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  • January 16, 2012

Questions raised on two-lane village parkway - Dunwoody Crier: News

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Questions raised on two-lane village parkway

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Posted: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:42 am | Updated: 12:04 pm, Tue Jan 3, 2012.

The idea to change Dunwoody Village Parkway from four lanes to two was formed years ago, before Dunwoody became a city, according to Mayor Ken Wright.   

Wright said he broached the idea to a group of citizens in 2004, when he was president of the Dunwoody Homeowners’ Association because he didn’t think it made sense to have a four-lane thoroughfare through the village.  The group met at Wright’s home and Dunwoody homeowner Joyce Amacher brought a proposed rendering of the parkway that was drawn up in 1998 by landscape architect Roy Ashley.  This drawing, and favorable responses from other citizens, confirmed to Wright that he wasn’t the only one considering changes to the parkway.  

“The parkway, to me, seemed like it could be so much more,” said Wright.  “It seemed to me like such a ridiculous four-lane, dangerous thoroughfare and the intent of my meeting was to see what other stakeholders thought.”

 Wright contacted and met with DeKalb County officials. Ted Rhinehart, then Director of Public Works for DeKalb County and John Gurbal, then head of the transportation division for the county and walked the parkway with him, said Wright.  After the meeting the county officials conducted studies and applied for a transportation enhancement grant.  The $500,000 grant was awarded to DeKalb County and then signed over to Dunwoody shortly after cityhood in 2008. 

The city’s current plan is to maintain nearly the same width, to remove the median, and to add bike lanes, sidewalks and landscaping on either side of a two lane road, said Michael Smith, director of Public Works.  

Turn lanes are planned at either end of the parkway to help with traffic flow for left turns onto Mt. Vernon Road near the Suntrust Bank and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road near Starbucks.

One of the reasons the city plans to remove the median, according to Smith, is due to city rights of way.

“The extent of the right of the way that the city has control over doesn’t extend much beyond the existing curb,” said Smith.  “So to keep a median and do the other things we are trying to do, we don’t have enough space in the existing right of way to do that without having to go and buy additional strips to widen the right of way.”

The cost of the project is about $2.4 million with the city contributing $1.1 million and the rest coming from grants.  In the October 24 council meeting, Councilor Adrian Bonser voted against amendments to the 2011 budget because she was opposed to narrowing the parkway to two lanes and because she did not think the idea had been fully vetted to the public.  

“I’m not opposed to having a bikeway and walkway through there,” said Bonser.  “That’s not the issue.  Three years ago the plan was to add a wide walking / biking path to either side of the road.  So that’s what I thought we were pursuing until it became a $2.4 million project that included removing the median with the crepe myrtle trees and narrowing the street down.  It morphed into something completely different.”

Councilman Danny Ross is in favor of the plan and was one of the original stakeholders who met with Wright in 2004.    

“This is something that’s been in process for quite some time,” said Ross.  “We’re trying to make the city as bicycle friendly as we can, and there just isn’t that much traffic on that road according to the studies made by DeKalb county and subsequently our traffic engineers.”

“I’m totally in favor of this,” said Ross. 

Amacher, who was one of the stakeholders at the 2004 meeting, thinks that bike lanes and a sidewalk would be great and wants to keep the median, but is opposed to narrowing the parkway to two lanes. 

“I thought it was about the dumbest thing I ever heard,” said Amacher.  “If they are going to do anything they should put sidewalks in, not narrow it.  There is a ton of traffic that comes through there and if it doesn’t come through there, it’s going to come through the traffic light at Mt. Vernon and Chamblee-Dunwoody.  I don’t think it’s a smart thing for them to do at all.”

The city held a public meeting in March of this year to reveal plans for the parkway, said Smith.  Of the 29 attendees, about 10 submitted comment cards and most were positive, according to Smith.

“We also reached out to all the businesses that are along the parkway,” said Smith.  “We didn’t hear back from all of the property owners, we heard back from some of them.  The reaction from most of the ones we talked to was that they were glad that there were going to be sidewalks and the landscaping was going to be improved and lighting added.”

Smith said that the purpose of the transportation enhancement grant was to make pedestrian improvements to Dunwoody Village Parkway including wide sidewalks, landscaping, pedestrian level lighting and street furniture.

The whole idea of narrowing the lanes came out of the Dunwoody Village Master Plan, said Smith.

