A special thanks to Riverside HOA President, Reed Haggard, who organized and moderated a spirited crowd of 250 residents at last week’s Traffic Forum. 

Sandy Springs Representatives included Mayor Rusty Paul,  District 6 councilman, Andy Bauman, and myself.  Others attending included State Representatives Deborah Silcox, Judson Hill, Hunter Hill, and Joe Wilkinson and Cobb Commissioner, Bob Ott, and GDOT Board Member, Jeff Lewis. 

Residents expressed concerns about the impact that Braves’ traffic will have on our already-crowded streets, especially around Riverwood High School, where students may be leaving school following afternoon events and be caught in the middle of Braves’ traffic.  Also, apps like Waze direct commuters through neighborhoods to avoid congested thoroughfares and there are concerns that Waze users will jam our neighborhoods as they work their way to the stadium. 

We are working to keep Braves traffic off of our neighborhood streets.  Hence, Sandy Springs is doing a traffic study to evaluate the viability of a “slip ramp” off I-285 that allows west-bound traffic to exit west of New Northside Dr. onto Interstate North Parkway.  We also strongly urge GDOT to consider a half-diamond interchange on the Cobb side of the river at Powers Ferry Rd.  Our citizens are frustrated that Sandy Springs taxes are paying for a “Braves-created problem”.  The reality is that traffic is already bad, so new exit ramps that take Cobb commuters across the river before they exit I-285 could significantly reduce traffic on Riverside Dr. throughout the year and not just when the Braves are playing.  Hence, we believe it is crucial to conduct this traffic study to fully evaluate our options.

Major League teams including the Braves are asking Waze to discontinue the direction of traffic through neighborhoods, but there is no guaranty that Waze will comply.  Hence, neighborhoods should consider taking their own actions to protect their residents.  We encourage our HOA’s to contact their council members and request additional police presence during heavy traffic periods.  HOA’s can also hire off-duty police officers to direct traffic and they can consider the installation of gates to manage neighborhood access during the busiest times.   If your HOA has questions about these options, please email me at cburnett@sandyspringsga.gov.   

Below are several links to the materials that were displayed and distributed at the Traffic Forum, along with links to news stories about the Forum and a link for a full list of road projects currently underway in Sandy Springs.  Again, if you or members of your HOA board have questions about any of these issues, please contact me. 

Traffic is a regional issue that plagues all of metro Atlanta and Sandy Springs is at the epicenter of these issues.  In my very biased opinion, Sandy Springs is Georgia’s #1 city, offering a robust job market, excellent schools, reasonable taxes, beautiful homes and neighborhoods and close proximity to so much of what goes on in metro Atlanta.  For these reasons, people want to live and work in our great city, which breeds ever-increasing traffic.  Our city must be a proactive leader in finding and implementing transportation solutions and we are committed to working with our neighboring counties and with GDOT, Marta and other rapid transit agencies to develop long range solutions to our traffic congestion while implementing immediate measures to address the challenges of today.  You will continue to hear much from me about traffic as I believe it is our community’s most significant near-term issue.  Thanks very much and have a great week.

If you are interested in reading the Week in Review provided by the City Manager regarding work activity on behalf of the community, you can access it here for the week ending in September 23rd. If you missed any of the weeks in review, you can access all of them from the City's website here.

As always, please direct your questions and comments to me at cburnett@sandyspringsga.gov. Best wishes for a wonderful week.

Chris Burnett