Comments on: Small Changes Appear Along North Decatur Road; Residents Hope More to Come

By: Yo

Yo — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 14:24:00 +0000

When we lived on this section of N. Decatur, there was a several-week period where Decatur City Police set up to catch speeders between Wendan and N. Superior (at the top of the hill, getting people coming up the hill or over the top, not the downhill side). Only that small section is COD, but they were aggressive at patrolling it for a while. I waved and gave them the thumbs up whenever I could catch their eye as a thank you. I know most of us know to slow down on Scott near Westchester b/c of that usual spot for police to watch for speeders – would not hurt for N. Decatur Rd. to get the same reputation.

By: Yo

Yo — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 14:19:38 +0000

I used to live on N. Decatur and walk with my kiddos to Suno or the grocery store. That section of sidewalk in the picture is barely the width of a double jogging stroller. So, at the point where the sidewalk crimbles at the manhole, *you have to carry the stroller* – otherwise there is no sidewalk under the street-side wheel. Other pedestrians had to wait on the other side of the bridge for me to pass, or step into the road. It made walking to the shopping centers – arguably one of the advantages of in-town living – more scary than it was worth, and we usually just drove.

Of course, to get to that side of the street, I had to jaywalk and dart across 4 lanes of traffic w/o a crosswalk b/ c there was 1) no sidewalk on my side of the street, and 2) no way to walk across all the yards to get to a crosswalk b/c of other people’s fences and bushes.

By: Parker Cross

Parker Cross — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 03:01:33 +0000

No malicious intent, I’m sure you are right. I suggest no intent whatsoever. The very definition of carelessness. That’s bad driving. Wanton, Reckless.

By: J

Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:26:15 +0000

North Decatur is also just so incredibly narrow on that stretch between Clairmont and Scott. I fear for my life driving if there’s a bus rolling down the middle lane toward me. There is not even any gutter or any extra space on the road. I wonder how wide the road is compared to other 4 lanes with that amount of traffic. Besides these terrible pedestrian and cyclist tragedies, I would imagine the rate of car wrecks is pretty high on this stretch as well because of lane width and speed. I know I’ve seen a lot and lots of near misses. Someone told me that this road was grandfathered in somehow and didnt meet current standards for the road or sidewalk. Anyone know if this is true? And how to get that changed given safety concerns?

By: MikeF

MikeF — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:47:28 +0000

it’s not just “speeding” either — with the intersection at the bottom of the hill people blow through red lights all the time. I live about 3 blocks away and it seems police are more present/ pull people over during non-summer Emory semesters. – it’s ‘fish in a barrel’