The City of Sandy Springs is asking for public input as it and the city of Roswell moves ahead with a plan to add a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Chattahoochee River on State Route 9, Roswell Road.
The city held a public input meeting on Oct. 11, inviting residents to look at three different plans to erect a span of bridge for pedestrians and bike riders next to the current traffic bridge. Two of the proposed routes are on the east side of the existing bridge; one is on the west. Mark Holmberg with Heath & Lineback Engineers, said putting the bridge on the east side would pose challenges because it would put the bridge on the historic Ivy Mill property on the north side of the bridge in Roswell, a wool mill burned by Union troops in 1864, according to the Roswell Visitor’s Bureau.
The pedestrian bridge would run parallel to the traffic bridge because the traffic bridge will eventually be replaced, Holmberg said.
As is, the traffic bridge is not accommodating to non-motorists, he said.
“Both pedestrian and cycling access across the existing bridge is very minimal,” he said. “It’s not safe for cyclists.”
Kristen Wescott, a transportation planner with the Sandy Springs Public Works Department, said there is a $3.5 million federal earmark for the project and said the cities of Roswell and Sandy Springs will each contribute a 10 percent match – approximately $350,000 each– for the bridge.
Holmberg said after public input is finished, the project will go into the plan development and environmental studies phase which will take about two years.
Janet H. Russell, from Roswell, attended the meeting and said she wasn’t satisfied with the plans. She said the cities need to invest in two bridges, one for north bound pedestrian traffic and one for southbound traffic.
“I don’t like these plans at all,” she said.
Councilwoman Dianne Fries said she’d like for the bridge to be built on the east side of the existing bridge.
“The plan is to have the bridge connect with our city parks,” she said, saying the other side of the street doesn’t have adequate sidewalks.
