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.
Neil Fleming, of Sandy Springs, said he recommended a combination of two of the plans in order to give cyclists and pedestrians a few more options traveling into Roswell’s parks from Sandy Springs.
Patrick Barry, a Sandy Springs resident, said he was disappointed by the presentation.
“Based on the three presentations there still isn’t a connector to the south part of Roswell Road,” he said.
Councilwoman Dianne Fries the council would rather the bridge not connect to Roswell Road because it is a state road and is unsafe for cyclists.
“The city would rather route the bikers to Roberts Drive,” she said. “We want to connect the Roswell parks to the Sandy Springs parks.”
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.
