A consultant presented the latest version of a draft safe streets plan to the Sandy Springs City Council, leading council members to ask what effect previous road safety projects have had.
Kristen Wescott, Transportation Services unit manager, told the city council at its March 18 work session that the final version of the Safety Action Plan will be brought back for approval in April.
Wescott said addressing the places and problems that lead to serious injury or death on city roads, whether it’s somebody walking, bicycling, riding, transit, or in their vehicle, will require many different methods.
Council member Andy Bauman asked Wescott if enough time had passed to get data to determine the impact of previous traffic safety measures.
Wescott said that’s the natural next step in the Safety Action Plan. Collecting data on traffic volumes and crashes before doing the study for the original safety plan, otherwise, it’s just a distribution of crashes when you look at the post-project data. She said staff would work on the data to determine what effect previous safety measures accomplished.
The right turn on Roswell Road and Abernathy had the highest crash pattern at the intersection before the city signalized the right turn. That was one of the short-term safety measures the city made a few years ago with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Wescott said.
Bauman said he didn’t know what data had been collected since the construction of the roundabout at Northside Drive, Old Powers Ferry, and Riverview. However, as he drives through it, Bauman said the traffic circle has taken away a lot of anxiety at that intersection.
Nathan Gomez from Gresham Smith, who has served as project manager for the Safety Action Plan, said its two goals are to adopt a goal to achieve zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050 on city-owned streets. The second goal is to work with GDOT to set a goal for a five percent reduction in fatalities and serious injuries for state routes and limited access facilities.
Gomez said they prioritized locations for improvements based on crash rates, the number of crashes, the traffic volumes, the cost that society has to bear based on these different types of crashes, and also the number of fatal and serious injuries that happen at each of these locations.
The draft version of the Safety Action Plan is available for public review through April 15 at spr.gs/safestreets. The city council will be asked to approve the plan at its April 15 meeting.
Short-term projects considered for the next one to five years include improvements along the following corridors:
- Roswell Road from Peruca Place to the I-285 Interchange
- Roswell Road from Allen Road/Carpenter Drive to Cliftwood Drive/Carpenter Drive
- Glenridge Drive/Johnson Ferry Road from High Point Road to Glenridge Connector*
- Heards Ferry Road from Weatherly Drive to Riverside Drive*
- Northside Drive from Interstate North Parkway/New Northside Drive to New Northside Drive
*New Safety Action Plan projects. (Other projects originated from other plans and studies.)
Wescott said ways to fund these projects include the city’s capital program, a future Transportation, Special Purpose, Local Option, Sales Tax (TSPLOST), and federal partners. The city usually requests federal matching grants for projects through the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Mid-term projects looking ahead five to 15 years and long-term work suggested more than 15 years from now can be found on the city’s website.
- The council awarded a $285,439 contract to GS Construction of Norcross for a drainage improvement project along High Point Road during its March 18 meeting. The work will fix problems in the stormwater system under High Point Road near 5030 High Point Road, 5042 High Point Road, 5055 High Point Road, and 1010 Highpoint Walk.
- The council also approved a $103,950 bid by United Land Services of Chamblee to mow along GA 400 and I-285, which is done twice a month during the mowing season from April to October. GDOT didn’t mow as frequently as the city preferred.
