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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Cobb DOT photo of the Trickum Road intersection at Eula Drive.
A proposed roundabout on Trickum Road is the subject of a Cobb DOT open house on Wednesday, March 12.
The event takes place from 6-8 p.m. at Rocky Mount Elementary School (2400 Rocky Mountain Road).
DOT will provide maps and other information about the proposal, which would construct a roundabout at Trickum and Eula Drive (star on map).
According to a fact sheet on the project (you can see it here), the estimated cost will be $2.3 million and will take 24 months to complete.
According to Cobb DOT, “the public can view the conceptual roundabout layout, including its operational and safety benefits, and potential impacts within the project limits.
“County staff will also be on hand to discuss the estimated construction time and costs. There will be no formal presentation.”
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After we published a story on Jan. 28 about a series of lane closures along a busy part of Johnson Ferry Road, some readers had a lot of questions.
Cobb County government announced “urgent” repairs of gas lines but didn’t have much more information when we reached out.
We’ve just heard from and been in touch with Atlanta Gas Light, and can share a number of major details for a project that is expected to last until mid-March.
Spokeswoman Ashley Hoffman told us first off that it’s not an emergency at all, but part of a routine maintenance process.
“It’s not urgent,” she told East Cobb News Monday. “This is what we refer to as an indirect inspection.”
Hoffman said in response to our initial report that “regular inspections and maintenance efforts help ensure this level of reliability and are a part of a routine maintenance process, not an emergency or urgent repair” and that “the inspection will cause minimal disruption for those in the community.”
She said right now Atlanta Gas Light crews are doing initial surveying to see about major issues that may require repairs or other service.
She said that to her knowledge, lane closures haven’t begun yet—we haven’t noticed any and we’re located in the inspection area as well—and she’s checking to find out more.
We’ll post more specifics about days, times and areas of the Johnson Ferry corridor when those closures come about. Hoffman said she’s contacting the crews since the scope of the project is so fluid and because the inspection area is extensive.
The area of the closures is greater than what was initially announced as well, stretching from Bishop Lake Road to Oliver Palms Walk—that’s the side street next to the Mt. Bethel Church Cemetery just above Lower Roswell Road.
“A rolling lane closure will be utilized to control traffic during the indirect inspection of the pipe,” Hoffman said. “The road will remain open except for the small span of the affected lane as the operation moves from start to finish.”
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Johnson Ferry Road between East Cobb Drive and Bishop Lake Road will be subject to lane closures starting Wednesday for what’s being called “urgent repairs” by Atlanta Gas Light.
The office of Cobb District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell sent out a notice late Tuesday afternoon that “these daily closures will last for the next several weeks.”
The affected area includes the busy Johnson Ferry-Roswell intersection and includes access points to major shopping and commercial centers.
We asked the county for more details and this is what we were told:
“This is considered an emergency utility work situation where ATL Gas Light needs to do some exploration to find a potential problem in their lines.”
“So the location and time of the work remains fluid until if or when they find an issue.”
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A $45 million project to build a new ramp connecting Akers Mill Road with the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes on Interstate 75 in Cobb County opens Friday.
Local and state dignitaries held a media event Wednesday that included a groundbreaking ceremony organized by the Cumberland Community Improvement District.
When the new ramp opens for the Friday afternoon commute, it will be the 12th access point for the Northwest lanes, which opened in 2018 and cover 29.7 mile between an area just north of Akers Mill and Hickory Grove Road in north Cobb, and along I-575 in Cobb to Sixes Road in Cherokee County.
“The ramp will serve southbound express lanes users as an exit in the mornings and northbound express lanes users as an entrance in the evenings,” the Cumberland CID said in a statement.
The CID estimates that the ramp will provide daily access to the Cumberland area to around 100,000 motorists, serving six Class-A office towers around the Galleria.
The Ramp will be 24-feet wide for the reversible lanes plus break-down shoulders and will widen to 50-feet at Akers Mill. It will include a barrier separated entrance to the northbound managed lanes,” according to a project description (more info).
Here’s how the funding breaks down:
Cobb County SPLOST ($15 million)
Atlanta Regional Commmission ($10 million)
Cumberland CID ($6.3 million)
U.S. Department of Transportation ($5 million)
Georgia Department of Transportation ($4.4 million)
Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority ($3.5 million)
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AAA will help stranded motorists while keeping impaired drivers off the road this holiday season, as the Auto Club Group has activated its Tow to Go program in Georgia and other select states.
