Atlanta Road Median Project Public Hearing Approaches

Smyrna City Councilman Wade Lnenicka said this week that a tentative date has been set for a public hearing concerning the project involving improvements to Atlanta Road from Spring Road to Ridge Road.

The project is part of the 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that was approved by Cobb County voters in 2005. It will include installing raised medians and designing and implementing intersection improvements.

While nothing has been finalized, Lnenicka, whose Ward 6 includes the portion of Atlanta Road where the work is to be done, said a tentative date for the public meeting is Tuesday, April 26 at a site yet to be determined.

“This project is getting ready to move forward and there will be a public hearing to show the plans to interested citizens and to receive input,’’ Lnenicka said. “When you talk about medians there’s always concern about where it’s going to go, how wide it’s going to be, where are the cut-throughs going to be, how much room will there be for cars.’’

Lnenicka indicated that he had yet to see the plans, but encouraged all concerned citizens to attend the meeting once its formal date has been set. He recalled the useful input Smyrna citizens provided two decades back when the Spring Road median was being discussed.

“What we did based on that input was we made some dramatic changes and revisions to that plan,’’ the councilman explained. “We heard what the people told us and we took that to heart. I think the communities along Spring Road are very pleased with that median and the landscaping that has been installed and maintained there the last two decades.’’

According to studies conducted by the Georgia Department of Transportation, in urban and suburban areas, medians provide greater vehicle and pedestrian safety and reduce left turn movements and turning conflicts by up to 55 percent.

“(Spring Road) went from a so-so corridor to a beautiful gateway into the downtown,’’ Lnenicka said. “Our goal and objective is to do something similar to that on Atlanta Road; to improve the aesthetics; not to make it more difficult for people or to make it unsafe for people. We want (citizen’s) input and we will listen to that input as we get it.’’

In a related item just off of Atlanta Road, the Campbell Road CSX Bridge project will soon begin in earnest. The project, also approved in the 2005 SPLOST, will involve the replacement of the existing bridge over the CSX railroad. The new bridge will accommodate sidewalks for pedestrian traffic.

“Campbell Road bridge will be impassable for a couple of months during a five-month period,’’ said Councilwoman Melleny Pritchett. “It will be an inconvenience, but it will be a fabulous bridge, much safer for walkers, runners and pedestrians to cross.

Pritchett can be reached at 770-319-5306 or mpritchett@ci.smyrna.ga.us for more specifics as to when the bridge will be officially closed to traffic. For more info on all 2005 SPLOST projects related to Smyrna, see here.

And for more SPLOST and transportation updates, including those associated with the recently passed 2011 SPLOST, see the city’s website here.