Sandy Springs will enter a contract with Kimley-Horn & Associates for $199,377 to identify improvements to support pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and vehicular travel for the Power Ferry area along the Chattahoochee River near I-285.
Public Works Director Marty Martin told City Council at its March 21 meeting that the study would perform a technical transportation study on multimodal circulation. The project will include an implementation plan to move the improvements forward.
Mayor Rusty Paul said this desperately needs to be done.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone downhill one way only to see somebody come off 285 back at me on that one-way direction. And it is so confusing to people who aren’t experienced in that area,” he said.
Paul said it’s amazing more major crashes and fatalities haven’t occurred because of the confusion.
Councilmember Andy Bauman said the problem predates the city’s formation.
Traffic and Transportation Unit Manager Kristen Wescott told the council that this study will dig deeper into the traffic patterns, the crashes, and elements that weren’t investigated in the previous Powers Ferry Small Area Plan. The study will also provide data on bicycle and pedestrian connections from the neighborhoods to the park system and the Chattahoochee River.
Bauman asked what the shelf life of the study would be.
“Generally, when we work on these transportation planning studies, one of the things we want to look for are some quick, low-hanging fruit, quick response projects, something we can do in maybe the first one to three years, and really identify projects for the first five years that are something that we see a lot of bang for our buck on,” Wescott said.