“At the moment when you’re tempted to get behind the wheel while impaired, think again and allow wisdom to guide you. Set aside those keys and let your fingers dial Tow to Go,” said Montrae Waiters, AAA – The Auto Club Group spokeswoman. “AAA will then send a truck to take you and your vehicle to a safe location within a 10-mile radius.”
It’s important to note that AAA service technicians expect to respond to calls from more than 860,000 drivers with car trouble during the upcoming holidays. So, treat Tow to Go as a last resort. Before you party, identify a designated driver or ride-sharing service to plan for a safe ride home.
Tow to Go is active from 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 24th to 6 a.m. Thursday, January 2nd.
For service, call (855) 2-TOW-2-GO or (855) 286-9246.
Available in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Colorado (Denver), North Carolina (Charlotte), Indiana (Fort Wayne/South Bend).
The Auto Club Group has provided the Tow to Go program for over 25 years. Since its inception, Tow to Go has removed more than 30,000 impaired drivers from the roadway.
‘Tow to Go’ Guidelines
Free and available to AAA members and non-members.
Confidential local ride for one person and their vehicle to a safe location within a 10-mile radius.
Appointments cannot be scheduled in advance to use Tow to Go. It is designed as a safety net for those who did not plan ahead. Always choose a designated driver before celebrating.
In some situations, AAA may need to make other arrangements to get an impaired individual a safe ride home.
Tow to Go may not be available in rural areas or during severe weather conditions.
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Former Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, who has rarely commented publicly on county government and politics since he left office in 2021, is speaking out against the proposed 30-year transit tax referendum.
Last week he said submitted a lengthy letter expressing his opposition to the tax to the Marietta Daily Journal, but released it elsewhere after he was told it wouldn’t be published until Saturday.
“That’s like 50,00 voters from now,” Ott told the East Cobb News on Monday, as the second week of early voting is underway in Cobb County for the 2024 general election.
East Cobb News separately obtained a copy of the letter (you can read it in full here), which closes with him saying that the tax is “a bad idea and needs to be defeated.”
A retired Delta Air Lines pilot, Ott said he’s contributed to a Vote No on M-SPLOST group started by former Cobb Chamber of Commerce leader John Loud.
Ott, a Republican from East Cobb who served District 2 from 2009-2020, said in the letter than in addition to the 30-year duration of what’s being called the Cobb Mobility SPLOST (“think about that for a moment; your middle schooler would be in their mid 40s at the end of the tax’), the tax isn’t a Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax, such as the county and Cobb County School District have for shorter periods for specific construction and maintenance purposes.
“Many will remember my numerous NO votes for previous SPLOST proposals because I felt that the project list was mostly wants and not needs,” Ott wrote. “In most cases there wasn’t anything special about the projects, they were just other ways to spend money. This proposal is a long way from the intent of a SPLOST.”
He said that one of the differences is that if the referendum is approved, a new regional transit authority, ATL, would have to approve transit projects in Cobb. “The majority of the ATL committee members are not from Cobb. So how are they going to know what is in the best interest for Cobb related to transit related projects?”
He said the biggest need in Cobb is transportation between the Cumberland area and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but the transit tax “is silent on any links.”
Other needed transportation projects include widening Roswell Road east from Johnson Ferry Road to the Fulton County line, but it doesn’t “need a 30-year tax to be completed.
“A proper review of county needs vs wants is needed long before giving the county and the commissioners any more of our hard-earned money.”
Ott said it’s hard to look into a crystal ball and envision future needs for the current six-year Cobb SPLOST, which was approved two years in advance, much less three decades.
Like other transit tax opponents, Ott said the low ridership figures in general don’t warrant such a lengthy, broad-based solution to transportation issues.
“Here in East Cobb and many other suburban parts of the county, transit and transportation must compete with the car to be remotely successful,” he wrote. “This transit tax is just like many of the others; it can’t compete.”
The proposed transit tax would restore a little-used bus route in East Cobb that was axed by commissioners during the recession.
Ott told East Cobb News that he tried to get the bus stops along that route on Roswell Road removed, but they continue to generate local advertising revenue.
“I don’t think ridership will improve” if that route comes back, he said. “Transit in Cobb is all about will it compete with the car? It really doesn’t.”
Ott told East Cobb News that when he left office (see our Dec. 2020 interview), he was retiring from politics for good, and wanted to follow the example of former President George W. Bush by staying out of the public spotlight.
