Want to Make Scott Boulevard Safer? Create a Safer Bike Connection Between Decatur and Atlanta? Take This Survey!
Decatur Metro | November 19, 2015 | 10:36 am
The Georgia Department of Transportation is conducting a “road safety audit” of Scott Boulevard inside Decatur and Ponce de Leon to Briarcliff Road in Atlanta (aka the catchily named “SR8/US 78/Ponce de Leon Avenue/Scott Boulevard”).
Sounds hopelessly boring, right? Wrong!
If you’ve ever been concerned about pedestrian/cyclist/motorist/unicyclist/motorcycle/scooter/rollerblading safety along this stretch, take a minute and TAKE THIS SHORT SURVEY associated with the audit.
GDOT rules over this stretch of road, so there’s little your City of Decatur or Atlanta can do to implement changes along this stretch without getting buy-in and execution from GDOT. So this is actually a very important survey. You have until 11:59p next Tuesday, November 24th to chime in fellow commuter.
In official speak, GDOT says that this audit is being conducted “to identify potential solutions leading to both short-term improvements and longer term efforts including construction projects. It is a proactive tool, not solely dependent on crash data, but rather an innovative approach that includes firsthand observation to identify enhancement opportunities to be considered in improvement projects.” This survey is just one piece of the audit.
The survey itself asks about how often you use the corridor, how you use it, what you see are the problem areas and how to fix them. It asks about the stretch overall and specific intersections. It’s a pretty thorough vetting of the entire area.
I know you’re busy. You’ve got turkeys to truss and pumpkins (sorry, sweet potatoes!) to puree. But take a few minutes and sound off on this long-standing traffic issue in our community! You’re children and children’s children will thank you.
Map courtesy of Survey Monkey GDOT survey
Tip: The survey does not directly address all the local issues with Scott Blvd. in the Westchester area, e.g. turning left on to Clairemont off of Scott Blvd. heading north, e.g. speeds, e.g. sidewalks. So be prepared to put specifics in the Comment sections.
Thanks! Yes indeed. That’s what I did.
I suggested a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle at Scott and Clairmont. A guy can dream, can’t he?
Given vehicle speeds, the centrifugal force of that roundabout would cause accidents by flinging drivers from their cars 🙂
Seriously, I spent much of last summer teaching in Ireland, and love the utility of roundabouts when they are a ubiquitous part of the infrastructure — driving through congested areas is a lot more smooth, and they also help to constrain vehicle speeds. I suspect GDOT would say hell-no anyway.
I was sure to mention the increased congestion on Ponce that will result from possible lane removal on Dekalb Avenue. There is no way around that fact. Removing reversible lanes will not only impact Dekalb Ave, but Ponce and Memorial… GDOT needs to take that into consideration.
Do you have evidence to back up this statement?
City of Atlanta planning staff stated at a community outreach event prior to the bond vote that traffic can easily shift to Ponce and Memorial when/if the lane is removed. They understand what will happen to traffic on Dekalb Ave – though I have not seen any published traffic studies that they have commissioned. Hopefully Atlanta has a traffic study or will conduct one – that is fairly standard practice considering this significant change to the transportation system. If they conduct a study, hopefully it will be disclosed to the public.
Another alternative way for gathering evidence (as an individual) is to use Federal Highway Administration’s HPMS data and other available data to run an analysis in TransCad or ArcView with lower lane capacity. This might show something but would be a little more modeled and less empirical than I would like.
I do, however, have even better evidence to back up that statement. The very fact that my wife, myself, and several of my friends will shift to Ponce (and the neighborhood streets that get us to Ponce) for at least some of our travel as a result of Dekalb Ave lane removal will increase traffic on Ponce. I assume other will follow suit as well, including folks driving all the way from Gwinnett.
I do not see this as a benefit to Ponce or Scott (or Westchester). But hey, a handful of people need a bike lane on Dekalb Ave because it has fewer hills. Who cares about the larger transportation system.
what if the changes to dekalb result in better traffic flow down that corridor?
but don’t worry, your prediction of more traffic on ponce is guaranteed to be correct since the number of cars in the metro area can only increase as we insure driving is the only viable option for commuting.
Mac,
While I agree with you that it will likely shift some traffic to Ponce, I think those drivers are just going to be disappointed. Ponce will just go from bad to worse. Dekalb will go from manageable to bad. Memorial might be the best bet. As you mention side streets and neighborhoods will also suffer by an increase number of vehicles cutting through.
No, I have no evidence to support this, but I doubt a lane reduction on Dekalb is going to make things better. Hopefully I am wrong.