“The idea was that the amount of traffic that the road carries doesn’t really necessitate four lanes and the redevelopment plan envisioned transforming that road into more of a downtown type street with the sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping, and street furniture,” said Smith.

The vision of the master plan for Dunwoody Village, said Smith, includes encouraging developers to move their buildings up closer to the street.

“You create a better environment for that if you don’t have this big, wide parkway that’s really just focused on moving cars and it’s not very easy for pedestrians to cross,” said Smith.  

A traffic study was completed in January, 2010, said Smith.

“They actually counted the traffic volume on the road and did an analysis of the existing conditions, and then the conditions if it was narrowed to two lanes, and then concluded that it will still operate at an acceptable level of service even with removing a lane in each direction,” said Smith.

State Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), who advocated for the transportation enhancement grant, said he was not in favor of narrowing the road. 

“I got a planning grant a number of years ago for the Village area and I don’t think it was specifically on the parkway,” said Millar.  “It was to make improvements to that area.”

“I would prefer to see the money go to sidewalks and landscaping,” said Millar.  “I’ve got nothing against bicycles, that’s not my point.  I can’t conceive that our community as a whole would be in favor of reducing two lanes of traffic in order to have bicycle lanes.”

Joe Seconder, an avid cyclist, said there’s a traffic calming issue on the parkway, but he didn’t feel qualified to speak to the issue of four lanes versus two.  

“I’m going to leave that to the professionals,” said Seconder.  “I have no business saying whether or not that should be two lanes.  That I will leave to the engineers.” 

Seconder, who attended the public meeting in March, encouraged citizens to be involved so that they are aware of city plans.

Brian Bonser, who was on the city’s transportation committee, said he did not recall ever talking about narrowing the lanes on the parkway.  Brian Bonser, who did not attend the public meeting in March, was at the one of the final transportation committee meetings.

“We discussed a lot that night and we were trying to prioritize projects, and I don’t recall that being on the list,” said Brian Bonser.  “That was a pretty dynamic plan.  It seemed to be changing all the time.”

Newly elected councilor Terry Nall said that he has received calls from citizens concerned about reducing the parkway from four lanes to two and has discussed the issue with Mayor-elect Mike Davis.  

“We are hearing from citizens questioning the wisdom of going from four lanes to two lanes,” said Nall.  “We’re aware of it, we know it’s an issue for many in the community and so we’re asking city staff questions about the project.”  

Nall added that no one is objecting to the sidewalks and making the parkway a safer place.  

Davis commented that he fully expects, before any contracts are let or any construction begins, that the city council will be looking at this again.

Smith said that the city is planning to begin construction sometime in mid 2013.  He expects the project to take about six months to complete.

Beth Sexton, a homeowner in the Mill Glen subdivision, said she wants a bike friendly neighborhood, but cannot imagine Dunwoody Village Parkway as a two lane road and doesn’t like that the city is planning to spend over a million dollars to change the road.   

 “I don’t want to make it more amenable to traffic, but I don’t want to reduce it to two lanes,” said Sexton.  “And the money?   Think about how many ways we could spend that money.”  

© 2012 Dunwoody Crier. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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2 comments:

  • TheFlyingBrick posted at 7:36 pm on Thu, Dec 29, 2011.

    Posts: 1

    If I had my druthers, I'd eliminate the road completely ... but I know that's not going to happen. Reducing the road to two lanes is sensible as it will reduce traffic, slow traffic and make it more pedestrian friendly. If cars have to go up to the corner of Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd and Mt Vernon to get to Roberts then so be it. Let's make the village a place where people can walk or ride bike safely. It will add to the community spirit.

     
  • NancyM posted at 9:53 pm on Wed, Dec 28, 2011.

    Posts: 1

    I cannot speak to traffic studies or the cost benefit of making Dunwoody Village Parkway 2 vs. 4 lanes - but I do know that trying to turn left out of the Village Burger shoppig center and other places along this road can be quite dangerous due to the shrubbery in the median blocking the view down the road. Cars travel along this road quite fast (perhaps because it is a 4 lane road) and many times I have pulled out to take a left and have almost been involved in an accident. Perhaps making DVP a 2 lane road just makes sense from a safety aspect. And while I have not ever considered riding my bike to Publix to go shopping, I have walked or ridden my bike many times either to Smoothie King, Starbucks, the Goodyear place and many other stores along that route and think that sidewalks, crosswalks and bicycle lanes would be a great addition.