Sandy Plains-Holly Springs traffic project to be considered

Sandy Plains-Holly Springs traffic project to be considered

Proposed traffic improvements at the Sandy Plains Road-Holly Springs Road intersection will come before Cobb commissioners on Tuesday.

A contract for $1.367 million is being requested by Cobb DOT for the low bidder out of six companies, according to an agenda item.

The agenda item (you can read it here) said the work will entail re-aligning turn lanes, pavement markings and traffic signal modifications and will take roughly a year to complete once it gets underway.

The low bidder is Azimuth Contractors, LLC  of Suwanee and the funding would come from the current 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax).

The Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, commissioners will hold a work session that will include updates on the county’s economic development strategic plan and the proposed Unified Development Code (meeting agenda here).

You also can watch the meetings on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Cobb OKs resurfacing projects that include Providence Road

Providence Road (at right) at the intersection of Pine Road.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved resurfacing contracts for a number of roads in Cobb County, including the full length of Providence Road in East Cobb.

It’s one of 11 major road repaving contracts totaling $11.6 million that will be performed by C.W. Matthews Construction Co. Inc.

Providence Road is 1.25 miles in length, stretching from Roswell Road near East Cobb Park to Roswell Road at the entrance to Merchant’s Walk Shopping Center.

In addition to providing access to subdivisions, it’s also a busy route for Walton High School traffic.

Here’s a list of the other major road resurfacing projects that have been approved.

The funding for that contract comes from the current 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax).

The 2022 SPLOST also is the funding source for four other repaving contracts in the county, totaling $26.7 million, for local roads. They include the following in East Cobb:

  • 1.43 miles of Loch Highland Parkway between Wesley Chapel Road and Mabry Road
  • 0.70 miles of Lassiter Road from Shallowford Road to its dead end
  • 0.62 miles of Murdock Road from Sewell Mill Road to a cul-de-sac in Roswell Downs
  • 0.62 miles of Beverly Hills Drive from Club Valley Drive to Beverly Hills Drive

There are many, many others, in quite a few East Cobb subdivisions, and you can read through them here and here.

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East Cobb weather update: Cobb schools to reopen Tuesday

East Cobb weather update: Cobb schools to reopen Tuesday
An East Cobb News reader-submitted photo of a fallen tree at Indian Hills Country Club.

As roads are clearing around Cobb County on Monday, many activities and business will be back to usual on Tuesday.

The Cobb County School District announced late Monday morning that all Tuesday classes and activities will resume as scheduled.

The same goes for Marietta City Schools and most private schools.

The district said in a statement that “after overnight monitoring of our schools and consultation with Cobb Emergency Services, conditions are expected to be safe for travel and school tomorrow.”

Cobb County government said that all major reads Cobb DOT crews have been treating and monitoring are open, but that “residents are urged to use caution on neighborhood and secondary roads, as road temperatures across the county remain below freezing.”

If you do get out today—and you’re asked to avoid travel if possible—use caution on neighborhood streets and in parking lots which may have some ice and in particular black ice.

Cobb DOT said the storm caused some falling power lines and trees, and that 29 trees around the county blocking roads had to be removed.

All Cobb government offices, including courts and libraries, also will resume their regular schedules Tuesday.

The rain from Winter Storm Fern ended mid-evening on Sunday but temperatures dropped into the 20s overnight, and Monday’s high is only around freezing.

Winds also are high on Monday, with gusts as high as 30 mph. A cold weather advisory will be in effect in Cobb from 8 p.m. Monday to 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The sun will remain this week but it will continue to be cold, with Monday’s lows possibly falling into the low teens and Tuesday’s high in the high 30s.

For more local weather details, click here.

Reported power outages in the East Cobb area were rare and sporadic; Cobb EMC is reporting a few outages near the Catholic Church of St. Ann and in the East Piedmont Road area and has sent crews with an estimated restoration time of mid-afternoon Monday.

If you have any other information or photos/videos to share of storm damage, get in touch: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

Stay safe, and thanks for your readership!

