Piedmont Corridor Study

Note: This page may differ from the original. NBCA's web server crashed and we lost some recent pages and had to reconstruct them.


Photo of Habersham/Piedmont/Roswell intersection from 9/6/07 meeting See full page version (1.3MB PDF)	Same photo of Habersham/Piedmont/Roswell intersection with contrast tweeked to highlight lanes See full page version (1.3MB PDF)

7:00 PM September 5, 2007

Dear Neighbor,

The following neighborhood news items may be of interest to you.

IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETING THURSDAY EVENING – PIEDMONT CORRIDOR STUDY

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the late notice on this. There is a special briefing for area
residents on Thursday evening (9/6/07 at 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) in the
DoubleTree Hotel in the Tower Place development at 3340 Peachtree Road.

The meeting is about the Piedmont Corridor Study which was organized by
the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID) and The Buckhead Area
Traffic Management Association (BATMA). (I am a board member of BATMA,
representing area neighborhoods.) The Piedmont study is intended to
formulate policies for improving the various segments of Piedmont Road,
an area with considerable traffic issues and some stretches of ugly
streetscapes. The Study team is soliciting inputs from residents and
business owners who use or have interests in Piedmont Road between I-85
on the south and its northern end at Roswell Road.

While I had thought the recommendations would all be fairly
uncontroversial (hence my lack of earlier notice to you of this
meeting), it didn’t turn out that way. One of the draft recommendations
I saw at a stakeholders briefing yesterday will cause concern for many
residents of North Buckhead. That is the draft recommendation for the
Piedmont/Roswell/Habersham intersections which is, for the lack of a
better word, radical. Since handouts of the plan were not made
available, I have recreated a diagram of the recommended plan from
memory and have put it on our web site at www.nbca.org/PiedmontCorridor.

If implemented, I believe the intersection recommendation would have the
following consequences*:

* It would be impossible for westbound Old Ivy Road traffic to directly
reach southbound Piedmont Road via Habersham.

* It would often be very difficult for westbound Old Ivy Road traffic to
directly reach southbound Roswell Road via Habersham.

* It would be very difficult/impossible for northbound Roswell Road
traffic to directly reach eastbound Habersham/Old Ivy Road.

* Note – If a proposed new "development corridor" street (see web site)
is constructed around the Tuxedo Festival Shopping Center (which is not
guaranteed), these consequences could be alleviated.

I caution that this is not the final recommendation – but it is the
recommendation which is being presented for public comment and no other
alternatives have been presented. Also, be aware that my diagram on our
web site may not have accurately captured all of the details of the
recommendation.

I expressed my reservations about this Roswell/Piedmont/Habersham
intersection plan at the meeting on Tuesday. I encourage you to attend
the meeting on Thursday, learn more, and share your thoughts. If you
plan to attend, please RSVP your attendance to Denise Starling by email
at denise@batma.org. (Denise is BATMA’s General Manager and study
leader.) If you cannot attend, please provide your comments and
questions to Denise based on the materials on our web site. (Please CC
me.) Please be respectful in your comments – this overall package of
recommendations is the result of the diligent efforts of a team of
professionals, consultants and volunteers. The vast majority of these
recommendations should bring a much needed improvement to Piedmont Road.

Gordon Certain
President
North Buckhead Civic Association

The following alternate plan was prepared by NBCA's Robert Sarkissian, Chair of the NBCA Traffic Committee.

The following is a brainstorming configuration which has not been endorsed by anyone or any organization. If you have any ideas of how to reconfigure these intersections, please send your e-mail to nbca@nbca.org.

We have requested that the Piedmont Corridor Study Team traffic engineers provide traffic counts and alternative configurations that were considered and hosta work session with representatives of the affected neighborhoods. As of September 26, this data has not been made available.

9/4-9/6 Meeting Agenda and published recommendations

The following document was created by optical scanning and converted to text, a process that could introduce error. But, it is searchable. If you want to see the original recommendations document, it is here as a 1.3 MB PDF file. The meeting agenda is here as a 0.1 MB PDF file.

