Cobb Commissioners to Vote on Smyrna Traffic Signal

Cobb County commissioners are expected to vote on Tuesday on placing a traffic signal at the intersection of the East-West Connector and Gaylor Street in Smyrna.

Last month, the Smyrna city council voted 6-1 to pay $35,000 toward the $255,695 project. Developers of two nearby shopping centers will be contributing $150,000 and the county contributing $70,694.94 from 2005 SPLOST funds.

At last month’s council meeting, Councilman Wade Lnenicka cast the only dissenting vote. The county owns the two streets being affected, but the intersection itself is in Smyrna's city limits. Lnenicka expressed frustration at the time and said the city staff’s repeated requests for a detailed cost analysis of the project were unreturned and that the reported cost of the project had fluctuated since October.

"The signals that they’re installing will be county-owned and operated and no city funds are budgeted for this,’’ Lnenicka said at last month’s meeting. “No funds have been set aside for this expense.”

Gaylor Street leads into the Estates at Ellis Wade Park neighborhood that consists of 54 plots, all of them in unincorporated Cobb. In addition to those residents, many motorists from the busy Publix Highland Station shopping center exit by way of Gaylor Street.

Currently there is just a stop sign at the intersection and motorists must turn right on the E-W Connector. Across the street from Highland Station a new state-of-the-art RaceTrac is being built.

“The way I see it, we’re contributing 15 percent of that,” Councilwoman Teri Anulewicz said before the December vote. “I don’t necessarily see this as Smyrna taxpayers paying twice, I see it as, because we do pay county taxes and city taxes, I see it as a portion; an 85 percent/15 percent kind of thing.”

Also on Tuesday, residents will get to weigh in on plans for a mass transportation study that could improve traffic along the I-75 and U.S. 41 corridors.

A public hearing will be held prior to hiring a consultant to provide an environmental impact statement for the Northwest Atlanta Corridor Alternatives Analysis Study.

The will meet at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the government complex at 100 Cherokee Street in .

Development of an environmental impact statement will provide a detailed description of the proposal, purpose and need, reasonable alternatives and the affected environment.

The massive region-wide project, estimated to take 18 to 24 months to complete, will involve dozens of private companies and beneficiaries as well as millions of tax dollars.

Potential benefits of a regional mass transit system include congestion relief on major interstates, particularly I-75, as well as a potential for job growth in accordance with the labor needs.

The alternatives analysis is being funded by a $1.36 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Cobb County was one of 21 applicant counties selected from a list of 70 to receive a grant for research.

Beneficiaries of the project include Cobb County, , the Town Center community improvement district and MARTA, among others.

An additional public hearing Tuesday will take place on hiring consultants for engineering services related to transportation projects funded by the 2011 SPLOST. - Holly Roberson contributed to this story