The Brookhaven City Council has approved spending $106,000 for a roundabout in the Brookhaven Heights neighborhood as the final piece of a controversial traffic calming plan approved two years ago to try to deal with cut-through traffic.
The roundabout will be constructed at Colonial Drive and Oglethorpe Avenue and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
“Once the roundabout is completed, a traffic study will be done to determine how well it is working,” said Public Works Director Hari Karikaran in a prepared statement. “Based on the number of traffic calming options available, it was determined that the roundabout was the best solution for existing problems at this particular intersection.”
The roundabout was approved with numerous other traffic calming measures approved in August 2016 that included:
— 12 new speed humps;
— 19 new “bump-outs,” also known as “chokers” or curb extension, that narrow a street. Mostare on Standard Drive and Thornwell Drive with two on Pine Grove;
— No left turn during morning peak hours sign on Standard (sign placed on North Druid Hills northbound);
— No Left turn during morning peak hours sign on Thornwell (sign placed on North Druid Hills northbound);
— Partial closure of Oglethorpe Avenue (right turn in and right turn out on North Druid Hills);
— Painted narrowing lanes over the bridge on Colonial Drive;
— Three new 4-way stop signs at Pine Grove, Thornwell and Oglethorpe on Matthews (these replace 2-way stops);
— Southbound turn restriction sign with no right turn on Pine Grove during the morning peak hours.
Several Brookhaven residents petitioned the city for traffic calming measures after a process that included getting more than 65 percent of residents to sign on to their plan. But when the proposals became public, including the partial road closures, some residents living in the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods spoke out against the petition, saying it only moved heavy traffic from some streets to other streets.
The money to pay for the roundabout comes from more than expected HOST money from DeKalb County and amending the 2018 capital improvements project budget.
One other roundabout exists in the city at on Hermance Drive adjacent to Town Brookhaven and a future roundabout is planned for the intersection of Osborne Road and Windsor Parkway.