 

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Steinhauer-Rocky Mountain intersection all-way stop proposed

Steinhauer-Rocky Mountain intersection stop signs proposed
A view of Rocky Mountain Road from the intersection of Steinhauer Road.

Cobb DOT is proposing the installation of three-way stop signs at the intersection of Steinhauer Road and Rocky Mountain Road in Northeast Cobb.

A request to spend $18,500 in signage supplies will come before the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday on its consent agenda.

Currently, only motorists approaching Steinhauer from Rocky Mountain are required to stop; the agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting said the request, if approved, would mandate vehicle stops in all directions.

The measure is designed to improve pedestrian access between Rocky Mount Elementary School and Lassiter High School.

“We have received several requests to provide pedestrian access between Rocky Mount Elementary School and Lassiter High School along the Steinhauer Road corridor,” Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said in her weekly newsletter Thursday.

“A traffic study has been completed, and the Cobb Department of Transportation has identified a location on Rocky Mountain Road that is best suited for a crosswalk.”

In Tuesday’s agenda item, Cobb DOT said that “based on the non-correctible sight distance along Steinhauer Road, installation of signage and pavement markings to convert the approaches on each road to an all-way stop-controlled intersecrion is justified,” according to federal guidelines.

The agenda item states the funding would come from the current Cobb DOT operating budget.

The BOC meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.

You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

Steinhauer-Rocky Mountain intersection all-way stop proposed
OpenStreetMap

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New crosswalk at Davis ES opens on Jamerson Road

New crosswalk at Davis ES opens after pedestrian crash

After a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured this past summer crossing Jamerson Road near Davis Elementary School, a new crosswalk has been installed in that area.

Cobb government and transportation officials were on hand earlier this week as students and their parents traversed Jamerson in a newly constructed crosswalk, along with flashing lights and warning signs for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Cobb commissioners approved spending $146,000 in SPLOST revenues for the safety enhancements, and Commissioner JoAnn Birrell was among those on hand for the debut (see Cobb TV video below).

Preston Veal, a student at Mabry Middle School, has undergone a long recovery after being hit by a van while crossing Jamerson Road near the school in late June. He was hospitalized with numerous broken bones and internal injuries, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his medical expenses.

Veal, a member of the Lassiter Junior Trojan youth football program, was walking home from Davis on June 28 after shooting basketball at the school. Cobb Police said he was crossing from a sidewalk on Jamerson, east of Turtle Rock Drive, when he was hit by a van.

That’s near the only crosswalk across Jamerson serving the school.

Among those walking her child across the crosswalk was mom Courtney Chiang DiStefano, who told East Cobb News last summer that had begun a petition for a solar flashing light alert, along with crosswalk detectors, a chirping alert for pedestrians and for another crosswalk to be built to cover both sides of the school. 

She didn’t get everything she initially asked for, but was pleased with the new safety measures this week.

DiStefano previously said she and her family use the crosswalk often to visit grandparents and to go to classes as Davis, but told us “the lack of a protected crosswalk with sufficient signage and protection puts our children and neighbors at significant risk.”

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Columns Drive traffic project to remove and replace trees

Cobb delays Columns Drive median tree-cutting after protests

Here’s another update to the Columns Drive traffic safety improvement project that we’ve been reporting on (here and here) in recent months:

Starting Friday Cobb DOT will begin work to remove roughly a third of the trees in the medians that have been deemed unsafe.

DOT said in a statement Wednesday that 47 of the 157 trees in the Columns Drive medians that are within the right-of-way will be taken down. Work crews will be clearing away tree stumps, dead trees and what department officials are saying is the “selective pruning of dozens of others.”

DOT said it was responding to a number of reports of falling trees.

But more than 1,000 residents in the area signed a petition in protest, entitled “STOP Cobb County’s Plans to Cut Down Trees on Columns Drive Median.”

That prompted community meetings with Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, and traffic engineers consulted an arborist who identified the trees that posed a threat to motorists.

She said in a message to East Cobb News on Wednesday that the project will continue into January. After the initial phase, 50 new trees and mulch will be installed in the medians and “hundreds of shrubs” will be planted near the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area entrance at the end of Columns Drive.