Piedmont Area Transportation Study

Draft Recommendations September 4th & 6th, 2007

Roadway Improvements

Corridor Improvements

• Optimize signal timings corridor-wide

• Reduce speed limit to 35 mph for the length of the corridor

• For the two existing Georgia Power substations, make any necessary repairs and add additional screening with plantings

Segment 1— Roswell Road to Peachtree Road

• From Buckhead Loop to Peachtree Road, install a center island median and widen to 3 lanes each way with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections

Segment 2— Peachtree Road to Pharr Road

• Interim: Re-stripe to 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

• Long-term: Construct 3 lanes each direction with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

Segment 3— Pharr Road to Sidney Marcus Boulevard

• Re-stripe to 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

Segment 4— Sidney Marcus Boulevard to Lindbergh Drive

• Interim: Re-stripe to 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

• Long-term: Re-instate TIP project that includes 3 lanes each direction with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

Segment 5— Lindbergh Drive to I-85

• Re-stripe to 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct a more substantial center island median

Intersection Improvements (in addition to the corridor improvements)

Segment 1— Roswell Road to Peachtree Road

• Reconfigure Piedmont/Roswell/Habersham intersection cluster

o Realign Piedmont Road along existing Habersham Road alignment

o Remove existing segment of Piedmont Road between Habersham Road and Roswell Road

o Convert Piedmont Road/Blackland Road intersection to right-in/right-out

o Reconnect Old Ivy Road to Roswell Road as right-in/right-out

o Remove signals at Piedmont Road’s intersections with Habersham Road and Blackland Road

o Convert Habersham Road/Piedmont Road intersection to right-in/right-out

• Signalize Powers Ferry Road/Roswell Road intersection

• Improve Piedmont Road/Buckhead Loop intersection:

o Add 3rd WB left turn lane from Buckhead Loop onto Piedmont Road (conversion of existing lane)

o Restrict EB approach to right-in/right-out only

o Install red-light-running cameras

• Improve Piedmont Road/Peachtree Road intersection (Peachtree Boulevard improvements):

o Add SB right turn lane from Piedmont Road onto Peachtree Road (Peachtree Boulevard improvements)

o Add 2nd EB left turn lane from Peachtree Road onto Piedmont Road (Peachtree Boulevard improvements)

Segment 2— Peachtree Road to Pharr Road

• Peachtree Boulevard improvements (see above)

• Add 2nd NB left-turn lane from Piedmont Road onto Pharr Road

Segment 3— Pharr Road to Sidney Marcus Boulevard

• Pharr Road (see above)

• Signalize Piedmont Road/Elliott Circle intersection

• Improve Piedmont Road/Darlington Road/East Wesley Road intersection:

o Convert Darlington Road to right-in/right-out operation and remove from signal control

o Provide exclusive NB/SB left-turn lanes with protected phases

• Realign Miami Circle intersection to the south and create a SB left-turn lane from Piedmont Road onto Miami Circle

• Improve Piedmont Road/Sidney Marcus Boulevard intersection:

o Widen Piedmont Road to create a 3id SB thru lane at Sidney Marcus Boulevard

o Add a NB right-turn lane from Piedmont Road onto Sidney Marcus Boulevard (under construction)

Segment 4—Sidney Marcus Boulevard to Lindbergh Drive

• Sidney Marcus (see above)

• Install a traffic signal at Main Street (mid-block between Morosgo Drive and Lindbergh Drive). This provides for an official cross walk for pedestrians accessing the Lindbergh MARTA rail station.

• Combine Lindbergh Drive/Lindbergh Way into one conventional intersection at Lindbergh Way

Segment 5— Lindbergh Drive to I-85

• Re-stripe to 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound with dedicated left-turn lanes at major intersections. Construct more substantial center island median

System Improvements

• Complete the I-85/SR 400 interchange to create ramps from I-85 SB to SR 400 NB and SR 400 SB to I-85 NB

• Complete the I-85 HOV interchange to create ramps to/from I-85 South

• Allow use of I-85 SB shoulder between SR 400 and 1-75 as an additional travel lane (for SR 400)

• Improve SR 400/Sidney Marcus, Sidney Marcus/Buford Highway and Buford Highway/Lenox Road intersections:

o Add 3rd SB left-turn lane from SR 400 SB ramp onto Sidney Marcus Boulevard

o Widen Sidney Marcus Boulevard to 3 lanes EB from SR 400 ramps to Buford Highway

o Add 3rd EB left-turn lane from Sidney Marcus Boulevard onto Buford Highway

o Widen NB Buford Highway from Sidney Marcus Boulevard to Lenox Road from 2 to 3 lanes

o Add 2nd NB left-turn lane from Buford Highway onto Lenox Road

o Add 3rd WB left-turn lane from Cheshire Bridge Road onto Buford Highway

New Connections

Segment 1 — Roswell Road to Peachtree Road

• From Piedmont Road (near Securities Centre) to Roswell Road

• From Buckhead Loop to Piedmont Center (bus/shuttle only)

• From Peachtree Road/Maple Drive to Piedmont Road/Tower Place Drive (existing connection, redevelopment to reduce pedestrian/lmotorist conflicts)

Segment 2— Peachtree Road to Pharr Road

• From Piedmont Road to Maple Drive (two connections), between Peachtree Road and East Wesley Road. Median breaks and signals should be provided at the intersections of the connections with Piedmont Road.

