A New Direction in Roswell

[perimeter285]

Hello everyone. The forum seems to have been rather quiet this week. I guess we are all catching up at work after (hopefully most of us) being off last week.

I thought I would start the discussion about the latest big mixed-use community announcement, this time in Roswell.

Some thoughts when I read about this proposal STORY...

1) How much more traffic can Holcomb Bridge Road sustain? It and its counterpart, Hwy 92 into Cobb, are choked with no room for further expansion.

2) Georgia 400 is being widened now, but at 4 lanes in each direction, the widening is a band-aid, not a long term solution.

3) How much more retail can North Fulton take? North Point Mall is already in existence, a mall is under construction on Old Milton Parkway, and there is an announced Avenue Forsyth project on exit 14. What will be the overkill point?

4) For that matter, how many mixed-use communities will we be able to sustain in the long-term. Will they become today's trend, tomorrow's slums?

[Andrea]

2) Georgia 400 is being widened now, but at 4 lanes in each direction, the widening is a band-aid, not a long term solution.

[ryanmckibben]

without a MARTA line to N Fulton and with the suburban system of distributer and collector roads this development will be an unmitigated disaster for that area. People who live in AS and even midtown have yet to give up their cars. These areas can do a better job of handling the increased traffic because of the grid system of roads. Holcomb Bridge and GA 400 will become parking lots, and adding any new intersections to 400 will only make the issue worse as it is entrance and exit ramps that cause the most slowdowns.

[scoop]

Oversaturation in selected areas has always been a major problem in Metro Atlanta and it seems that it will continue. I don't understand why South Fulton and South Dekalb aren't getting more quality developement (jobs, retail, etc).

[Andrea]

without a MARTA line to N Fulton and with the suburban system of distributer and collector roads this development will be an unmitigated disaster for that area. People who live in AS and even midtown have yet to give up their cars. These areas can do a better job of handling the increased traffic because of the grid system of roads. Holcomb Bridge and GA 400 will become parking lots, and adding any new intersections to 400 will only make the issue worse as it is entrance and exit ramps that cause the most slowdowns.

[nick]

As to the intersections, I don't think it would do any good to add more unless they are designed more efficiently and integrated with improved collector and distributor routes.

[Andrea]

It doesn't matter how efficiently designed you make them. Having more exits and entrances into limited access highways will always decrease traffic flow and cause more delays. They take this into consideration when designing highways and such, and there is a specific factor specifically related to interchange density within certain mile limits. This factor decreases flow speeds and causes lower levels of service.

[Lady Celeste]

2) Georgia 400 is being widened now, but at 4 lanes in each direction, the widening is a band-aid, not a long term solution.

[perimeter285]

I have had the pleasure of being on GA400 every morning for the last week. The additional two lanes on the north and southbound side will not be of much help....eventually. It is in fact a band-aid. As I have said, MARTA to Windward would be such a lifesaver...in fact MARTA to GA20 would be a lifesaver completely. MARTA up GA 400 should not be like it is inside the perimeter. It should not be viewed as a means for public transportation throughout the greater north Fulton or south Forsyth area. It would in fact be essentially commuter rail.

Thank heavens I don't have to do this all the time. I would go nuts or just become numb to my lot in life. I guess the second option is what most drivers to...it's easier and requires less medication and/or hospital time.

[Mr.Marc]

They should increase the efficiency and number of GA 400's interchanges and access roads before they even think about adding more lanes. That's where the delays occur. Adding more lanes is like trying to fix a clogged pipe by simply increasing the size of the pipe without removing the clog.

[Spartan]

Having friends in North Fulton and Forsyth, I know first hand that impressions of MARTA are not at all favorable. Most people of course think that MARTA will bring the "ghetto" even if they cannot define what ghetto is. Basically anything that resembles a city rather than a squeaky clean suburb. These people think Lenox Mall is "ghetto" because it isn't always what they consider squeaky clean. I don't think they're racist or even prejudice - it's just cultural differences.

If MARTA is extended such as you wisely suggested, I would have to think they would have to look at running an express train that went to the Northside.

So what's the answer? 400 is a major debacle.

[scoop]

That is very sad. The Atlanta metro is never going to progress without public transit of some kind. You might share with your friends that the arguement about bringing crime into the community is not valid. Studies show that transit has little impact on crime. If crime is going to go up, it will do so regardless of the transportation modes available.