“We believe this solution will make Columns Drive safer and more attractive,” Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler said in a statement issued by the county. “We appreciate the residents who worked with us on this project — their input was invaluable in shaping the vision for this popular corridor.”

There also will be post-installation maintenance through spring 2026.

“This is a great result for this project,” Birrell told East Cobb News.

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East Cobb traffic update: Lower Roswell Road closure

East Cobb traffic update: Lower Roswell Road closure

Cobb Police said that a portion of Lower Roswell Road in the vicinity of Holy Family Catholic Church will be closed until Monday evening to repair downed power lines.

A social media posting around noon Monday said the road will be closed between Pinehurst Lane and Cross Gate Drive for at least 8 hours for the repairs, which are due to a single vehicle colliding with a utility pole. There were no injuries.

“Please avoid the area and seek alternate routes.”

Those alternates include Old Canton Road to the west of the closure area and Shadowlawn Drive and Indian Hills Parkway to the east.

 

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East Cobb traffic update: Lower Roswell Road reopened

East Cobb traffic alert: Part of Lower Roswell Road closed

UPDATE: Lower Roswell Road has reopened after what Cobb Police said was a fatal head-on crash.

ORIGINAL REPORT:

Message from Cobb County government:

There is a Road Closure on Lower Roswell Road between Shadowlawn Road and Indian Hills Parkway due to police activity following a motor vehicle collision. The closure will last a few hours and should reopen by 11 a.m.

Cobb Commute Link

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Cobb DOT: Columns Drive tree removal plans still in progress

Cobb DOT: Columns Drive tree removal plans still in progress

A reader who lives in the Columns Drive area got in touch with us last week after noticing that some orange flags that had been placed on median trees by Cobb DOT officials for possible removal had been replaced by red flags.

It’s part of a process by Cobb DOT to identify and ultimately remove trees that county officials say are becoming safety hazards. We first reported on this in March, after a petition drive was started to protest the possible removals.

The petition was sent to Cobb commissioners, and the county decided at that time to re-evaluate to see which trees “pose an imminent risk to the traveling public.” When we checked back in on Tuesday, a county spokesman said that process is still going on.

Our reader said that the flags “are not on every tree but are on a bunch of them. At the opening where River Heights [Crossing] is the red stripes are on several trees in that area.”

Ross Cavitt, the county spokesman, told us that Cobb DOT has met with a homeowner’s group committee “and worked on coming up with a consensus on the scope of work along Columns. The flags were likely part of that effort.

“However, they say the plans are not finalized, they want to do some further public outreach, and no timeline for work on Columns has been set.”

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East Cobb traffic updates: Little Willeo project nearly done

East Cobb traffic updates: Little Willeo project nearly done

Earlier this week Cobb DOT posted the aerial photo above showing the extended turn lane that’s being built on Little Willeo Road at Johnson Ferry.

That’s the right turn onto Johnson Ferry northbound from that’s subject to quite a few back-ups.

Cobb DOT said that the project, funded with current 2022 Cobb SPLOST funding, is expected to be finished in September.

Jamerson Road at Davis ES

As we noted last week, Cobb DOT is enhancing safety features on Jamerson Road at Davis Elementary School, where a boy was seriously injured near the crosswalk in June.

Cobb Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $146,966 for a project that would realign traffic lanes and install a rapid flashing rectangular beacon at a crosswalk. Signage has already gone up.

Preston Veal, 12, a student at Mabry Middle School, is recovering after being hit by a van while crossing Jamerson Road near the school after shooting basketball there. He was hospitalized with numerous broken bones and internal injuries, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his medical expenses.

“Thank you,” Commissioner JoAnn Birrell told Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler before the vote.

“The neighbors thank you, the schools thank you and our prayers go out” to Veal and his family.

Coming Holly Springs Road changes

Cobb DOT announced last week that there will be improvements on Holly Springs Road, near St. Andrews Way, from September-December.

The center turn lane on Holly Springs near that intersection was being “misused,” and that DOT said it has heard from the public.

The project will repurpose portions of the two-way left turn lane along Holly Springs with “dedicated left turn lanes and small medians.” for more information, click here.

