon Highway traffic backs up for over a mile to the east at 5 p.m. as drivers wait for the three-minute light to change on Roswell Road. The result will be a solid line of traffic standing still through both roundabouts waiting for the traffic light. Others entering will have no chance to access that standing line of cars, especially if they want to cross Roswell Road to the west.
City fathers are reevaluating their designs, and all should hope Sandy Spring leadership is fully aware of their road engineer’s plans.
RALPH MARION, SANDY SPRINGS
Hidden dangers in religious liberty bill
Metro Atlanta has certainly become a multi-cultural center with persons living here legally and illegally from all over the world. Many of these people bring with them religious beliefs and practices other than those of Judeo-Christians. Georgia lawmakers need to re-think how the religious liberty bill is worded. I fear that they are about to open the door to the free practice of any pagan religion the world has to offer. In an effort to stop the growing persecution of Christians by government’s far-left agenda, this bill may have hidden consequences legislators have never considered that could be far worse than baking a wedding cake for two homosexuals.
SHEPARD S AVERITT IV, CUMMING
Denial of gun toll is illness
According to arrogant tycoon Donald Trump, the recent murder captured on camera in Virginia “isn’t a gun problem, it is a mental problem.” Mr. Trump is absolutely correct. But he fails to identify the mental problem: the utter failure of those who rally around “liberty” to bear arms to understand that an unwillingness to bear “responsibility” in the defense of liberty is nothing short of anarchy.
And what can be more irresponsible than the failure to reduce the number of guns that get into the hands of irresponsible people? Only a mental misfit ignores the crying need for rigorous background checks. So, yes, Mr. Trump. Mental illness is a massive problem — more than you think.
RABBI SCOTT B. SAULSON, ATLANTA