If you’ve ever been on Dekalb Ave in the morning when the traffic lights are not working from a power outage, or if part of the road is flooded, or there is an accident, then you know what it will be like without the reversible lane
– Traffic Jam on Dekalb
– Traffic Jam on McLendon
– Traffic Jam on the Roads leading from Dekalb to Ponce – compounded by the Paidaea school “drop off” traffic.
Why can’t bicyclists just use McLendon?
Cyclists (like me) do use McLendon. The objection I have heard is that it is too hilly. That just means you’re getting more exercise. When I drive, I use Dekalb, and I think the proposed bike lanes will be a huge mistake.
I don’t think the addition of bike lanes is the major rationale for re-make of DeKalb Ave. I think it is based primarily on two things:
1. Safety – too many wrecks in the center lane
2. Back-ups in the single lane from people turning left
I keep hearing about these wrecks in the center (suicide) lane on DeKalb Ave. When is this happening? On the weekend? I travel DeKalb Ave. to and from work 5 days a week during peak hours and the only hold ups are usually ill timed repair work or flooding. I’ve never seen an accident.
I’ve been in an accident in the suicide lane on DeKalb- someone tried to make a left turn from the far right lane and hit me, during the home commute. A couple of times a month I see people mistakenly using the suicide lane as a turn lane in the wrong direction. That said, I still think it is worth keeping the suicide lane, with better markings and coordinated turn signals. I want to believe the people who say the turn lanes put in instead of suicide lane will fix everything/not add any time, but having a hard time doing so.
I have used DeKalb Ave. to and from downtown to work for 21 years and have never seen an accident because of the reversible center lane. Idiots in the wrong lane paying no attention to the big red X, yes, accidents, no. I started counting cyclists when they removed the lane west of Krog St. Maybe a half dozen per trip. Changing that major thoroughfare will be a nightmare.
I was in a car that would have been in a horrific accident near Horizon School about 20 years ago. Thankfully the driver saw the head on coming and swerved into the curb lane. Luckily there was an opening and no accident. Ever since then I will not go into the center lane unless I have a line of sight to pass. Then I get back over. What is most dangerous is the transition from 4 lanes to 3 near Rocky Ford. Drivers not familiar with the road stay in the center lane when they should not.
Yes. We commute between Avondale and Five Points every day on DeKalb Ave and have already started to scope out how long it takes to make the trip via Memorial (including an evaluation of the relative number of potholes – Memorial is relatively pothole-free, by comparison).
Would like to see any discussion of whatever improvements go down to Medlock, too.
Don’t forget increased safety for pedestrians! Wider sidewalks with landscaped buffers, safer crosswalks, and fewer cars speeding are a must!
While there were detailed questions related to key intersections, it’s clever that the intersection of Ponce, Scott and the Parkwood Roads was omitted.
I’d like to see a bike lanes through it connecting Decatur’s bike lanes to the trails in Deepdene Park. It is also very, very tricky to go between East and North Parkwood Roads for people on bikes and on foot. Making a safer connection between Deepdene, Parkwood, and Hidden Cove Parks would be wonderful for both everyone and their health.
Unfortunately now this intersection is hell for everyone but commuters in cars.
+1. There is a short “missing link” connecting those bike lanes (and soon an extension to Clifton Rd) to Decatur and the PATH trail. I’d love to see that connection whether it be via Parkwood or any other alternative. I ride Ponce from where the bike lane ends at Scott to picking up the trail at Artwood some mornings on my bike — I’m sure the cars are not happy. The bridge imposes lane constraints, so maybe Parkwood is a solution.
Another alternative (which I suggested) is pedestrian/bike infrastructure on East Lake and its intersection with Ponce. Ever tried to cross East Lake there as a pedestrian?
Oh no! The Triangle of Doom was omitted?
Nope. Hellish for the cars, too. Lots of accidents there.
IMHO by far the biggest bottleneck on that stretch during morning rush hour is the Briarcliff(Moreland)/Ponce intersection.
The Ponce left turn lanes are much too short, backing up traffic.
Northbound Briarcliff does not have a left turn lane, backing up traffic.
Buses arriving/departing Springdale Elementary just adjacent hold up traffic, and the proximity to the intersection causes gridlock/backup.
If a car or bus stops for any reason on Ponce just west of the intersection, traffic can back up and gridlock. Sometimes the light at North Highland a few blocks away can back up that far or multiply the effect of one car stopping.
Cars turning left from westbound Ponce in the morning to bring their kids to Paideia hold up traffic. Paideia should pay a traffic impact fee for all that increased congestion and thus pollution — I’m sure it fits their mission 🙂
Yes, I put all this in my comments. Except the impact fee part!
+1 on that!
That left turn from Ponce to Moreland backs up traffic like no other, anytime of the day on any day.