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Jamerson Road traffic changes proposed after pedestrian crash

Jamerson Road traffic changes proposed after pedestrian crash
Cobb DOT wants to install a flashing beacon at the only crosswalk on Jamerson Road serving Davis Elementary School.

Cobb DOT is proposing improvements for pedestrian access on Jamerson Road near Davis Elementary School after a boy was seriously injured in a crash there this summer.

According to an agenda item, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will be asked Tuesday to approve a contract for $146,966 for a project that would realign traffic lanes and install a rapid flashing rectangular beacon at a crosswalk.

Preston Veal, 12, a student at Mabry Middle School, is recovering after being hit by a van while crossing Jamerson Road near the school in late June. He was hospitalized with numerous broken bones and internal injuries, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his medical expenses.

Veal, a member of the Lassiter Junior Trojan youth football program, was walking home from Davis on June 28 after shooting basketball at the school. Cobb Police said he was crossing from a sidewalk on Jamerson, east of Turtle Rock Drive, when he was hit by a van.

That’s near the only crosswalk across Jamerson serving the school.

After our initial report, a resident of the area messaged us to say she’d begun a petition drive to push for greater safety measures.

Courtney Chiang DiStefano said her petition was asking for a solar flashing light alert, along with crosswalk detectors, a chirping alert for pedestrians and for another crosswalk to be built to cover both sides of the school. 

She said she and her family use the crosswalk often to visit grandparents and to go to classes as Davis, but “the lack of a protected crosswalk with sufficient signage and protection puts our children and neighbors at significant risk.”

The agenda item (you can read it here) doesn’t go that far. The recommended contractor is Glosson Enterprises, LLC, and if approved, the project has a 60-day completion date timeline. The funding would come from the current 2024 Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

The Board of Commissioners meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.

You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Cobb approves contract for Canton-Piedmont intersection work

Cobb approves contract for Canton-Piedmont intersection work
A right turn lane from northbound Canton Road to eastbound Piedmont Road will be added to improve traffic flow at the intersection.

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved a construction contract for traffic improvements at the intersection of Canton Road and Piedmont Road in Northeast Cobb.

The vote was 5-0 to award the contract to Glosson Enterprises for $861,297 in 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) funding.

Glosson was one of five companies bidding on the project, according to an agenda item.

The project includes adding a right turn right turn lane from Canton Road northbound onto Piedmont Road eastbound. Other work will include traffic signal and pedestrian improvements.

“This has been on hold for a while, I’m so glad to see it, thank you,” Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb said to Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler. “It will help a lot on Canton Road, especially the turn lane.”

The agenda items states that the $688,400 of the funding is for the road construction work and another $172,895 is for Cobb Water System construction costs.

The project will take an estimated year to complete once work gets underway, according to the agenda item.

Commissioners also approved revisions to the 2022 SPLOST transportation budget. Cobb had budgeted $431 million in transportation projects, but as of July 21, the amount that’s been expended comes to $444 million.

The increases are due to rising costs for some projects, including improvements on the upcoming Bells Ferry Road improvements over Noonday Creek. The initial budgeted amount was $2.5 million, but the revised cost is $5.4 million, according to the list of revisions (you can read them here).

Cobb DOT indicated that the increase would be made up with $13.8 million in interest earnings and developer revenue.

Other East Cobb-area projects on the list include ongoing or upcoming work on the Holly Springs Road Corridor, the Shallowford Road-Gordy Parkway intersection, Trickum Road at Eula Drive and Johnson Ferry Road at Little Willeo Road.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners voted 5-0 to spend $1.5 million to purchase 12.47 acres of land at 5245 Macland Road in West Cobb for the future site of the Cobb 911 emergency call center

The current facility on the North Marietta Parkway is considered inadequate, according to an agenda item.

Specifically, “the current facility lacks the space needed tooperate effectively, system redundancy, and physical security necessary for a mission critical environment, which requires continuous functionality under all hazards and conditions, without degradation of service,” according to the agenda item.

The call center operates 24/7 365 days a year, and serves the entire county for police, fire and other law enforcement and first responders, except for Smyrna, Kennesaw and Acworth, which have their own 911 operations.