“I’ve been trying to do the same thing,” Ott said.
But in addition to his concerns about the tax, he said former constituents and others have been asking him about it.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people who say that they don’t know about it,” Ott said.
Ott, who lives in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell, said he was approached about running for commission chair, but declined.
“I’m done with politics,” he said.
Since his departure, Cobb has gone from solidly Republican to having a 3-2 Democratic majority on the commission.
In addition, Cobb countywide office-holders are all Democrats, with one exception (State Court Clerk Robin Bishop).
When asked if a Republican can win countywide office anytime soon, Ott said “I’m not going to speculate.”
But he said that “our elections have turned away from the issues” and have become “character assassinations” that ignore what candidates stand for.
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Starting on Monday and continuing through early December, Davis Road in Northeast Cobb will be closed to through-traffic between Holly Springs Road and Shallowford Road.
Cobb DOT said Thursday that a pipeline rehabilitation project will close Davis Road completely between Stillbrook Pass and Running Cedar Drive, but that local traffic will be able to navigate around the closures (see map above).
“This project is essential to make repairs to the corrugated metal pipes that cross underneath Davis Road and stabilize the existing slope,” a Cobb DOT social media message said.
Cobb DOT said the anticipated completion of the project is Dec. 4, but weather and other factors could affect the timeline.
For more information and updates about road closures in Cobb County, visit cobbcommute.org.
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On Friday afternoon portions of Providence Road, Pine Road and Bill Murdock Road will be closed for the Walton High School homecoming parade.
Providence Road East and Bill Murdock Road between Providence and Sewell Mill Road and Pine Road between Providence and and Bill Murdock will be closed off starting at 2 p.m.
The parade starts in the Target parking lot at 2:15 and winds its way to the Walton campus near the football field.
The Raiders football team plays Etowah at 7:30 p.m. in the homecoming game at Raider Valley.
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Fairgoers heading to Jim R. Miller Park for the 2024 North Georgia State Fair, Sept. 19 – 29 will encounter a new traffic pattern designed to improve access to parking areas. The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office has reconfigured traffic flow around the park to reduce congestion in nearby residential areas.
The most significant change involves Callaway Road, which runs along the park’s western side. It will be limited to local traffic only. Sheriff’s deputies will restrict access from Callaway Road to Al Bishop Drive, and signage will clearly indicate that fair parking is not accessible from Callaway Road.
Traffic from Powder Springs Road and Austell Road will be directed to County Services Parkway for access to the fair parking lots.
Cobb seniors can enjoy a free, fun Friday at the fair on Sept. 20. Cobb County invites adults 55 and older to Senior Day, a morning of activities and entertainment without the crowds. Click here for Senior Day info.
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The EAST COBBER parade is still on for Saturday morning, rain or shine, but a reminder that a portion of Johnson Ferry Road will be closed during that time.
Specifically, police will put up barricades between Roswell Road and Lower Roswell Road from 9:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. Princeton Lake Road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Woodlawn Road is the best alternate route but traffic will be affected. On the east side of Johnson Ferry, Little Willeo Road also is an option if you need to get around the parade.
Police will set up additional detours at the intersections of Indian Hills Parkway with Roswell Road and Lower Roswell Road.
The parade marches off from Mt. Bethel Elementary School (1210 Johnson Ferry Road) at 10 a.m., then heads southbound on Johnson Ferry to the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church south parking lot at Olde Towne Parkway.
The accompanying festival begins at 11 a.m. in the church’s north parking lot, and lasts until 3 p.m.
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A consortium of local business interests called the Cobb Business Alliance will begin a campaign in favor of the proposed Cobb transit tax next week.
The kickoff event takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Glover Park Brewery (65 Atlanta St.), near the Marietta Square.
The event will feature “elected officials, community leaders, transit advocates and voters sharing more about the MSPLOST referendum and how it will decrease congestion, invest in transit, and move Cobb County forward,” according to a release.
The proposed 30-year, one-percent sales tax, if passed by Cobb voters in November, would collect $11 billion and fund a significant expansion of existing bus and transit services and build various transfer facilities.
Among the projects that would be funded with the transit tax is the construction of a bus transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry Road area and the restoration of two bus routes through East Cobb that were eliminated during recession budget cuts.
The Cobb Business Alliance includes a number of local companies, including Kimley-Horn, the Atlanta consulting firm that’s being paid $287,000 by Cobb government to conduct a public outreach drive ahead of the referendum.
