Without a formally adopted trucking route or enforceable ordinance, the Sandy Springs City Council is looking at regional freight trends and potential updates to local regulations.
Mayor Rusty Paul said he wanted elected officials to discuss the city’s existing laws at the Feb. 3 work session after receiving several complaints about a large number of tractor-trailers, or semi-trucks, on neighborhood streets.
“Construction is going to be going on, on I-285 and SR 400, at least through 2036,” Paul said, referencing scheduled express lanes projects in metro Atlanta. “It’s a combination of lack of clarity in the existing ordinance, plus complaints by the community, and the fact that a lot of our residential streets are not designed to handle the weight of an [80,000]-pound … 16-wheel vehicle.”
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During rush hour, when highways are at a standstill, semis and large trucks already find alternate routes using way-finding apps. Sandy Springs leaders want something codified before heavy construction along SR 400 begins this summer.
“The police department said our current ordinance is not enforceable,” Paul said. “In other words, they can’t issue tickets if they find somebody wandering through the city without a new ordinance that basically designates where the routes are.”
At the end of the discussion, Paul said city officials will look for more community feedback and will vote on an updated ordinance at a meeting later this year if the council chooses.
Law on the books
Currently, the city’s ordinance (Chapter 58, Article II, Sections 31-41) requires trucks to stay on the most direct, designated route to their destination. It also does not allow deliveries or pickups between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Local weight restrictions on bridges and culverts also apply.
Sandy Springs Transportation Manager Kristen Wescott said large trucks are always permitted to be on local or neighborhood streets if they have an origin or destination there.
“With over 1,700 streets in Sandy Springs, our conversation today is really about where trucks can and should travel,” Wescott said. “Freight in our region … is an enormous industry. It accounts for a third of all jobs.”
The national and state network includes the I-285 corridor, SR 400, and Roswell Road (SR 9). State law prohibits trucks with more than six wheels from using I-20, I-75, I-85, and SR 400 inside the I-285 Perimeter, with exceptions for local destinations.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has also adopted guidance for local governments to establish local laws on trucking and freight routes.
Wescott said the issues with the city’s current ordinance include an unclear definition of a truck and the lack of a current map or list of routes on file. Other obstacles include signage, enforceability, and consistency with neighboring routes.
Pushback and traffic concerns
City staff’s recommended truck network creates an east-west freight corridor through the center of the city, connecting Cobb and DeKalb counties.
Proposed new segments include Johnson Ferry Road from Cobb County to Abernathy Road, Northridge Road between State Route 400 and Roswell Road/SR 9, Abernathy Road from Johnson Ferry Road to Mount Vernon Highway, Mount Vernon Highway from Abernathy Road to the City of Dunwoody/DeKalb County, and Dunwoody Place from Northridge Road to SR 9.
Council Member Melissa Mular, who represents most residents along the corridor in District 3, said she is concerned about policy changes that could increase the number of large trucks.
“Why could we not just adopt what was on the very first slide without adding to it?” Mular said, referencing the existing state and federal truck routes.
Susan Kicak, a resident of the Mount Vernon Woods neighborhood just south of Abernathy Road, said she is against turning the corridor into a trucking route.
“It’s already very difficult to get out of the neighborhood in the morning … and in the afternoon,” Kicak said. “It’s frustrating to hear talk of adding more truck traffic to Abernathy, when basic, low-cost measures to protect neighborhood access haven’t been addressed.”
Kicak, a Cherry Tree Lane resident, also brought up existing safety concerns at Abernathy and Roswell roads, mentioning the greenway park along the corridor and negative impacts on the quality of life.
“I understand freight is important to the regional economy, and that trucks need to move more efficiently, but pushing more trucks onto an already-congested residential corridor is not the right solution,” she said.