The budget for the new center, including the land purchase, is $14 million, with funding provided in the 2022 Cobb SPLOST. Separate contracts for design and construction must be approved by commissioners.

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Cobb DOT official to provide Lower Roswell Road update

Cobb DOT official to provide Lower Roswell Road update
Eastbound vehicles on Lower Roswell Road stop for a red light at Woodlawn Drive as construction crews close off lanes at the intersection. ECN photo.

As the Lower Roswell Road traffic project continues, a representative from Cobb DOT will be providing an update to the community later this month.

Cobb DOT project manager Karyn Matthews is the featured speaker at the East Cobb Civic Association meeting on Aug. 27, starting at 7 p.m. at the Wellstar East Cobb Health Park (3747 Roswell Road). Admission is free and open to the public.

The long-planned $7 million Lower Roswll project got underway earlier this year, stretching from Woodlawn Drive to Davidson Road, and with major changes at the Johnson Ferry Road intersection.

Funding comes from the Cobb 2011 SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax), and the anticipated timetable for completion is November 2026.

Approval came with plenty of controversy, as it was passed by Cobb commissioners on a 3-2 vote after former commissioner Jerica Richardson made the motion for the work to move ahead.

That was after a redesign in 2022 and a few delays early in 2024, and in spite of vigorous community protests, including some business owners in the corridor.

Opposing the project was commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose district includes the Lower Roswell Road area that Richardson, whose office was declared vacant in January, represented at the time.

That approval came more than a decade after it was first proposed, and a couple of years after renewed concerns about the impact on local businesses in the area.

The most controversial part of the project is a raised median along Lower Roswell, between Johnson Ferry Road and Davidson Road, that business owners have protested would be “a bad idea.”

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Feedback sought for Bells Ferry Road Bridge replacement

A portion of the Bells Ferry Road bridge over Noonday Creek that was built in 1959.

The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Cobb Department of Transportation are proposing a replacement project for the Bells Ferry Road bridge over Noonday Creek, and are asking for public feedback.

Interested citizens can review the project here and respond at this link by July 25. The projected cost for the project, which is in the preliminary design stage, would be $10.3 million, most coming from state sources.

The 160-foot-long bridge, three-beam steel bridge was built in 1959, long before Cobb County became suburbanized, and has two travel lanes.

The shoulders and railings do not meet current standards and the bridge also is located in a designated floodway, according to the Federal Emergency Management Association.

The proposed replacement would have three lanes, with a left turn lane, as well as a southbound right-turn lane at the approach to the driveway for the Noonday Creek Trailhead. The new bridge also would have pedestrian sidewalks, which do not exist now.

GDOT said in related documentation that construction, which is expected to be completed in 2028, “would be staged that no off-site detour would be required.

The following graphic is a GDOT project layout that from left to right indicates northbound traffic along Bells Ferry Road.

For a larger view, click here.

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Cobb approves traffic project at Shallowford-Gordy Parkway

Cobb approves traffic project at Shallowford-Gordy Parkway

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a contract for traffic improvements at the intersection of Shallowford Road and Gordy Parkway in Northeast Cobb.

The project was awarded to Backbone Infrastructure of Sugar Hill in the amount of $995,561, and was the low bidder out of four companies.

According to an agenda item, the work will focus on the western intersection of Shallowford and Gordy, including realigning the turn lanes and pavement markings onto Gordy northbound and modifying the traffic signals.

The Shallowford-Gordy intersection is in a congested area with a heavy mix of commercial, residential and institutional uses. It includes Highland Plaza Shopping Center, the Sandy Plains Centre Shopping Center, several outparcel businesses and provides access to subdivisions along Gordy Parkway.

It sits between the Shallowford-Sandy Plains intersection and Lassiter High School, and traffic issues there have played into zoning and other development issues in recent years.

There was a movie theatre at the western intersection, the Park 12 Cobb, that was proposed to be a Lidl grocery store. But commissioners rejected the rezoning in 2017 following community oppositions concerned about traffic.