That effort includes a series of open houses that also take place next Wednesday at various library branches.
Other members of the Alliance include the Council for Quality Growth, Georgia Power, Croy Engineering, CKL Engineers and CWM Contracting Co.
Transit tax opponents will have a campaign kickoff in East Cobb on Saturday. The Cobb Taxpayer Association will hold a town hall meeting from 12-2 p.m. at Grace Resurrection Methodist Church (1200 Indian Hills Parkway).
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The Cobb Department of Transportation has announced the first public information meetings for the Cobb Mobility SPLOST, the proposed 30-year transit tax that’s up for a referendum vote in November.
What it’s calling “MSPLOST talks” will take place at four Cobb library branches on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 5-7 p.m.
The locations include the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road).
Cobb DOT said the meetings are open houses and will have no formal presentations. Other locations will be at the Smyrna, North Cobb and Stratton library branches at the same time.
“Drop in to learn about the proposed initiatives, ask questions, and share your thoughts on how MSPLOST funds will be utilized to benefit our community,” Cobb DOT said Thursday in a social media posting.
Under state law, government agencies cannot advocate a position on a referendum vote.
But Cobb commissioners have approved a $287,000 contract with Kimley-Horn, an Atlanta consulting firm, to provide what’s called “educational” information and resources about the proposed tax, including holding public meetings.
Last week, Cobb DOT unveiled its MSPLOST website and is expected to hold further public meetings to be announced.
The tax, if approved by voters in the Nov. 5 general election, would collect one percent of sales tax to fund expanded bus services, transfer stations and related services and facilities, for a total of $11 billion.
Currently Cobb consumers pay six cents’ worth of sales taxes, including SPLOSTs (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) for Cobb government and schools.
Among the projects that would be funded with the transit tax is the construction of a bus transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry Road area and the restoration of two bus routes through East Cobb that were eliminated during recession budget cuts.
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A coalition opposed to the Cobb transit tax referendum in November will kick off its campaign next weekend in East Cobb.
The Cobb Taxpayers Association announced Tuesday that a number of elected officials and others will be in attendance at the event on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 12-2 p.m. at Grace Resurrection Methodist Church (1200 Indian Hills Parkway).
The group is leading efforts against a 30-year, one-percent sales tax that, if approved by voters, is expected to collect more than $11 billion to expand bus service in Cobb.
Among the projects that would be funded with the tax is the construction of a bus transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry Road area and the restoration of two bus routes through East Cobb that were eliminated during recession budget cuts
Guest speakers at the kickoff event include:
Yashica Marshall, candidate for Board of Commissioners, District 4
Ed Setzler, State Senator
Bob Barr, former US Congressman, current president of the NRA
Alicia Adams, candidate for BOC, District 2
Jim Jess, chairman emeritus, Franklin Roundtable (formerly the Georgia Tea Party)
Salleigh Grubbs, chair of the Cobb County GOP
Pam Reardon, candidate for BOC, District 2
Denny Wilson, South Cobb local political activist
According to the CTA, the event is designed to “get YOU fired up and ready to roll up your sleeves to volunteer in our campaign to defeat this odious tax.”
There will be sign-up sheets for phone-banking, canvassing, distributing leaflets, waving signs at major intersections and putting up yard signs.
“It will give you the opportunity to experience the fact that you are not alone in this fight to save our county,” CTA said in its announcement Tuesday.
Last week, Cobb government unveiled an education page about the referendum that was produced by Kimley-Horn, an Atlanta consulting firm the county is paying $287,000 for outreach efforts, including town halls this fall.
Cobb commissioners voted 3-2 to put the proposed sales tax to a referendum, with three Democratic commissioners voting in favor, and two Republicans opposed.
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Cobb County government has begun its rollout of an “education” campaign for the proposed 30-year, $11 billion transit tax referendum.
What’s being called the Cobb Mobility SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax), or M-SPLOST, is the main ballot issue for local voters in the November general election, and this week the official information website for that referendum was launched.
It contains a project list, maps, financial figures, ballot language and more. Here’s what voters will see on their ballots:
“Shall a special 1 percent sales and use tax be imposed in the special district consisting of Cobb County for a period of time not to exceed thirty years and for the raising of funds for transit and transit supportive projects? These projects will be as defined in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-269.40, and will be inclusive of the approved project list within the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority Regional Transit Plan (ARTP).
