Transportation Plan Finds Some Bumps in the Road

Dunwoody’s transportation plan moved forward this week, but without shortcuts.

A proposal for a shortcut that would connect Ashford Center Parkway to Dunwoody Village Parkway, with an aim to relieve traffic at Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Mt. Vernon Road, was opposed by most of the council after comments from several homeowners who live in the path of the proposed extention.

Monday night, the Dunwoody City Council looked over four major plans for the city, which include parks, transportation, Georgetown and Dunwoody Village master plans.

For the transportation plan, the proposal to extend Ashford Center Parkway, cutting behind the library and homes along Chestnut Ridge Drive brought several neighbors.

“If you build this street you will tear the heart out of this neighborhood,” said Shawn Bard, who lives in the Chestnut Ridge neighborhood where the extension would go.

“This project would go directly against your stated mission in that you want to protect your homeowners. When we bought our house we looked for three years for a quiet cul-de-sac to live on,” said Susan Tallent. “If you build this road, it will go right through my yard and my children and the children on this street will not have a place to play.”

The proposal is on the transportation plan and the Dunwoody Village master plans, but it appears it will get scratched from both.

“When you start changing the character of a neighborhood – this definitely would change the character of that neighborhood – we don’t want to do that, we need to find another solution,” Councilman Danny Ross said. “As much as it looked good on paper when I first saw this, this is something we should not do.”

Councilman Denis Shortal said he didn’t think adding an extension would relieve traffic at Mt. Vernon and Chamblee Dunwoody.

“Just remember on the roads, you build it they will come,” he said. “Traffic’s like water, it will take the route of least resistance.”

It seemed the rest of the council shared that sentiment.

There were also concerns brought up about widening roads in the city, including along Tilly Mill Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

The first project on the docket, however, could have an effect on all other projects – 

Traffic lights throughout Dunwoody would get automated, interconnected signal timers. That project will cost $1 million.

Councilman John Heneghan has said that project has the possibility alleviate many traffic problems.

The overall plan puts proposed projects into different groups, from Priority 1 to Priority3.

Councilman Robert Wittenstein proposed that the plan go further with giving some hierarchy to Priority 1 plans. An estimate for the total cost of all 17 priority 1 projects is about $30.5 million.

“It’s an enormous list,” he said. “We might want to make a 1a and a 1b.”

“We haven’t won the lottery so we are going to have to pick and choose,” he added.