A self-storage business now occupies the former theatre building. In 2023, the King’s Hawaiian restaurant chain got approval from commissioners to alter the site plan to occupy space at the intersection despite traffic concerns being raised again.

But King’s Hawaiian backed out, saying that the conditions imposed in the approval “weren’t going to make it work,” including reductions in buffers to accommodate parking and drive-through service.

Commissioners approved the traffic project 4-0 on its consent agenda at Tuesday’s meeting, with Commissioner Erick Allen absent. The agenda item states that the contractor is expected to finish the work in 300 days after getting notice to proceed.

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Boy, 12, injured after being struck by van on Jamerson Road

Boy, 12, injured after being struck by van on Jamerson Road

A 12-year-old boy who was hit by a vehicle as he crossed Jamerson Road Monday afternoon suffered serious injuries, Cobb Police said.

In a release, Officer Aaron Wilson said the boy, who was not identified, was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.

According a fundraising appeal for his medical expenses, the boy was later air-lifted to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, where he is in intensive care with multiple injuries to his legs and internal organs.

Wilson said that the boy was crossing Jamerson Road from a sidewalk east of Turtle Rock Drive around 3:40 Monday afternoon when he was struck by a white 2023 Ford Transit van heading eastbound on Jamerson and driven by Lawrence Jackson, 28, of Ellenwood.

The area is between Davis Elementary School and Mountain View Church, and near the Jamerson-Trickum Road intersection.

Police said the boy landed on a sidewalk and a grass embankment after being hit, and suffered unspecified “serious injuries.”

Jackson was not injured, according to police, who said they’re continuing to investigate. Anyone with information  should contact the Cobb County Police Department STEP Unit at 770-499-3987.

A reader sent us word that there’s a GoFundMe page set up for the boy’s medical expenses, and that he will be needing additional surgeries.

The information there says the boy, who’s a rising 7th grader at Mabry Middle School and is involved with the Lassiter Junior football program, was using the crosswalk at Davis ES when he was hit.

The page says the boy’s injuries include a fractured femur and tibia in one leg and a fractured knee in the other, bruised lungs, a torn aorta and liver lacerations.

“During this time, his mom will be out of work and with him,” the fundraising message said. “If you see fit, please consider helping this family during this time of need.”

Another reader has started an online petition to improve the crosswalks at Davis ES.

Courtney Chiang DiStefano is asking in the petition that a solar flashing light alert be added, along with crosswalk detectors, a chirping alert for pedestrians and to build another crosswalk to cover both sides of the school. 

She said she and her family uses the crosswalk often to visit grandparents and to go to classes as Davis, but “the lack of a protected crosswalk with sufficient signage and protection puts our children and neighbors at significant risk.”

DiStefano said that the posted speed limit in that portion of Jamerson Road is 45 mph, but “it is not uncommon for vehicles to speed down this road at over 65 mph. With children crossing throughout the year—whether it be for school, visiting family, or recreational activities—this lack of safety measures presents a daily hazard.”

She said that the petition has been sent to Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb.

 

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Ga. DOT seeks comments on Johnson Ferry-Shallowford project

Ga. DOT seeks comments on Johnson Ferry-Shallowford project

The Georgia Department of Transportation has set up a public feedback process for its intersection project at Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road in East Cobb.

The $2.7 million project is funded mostly through the state, with additional county funding, and with an anticipated start and construction window in 2026.

A complete set of links detailing the project can be found here; there won’t be any in-person meetings to collect feedback, according to GDOT.

According to GDOT data, there were 181 total crashes within the project limits between 2019-2023, including one fatality.

Of that number, 129 crashes were in the JOSH intersection, with 71 being congestion-inducted, and 19 percent involving injuries.

GDOT is proposing to modify signals in the JOSH intersection, as well as at Johnson Ferry and the entrance to the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center (where the Kroger is located).

Additional lanes would be created westbound on Shallowford at Johnson Ferry (there’s currently on a single lane there now), and an eastbound through lane would be removed.

A right-turn island would be redone, with an urban shoulder and a 5-foot sidewalk, and concrete medians would be built along Shallowford “toenforce right-in/right-out commercial access.”