Segment 3— Pharr Road to Sidney Marcus Boulevard

• From Sidney Marcus Boulevard to Miami Circle

Segment 5— Lindbergh Drive to I-85

• From Lindbergh Drive to Piedmont Road at Garson Road (Lindmont development)

Transit Improvements/Transportation Demand Management

• Construct northern concourse of Buckhead MARTA station, including bicycle and pedestrian connections and multimodal center

• Express bus service directly to Buckhead, serving Buckhead MARTA Station and Piedmont Road office buildings

o Cobb County

o Gwinnett County

o DeKalb County/Rockdale County

• Extend BUC service further south and west

o Lindbergh MARTA station and Lindbergh area developments

o Buckhead Village/Streets of Buckhead Development

• Develop greater incentives for employers/tenants to implement flex time/alternate work schedules, telecommuting, vanpool/carpool use

• MARTA

o Increase frequency of existing MARTA bus routes

o Consolidate bus stops into “Super Stops” and provide enhanced amenities (stops to be shared with other providers, such as the BUC)

— More substantial and attractive structures

— Incorporate more technology such as time of arrival displays and wireless internet

— Place bus stops within/near densely populated areas and 4,000 feet apart

— Offer credit against impact fees for private developers that incorporate bus stops into development

o Provide Signal priority for buses

o Provide queue jumper lanes at areas with lengthy vehicular queues and high levels of delay

— NB/SB Piedmont Road at Buckhead Loop

— NB/SB Piedmont Road at Tower Place

— NB/SB Piedmont Road at Peachtree Road

— WB Left Sidney Marcus Boulevard at Piedmont Road

o Create web based application providing real time surface street congestion information to motorists

Pedestrian/Bike Improvements

• Require wide sidewalks with street trees/street furniture zone and clear zone (see below)

• Repair substandard sidewalks and widen where sufficient right-of-way exists as shown below:

Segment 1

Powers Ferry Road to Buckhead Loop

No buffer zone

Six foot sidewalk

Buckhead Loop to Peachtree Street

Five foot buffer zone

Fifteen foot sidewalk

Segment 2

Five foot buffer zone

Ten foot sidewalk

Segment 3

Pharr Road to Miami Circle

No buffer zone

Six foot sidewalk

Miami Circle to Sidney Marcus Boulevard

Five foot buffer zone

Ten foot sidewalk

Segment 4

Five foot buffer zone

Fifteen foot sidewalk

Segment 5

No buffer zone

Six foot sidewalk

• Require utilities to be moved underground

• Require good pedestrian connectivity between and around redeveloped properties

• Install ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps and crossings at all intersections

• Install countdown pedestrian signals at all signals

• Identify north-south and east-west bike routes along and adjacent to the corridor, creating better connections of the corridor with Lenox Mall/Phipps Plaza, Peachtree Street, etc. (See figure)

o This includes the installation of an at-grade bike crossing (under the MARTA rail and over CSX rail line) near Burke Road and Canterbury Road in the eastern portion of the study area.

Regulatory Recommendations

• Extend the Buckhead CID south to Garson Drive

• Implement zoning amendments as follows:

• SPI-12

o Extend SPI-12 to the commercial parcels along the west side of Piedmont Road from the Buckhead Loop to Pharr Road

o Update regulations to reflect the following changes:

— Bicycle and moped parking (as described in SPI-15)

— Shower facilities (as described in SPI-15)

— Relocation of utilities underground (as described in SPI- 15)

— Curb cuts and parking structures (as described in SPI- 15)

— Internal development bike and moped circulation improvements

— Implement shared parking incentives

— Provide stronger enforcement of TMP

• SPI-15

o Update regulations to reflect the following changes:

— Provide affordable housing

— Reduce parking requirements and implement shared parking incentives

— Provide stronger enforcement of TMP

• Adjust zoning and create incentives for development to unbundle parking with development, especially near MARTA rail stations

Neighborhood Preparations for 10/3 Meeting