“If imposition of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall constitute approval of the issuance of general obligation debt of Cobb County in the principal amount not to exceed $950,000,000 for the above purpose.”
Like the Cobb government and Cobb school SPLOSTs, the M-SPLOST would collect one percent of sales tax revenue on the dollar to fund the creation of more than 100 miles of new bus routes, along with transfer stations.
That includes restoring bus routes through East Cobb that were cut during the recession, as well as construction of a transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry area.
Those supporting the tax say Cobb needs more transit options with a growing population that’s expected to surpass one million by 2025. Opponents say the tax is too long and that ridership figures haven’t demonstrated enough demand for such a system.
The proposed high-capacity bus route through East Cobb, along Roswell Road, that’s on the M-SPLOST transit tax referendum.
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
A total of $6 billion from the referendum would be used to build out and expand “high capacity” transit, including the East Cobb route.
But that route—designated as an Arterial Rapid Transit route, or ART—wouldn’t be built during the first decade of the transit tax, according to build-out projection maps on the M-SPLOST website.
Another East Cobb route is a “Rapid Route” that would connect the East Cobb transfer station with the Dunwoody MARTA Station, heading down Johnson Ferry Road.
Here’s a further breakdown of what transit-tax revenues would fund if the referendum passes:
73 Miles of Bus Rapid Transit
34 Miles of Arterial Rapid Transit
325 Miles of Expanded Local, Commuter, and Rapid Transit
6 New/Enhanced Transit Facilities
100% Countywide Microtransit Coverage
Increased Paratransit Service
$1 Billion investment in Transit Supportive Projects
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
The county estimates that average daily ridership on the transit system could surpass 40,000 by 2025, near the end of the sales tax period. Currently, that figure is only around 3,000 riders a day.
The consulting firm Kimley-Horn put together the website and is responsible for flyers, brochures and other forms of communication, as part of a $287,000 contract with the county.
The M-SPLOST website and other materials are supposed to be neutral on the subject of the referendum—not advocating a position on the issue.
But transit tax referendum opponents are skeptical. Language in the “M-SPLOST Funding” section explains what would happen either way:
If the MSPLOST is approved by voters, the MSPLOST will ensure that the cost of Cobb County Transit is shared by all consumers who purchase goods within the county. This shift would distribute the funding responsibility across all residents, businesses, and non-residents (including commuters and tourists). Additionally, increased transit funding provided through dedicated financial streams like the proposed MSPLOST enhances Cobb County’s ability to secure matching funds, making us more competitive for grant awards.
If the MSPLOST is rejected by voters, Cobb County will, for the foreseeable future, continue to operate CobbLinc with local property taxes as the primary revenue source, supplemented by standard federal funds and customer fares.
Cobb transportation staff will hold public meetings regarding the referendum in the fall, but those details have not yet been announced.
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Last week we drove along Waterfront Drive—which bisects the so-called “JOSH” mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford Road—as work crews continued grading work.
This view looks out at what was called Maddox Lake, but will soon be the new route for Waterfront Drive.
The homes that were located along this stretch, east of Waterfront Circle, were torn down months ago.
Signs were out on Monday noting the closure of Waterfront Drive at Johnson Ferry Road; a December completion timetable at the earliest is estimated.
The first map below from Cobb DOT shows the current intersection with a blue star; the new intersection is shown with the purple star to align with the entrance to the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center.
The second map, an aerial rendering of property via the Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office, shows the new Waterfront Route in turquoise; it heads eastbound just above the dredged-up lake area, which is in a designated flood plain
The lake was named after former Gov. Lester Maddox, who lived nearby after his retirement from politics. Above the former lake will be the East Cobb Church, sitting on 20 acres. Below the flood plain area will be single-family homes on 12.9 acres that were the major bone of contention from nearby residents in Mar-Lanta during rezoning.
For the time being, the primary ways they can reach their neighborhood is from Mar-Lanta Drive at Shallowford Road and from Manor House Drive via Lassiter Road.
East Cobb Church had been meeting for Sunday afternoon services at Eastside Church but is now meeting temporarily in Roswell. The church, part of North Point Ministries, got rezoning from the Cobb Board of Commissioners for the full 33 acres in October 2021.
It then then sold to the residential portion of the property to Ashwood Atlanta, which is planning to build single-family detached homes.