GDOT concludes that without those changes, “congestion and queuing are anticipated to worsen significantly over the coming decades. The proposed improvements will mitigate these anticipated effects.”

At the same time, the southwest corner of the intersection is being developed for East Cobb Church and townhomes below the reconfigured entrance of Waterfront Drive.

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East Cobb traffic update: Lower Roswell turn lane at JF east

East Cobb traffic update: Lower Roswell east turn lane at JF

As we recently reported, intermittent lane closures are underway associated with the Lower Roswell Road project on either side of Johnson Ferry Road.

Currently the multi-direction turn lane on Lower Roswell Road, just east of the Johnson Ferry intersection, is closed as work crews are on the scene.

They’re directing traffic in multiple directions, including vehicles turning eastbound out of the businesses along the north side of Lower Roswell.

That turn lane will be converted to a median between Johnson Ferry and Davidson Road as a major component of the project, as Cobb DOT said it is essential to improving safety in the corridor.

The median was the subject of concern from some of those business owners as well as the public.

Also, if you’re heading southbound on Johnson Ferry and attempting to turn left (eastbound) on Lower Roswell, one of the two turn lanes is closed for the time being.

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First phase of Lower Roswell Road project gets underway

First phase of Lower Roswell Road project gets underway
Eastbound vehicles on Lower Roswell Road stop for a red light at Woodlawn Drive as construction crews close off lanes at the intersection. ECN photo.

Motorists in East Cobb have already begun grumbling about occasional lane closures that have been taking place for a few weeks now as the long-planned Lower Roswell Road project gets underway.

The first phase of the $7 million improvement project includes redoing the intersection of Lower Roswell at Woodlawn Drive, where construction equipment is parked when it’s not being used to conduct preliminary utility relocation work there.

At a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session last week, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler mentioned those developments in a summary of transportation projects funded through SPLOST (Special-Option Local Sales Tax) revenues.

Cobb DOT has said the improvements are necessary to reduce crashes and improve traffic flows along a busy set of intersections.

The Lower Roswell Road project (final fact sheet here) is being funded with revenues from the 2011 SPLOST. Raessler said that the anticipated timetable for completion is more than two years away, in November of 2026.

The approval of the Lower Roswell Road project last June came with plenty of controversy, as it was passed by Cobb commissioners on a 3-2 vote after former commissioner Jerica Richardson made the motion for the work to move ahead.

That was after a redesign in 2022 and a few delays early in 2024, and in spite of vigorous community protests, including some business owners in the corridor.

Opposing the project was commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose district includes the Lower Roswell Road area that Richardson, whose office was declared vacant in January, formerly represented.

That approval came more than a decade after it was first proposed, and a couple of years after renewed concerns about the impact on local businesses in the area.

The most controversial part of the project will be completed later on. That’s a raised median along Lower Roswell, between Johnson Ferry Road and Davidson Road, that business owners have protested would be “a bad idea.”

As she tried to broker a compromise, Richardson said that “what I do not want is to yet again kick the can down the road, and the situation will continue to get worse.

“Someone will be seriously hurt, and that point we will all be wondering why something wasn’t done sooner.”

Her former District 2 no longer includes East Cobb, and her successor will be decided in a special election on Tuesday.

 

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East Cobb Traffic Update: Bill Murdock Road closed at Walton

East Cobb Traffic Update: Bill Murdock Road closure

Cobb DOT said Sunday afternoon that Bill Murdock Road—right at one of the entrances to Walton High School—is closed due to a fallen tree that’s brought down power lines.

That’s from last night’s severe thunderstorms that caused some other similar road closures in the county Sunday.

The Bill Murdock closure is between Pine Road and Old College Way (the area indicated between the two blue stars).

According to DOT, “road maintenance crews have cleared the tree and debris, but fire personnel are still on-site, awaiting the arrival of the power company. Currently, there is no estimated time for reopening the road.”

Hicks Road in South Cobb also has been closed on Sunday for similar reasons.

In a separate message early Sunday evening, the county said that “these roads are expected to be open for the morning rush hour.”

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