Brookhaven families can expect improved safety for pedestrians and bike riders when DeKalb County School District students return to class on Aug. 5.
Sidewalks leading to John R. Lewis Elementary School and Montgomery Elementary School have been improved and traffic control surrounding Ashford Park Elementary School has been addressed ahead of the new academic year.
The improvements were helmed by the Brookhaven Police Department, city staff, and Ashford Park Principal Action Committee with Brookhaven City Council members.
Councilmember Jennifer Owens said the collaboration across multiple departments and stakeholders was inspiring.
“We all want to make sure that kids are safe and the traffic flow can be managed,” Owens said. “This type of collaboration was why I got into city government to begin with.”
The city created a small bridge to avoid removing trees and filled in existing gaps in the sidewalk on Canmont Road which leads to John Lewis, where the student population is approximately 850.
Nearly 800 students attend Montgomery Elementary School. A multi-use path along Ashford Dunwoody Road is used by some students at school drop-off, according to Tom Roberts, Brookhaven Interim Public Works Director. The city is completing the sidewalk from Ashford Dunwoody Road at Chippewa Place.
“When [students] get dropped off or walk up to Oconee Pass it forces them to go out on Ashford Dunwoody Road,” said Roberts.
Ashford Park’s student body, expected to be 700 to 750 for the 2024-25 school year, has multiplied since Owens’ first child attended. Due to the dense school population and DeKalb County bus driver shortage, parents in Brookhaven often drive their kids to Ashford Park, leading to an increase in school traffic and decreased in safety.
“We have been meeting for months to discuss safety, bringing in Safe Routes to School, installing signs at Caldwell Road and Cravenridge Drive, cutting back vegetation, repaving, and restriping,” said Owens.
Owens said she is appreciative of the city’s attention to school safety.
