The debate over the Windsor Parkway project is about more than one intersection. It is a test of whether Brookhaven will follow the long-term planning and public-input processes residents have repeatedly asked the city to undertake.
In a 2014 letter published by this paper, a Brookhaven resident called for transportation studies examining safety, operations, pedestrian and bicycle needs, costs, and priorities. Since then, Brookhaven has completed multiple Comprehensive Transportation Plans, bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts, and the Ashford-Dunwoody Road Corridor Study.
This intersection project is not a sudden idea. It was recommended as Project I-8 in Brookhaven’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, adopted by Council on September 9, 2014, and later identified as a mid-term project in the Ashford-Dunwoody Road Corridor Study, adopted in April 2017.
Families facing tree loss, right-of-way impacts, and disruption are right to ask for a complete tree inventory, transparent costs, and serious consideration of alternatives. Mature tree canopy cannot be replaced overnight, and the City should minimize removals and clearly explain restoration plans.
But safety matters too. The purpose of this project is to reduce crashes and improve a difficult intersection for drivers, pedestrians, AND cyclists. A tree can be replanted over time; a serious injury or lost life cannot be undone.
Abandoning the project would not be cost-free. It is included in ARC’s 2018 Transportation Improvement Program, with $595,680 in authorized federal preliminary-engineering funding and a required local match of $148,920.
Canceling it could waste years of planning, put roughly $745,000 already committed to preliminary engineering at risk, jeopardize future outside transportation funding, and still leave Brookhaven without a funded plan to address this intersection.
The standard for civic engagement in Brookhaven should be neither “never change the plan” nor “the loudest opposition wins,” but transparent evidence, genuine public input, and decisions made for Brookhaven’s long-term public interest.