East Cobb Church got a land disturbance permit from the county in March 2023. But construction has been delayed substantially due to dam reconstruction on the former lake site to accommodate the road relocation.
The church will have 125,000 square feet of worship and other indoor space, plus a parking lot.
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From the office of Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell:
As part of the County’s 2022 SPLOST resurfacing program, contractors are scheduled to begin roadway resurfacing of East Piedmont Road on Monday, July 15. Nightly resurfacing will take place between 7 p.m. – 6 a.m. from Piedmont Forest Court to Sandy Plains Road and is expected to last through the end of July, weather permitting.
The work will be completed in two phases. The initial phase will consist of milling and patching of the existing pavement of the road. The second phase will be installing new roadway surface and will commence shortly after phase one is completed.
Please expect minor traffic delays during construction. Traffic control measures will be in place along the corridor. Please obey all posted signage and be careful if driving in the area.
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Streetside parking will be prohibited during the weekdays along a portion of Clubland Drive in the Indian Hills subdivision, near East Side Elementary School, when the new school year begins in August.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday on their consent agenda to create a “No Parking” zone on either side of Clubland Drive east of Indian Hills Parkway to its terminus on a cul-de-sac (see street in blue on map, bookended by blue stars).
Cobb DOT said that it received complaints of parking on that short portion of Clubland Drive, which is a two-lane street that’s 20 feet wide and has curbing and gutters along both sides.
“Department staff has observed that on-street parking is a near-constant issue during school days and school extracurricular activity times, and the locations of the parking were determined to create a nuisance for both homeowners and motorists,” according to an agenda item from Tuesday’s meeting.
The “No Parking” zone will be in effect Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The action stemmed from a residential complaint in March, and was followed up by signatures from 95 percent of other affected neighbors in the area.
According to Cobb County code, property owners can request a “No Parking” zone if “75 percent of the eligible lot owners on both sides of the affected street to sign the petition in favor. “
That petition is then forwarded to the commissioners, who make the final decision.
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Outgoing Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson said “we’ve found as many compromises as possible” for the long-planned Lower Roswell Road traffic project.
Despite community pleas in opposition and a local district commissioner saying it’s not needed, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted along party lines Tuesday to start on the long-planned Lower Roswell Road traffic project.
The 3-2 vote for a $7 million contract also was matched by similar votes to begin condemnation proceedings with two property owners and to begin preliminary utility relocation work.
Nearly $11 million has been budgeted in 2011 Cobb SPLOST funds for the project, which would add turn lanes, install a multi-use trail and make other changes along Lower Roswell between Woodlawn Drive and Davidson Road.
It’s been delayed for more than a decade, including in February, when a first vote was tabled by commissioners following community opposition.
The project would take two years to complete, and business owners told commissioners in February the median remains “a bad idea.”
Cobb commissioners approved a conceptual plan in 2022. Further public feedback prompted DOT later in 2022 to redesign the project, including removal of a planned bike path and expanding a multi-use trail.
DOT officials said the project is necessary primarily to reduce crashes in the area.
The board’s three Democrats, including Jerica Richardson of District 2 in East Cobb, voted in favor on all three matters, while the two Republicans voted against.
One of them, JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb, said there’s a reason one of her former colleagues—now-retired District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott—never brought the Lower Roswell Road project to a vote.
She said feedback she’s received against the project is “overwhelming,” estimating that to be 10-1 from messages, open houses and at meetings.
“I can’t support this,” Birrell said, “especially putting businesses out. It’s taken 14 years to come back.”
There have been numerous delays and redesigns, and objections from business owners to a median on Lower Roswell between Johnson Ferry and Davidson.
Keli Gambrill, a Republican from District 1 in North Cobb, said she doubted there’s enough funding left from a SPLOST 13 years ago to complete the Lower Roswell Road project.
She held up the proposed Cobb Mobility SPLOST project list, noting that the estimated costs totaled on that list exceed the estimated $11.2 billion that would be collected if the referendum passes in November.
Among the bus routes that would be added would be one along Johnson Ferry Road between Merchants Walk and the Dunwoody MARTA Station.
“This whole project flies in the face of promises made‚yes by a previous board to the business owners in that area,” Gambrill said. “I don’t think the county is being honest with the citizens . . . not knowing what the M-SPLOST is also planning to do with this area.”
Richardson said the two issues are not related, and that “we’ve found as many compromises as possible” to accommodate business owners.
A citizen opposed to the project, Leroy Emkin, said there have been 27 crashes along that area of Lower Roswell in the last decade, according to DOT figures, suggesting that roughly six crashes a year shouldn’t justify a median.
But Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler has repeated previous statements that there were 40 crashes from 2009 and 2016 that could have been prevented with a median.
Pamela Reardon, an East Cobb resident running to succeed Richardson, blasted the vote afterward, saying that the 30 businesses that will be affected “have not had a voice, even though this board says they have.
“This is a useless project. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of money.”
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“Let’s give the voters the opportunity to decide,” Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said.
Cobb commissioners voted along party lines Tuesday to place a long-term transit sales tax referendum on the November general election ballot.
It will be up to voters to decide if they want to tax themselves for 30 years and collect nearly $11 billion to build out a comprehensive bus-centered system, including restoration of previous routes in East Cobb that were eliminated more than a decade ago.
The commission’s three Democrats voted in favor of putting the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax on the ballot, while the two Republicans voted against.
If approved, the one-percent tax would increase the amount of sales taxes paid in Cobb from six to seven percent. Cobb DOT would build out a countywide bus transit system, including high-capacity routes and transfer stations, adding 108 miles.
Here’s how the referendum will be worded on the November ballot:
The Atlanta Regional Commission estimates that Cobb’s population in 2025 will approach one million.
Those in favor of the tax say that relieving congestion and providing transportation for those without vehicles is necessary for economic and quality of life, especially seniors and those who are financially challenged.
Among the priorities is re-establishing a bus route through the heart of East Cobb, from Marietta and along Roswell Road to the Johnson Ferry Road area, where a transit center would be built.
Bus routes to Roswell and the MARTA Dunwoody Station would link with the East Cobb transit center in the Merchants Walk area, according to the project list (you can read it here).
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, in calling the opportunity to expand public transportation in Cobb “transformational,” implored her colleagues to let citizens decide their future.
“What it comes down to is do we perceive that the future is worth it?” Cupid said. “That the opportunity is worth it? Yes, the details do matter, but the opportunity and the vision also matter.”
But Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb repeated her objection to the duration of the tax, compared to other Cobb SPLOST collections ranging from four to six years.
“I can’t support binding not just future boards for 30 years but citizens, kids and grandchildren,” she said. “They’ll be paying that.”
Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler explained that the 30-year length of the cost is due to the substantial operational costs that will be involved, and that the longer collection period would qualify for federal matching funds.
In order to provide “sustainable funding,” he said, a transit program needs “to have that consistent resource,” Raessler said.
If the tax is approved, Cobb would take out revenue bonds totalling $11 billion to get the program started. Once the collections roll in, the major routes would be built out and the bonds be repaid. With federal funds, Cobb could spend nearly $15 billion overall for the transit expansion.
Raessler estimated that most of that work would be finished within the first decade. Cobb would be able to fund all transit operations with the sales tax, instead of paying for the Cobb Community Transit system costs as it does now, through the county’s general fund.
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
The county estimates that average daily ridership on the transit system could surpass 40,000 by 2025, near the end of the sales tax period. Currently, that figure is only around 3,000 riders a day.
Citizens spoke in public comment periods on both sides of the issue, but most of the supporters addressed the board before the vote, and opponents against (commissioners hold two separate public comment periods, and speakers speak in order of when they sign up).
Jim Kerr of East Cobb, who has lived in a home near Wheeler High School for 52 years, said “it’s time to think long-term about transportation in Cobb County.”
He said that while he will benefit little from a decision to approve a sales tax for transit, “I know that Cobb is becoming older and more diverse and that’s not going to change . . . Not in my backyard fails to recognize that we are all in this together. ”
Kennesaw resident Alicia Adams said a 30-year tax poses too much uncertainty, especially for people struggling to pay their bills now.
Alicia Adams of Kennesaw, who is legally challenging her disqualification for the District 2 commission race, said wasn’t speaking for or against the tax, but sympathized with citizens who are struggling with those making ends meet.
“Right now, there are a lot of families that can barely make their rent and pay for groceries,” she said. “And you’re asking them to pay additional money.
“Do I care about those who can’t get around? The seniors? Yes, I care,” she said. “But we’ve got to do it in a way that’s not invasive.
“Are we willing to put our children, our future at stake for 30 years of uncertainty?”
Cobb DOT officials will soon roll out public information and “education” sessions before the referendum. It also must provide a ridership survey ahead of the vote, as directed by the ATL, the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority.
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