Buckhead Village Ideas Given

A small but enthusiastic group gathered at the Wednesday night to give ideas on the question "What could the Buckhead Village be?"

As if going back to school for one evening, the participants wandered among several tables to express their thoughts about improving the Peachtree-Roswell Road interchange, the traditional heart of Buckhead.

At one table, "new ideas," those joining in could grab their Crayons and sketch out their dreams on an aerial map of the interchange and surrounding area.

The occasion was part of a five-month study being conducted by the Buckhead Community Improvement District and consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates. The aim of the study is finding ways to reduce the heavy traffic pouring through the area on Peachtree Road and making the Buckhead Village area surrounding friendlier for walkers and bicycle riders.

The project, which is to be finished in December, is a month old. Already, "stakeholders" such as Georgia Department of Transportation representatives and area property owners have met. Another public meeting is scheduled for October.

Those at the meeting Wednesday night circulated among five tables labeled "area strengths," "area weaknesses," "previous concepts," "project priorities" and the "new ideas."

Opinion appeared unanimous on the greatest weakness: dangerous intersections for walkers. Roswell and Peachtree roads merge south of the triangular Loudermilk Park, also bounded by the small Sardis Way. East Paces and West Paces Ferry roads cross Peachtree just south of the park, and Bolling Way runs from East Paces to Peachtree on the east. To the northwest, Irby Avenue juts from Roswell Road.

For pedestrians crossing through the area, "you feel like you take your life in your own hands," said Kimley-Horn's Ray Strychalski, who manned the "weaknesses" table.

Jim Hamilton cited the promlem of "safety for motorists and pedestrians." Erica Danylchak, executive director of the Buckhead Heritage Society, said when she's on her own when trying to walk across Roswell near the park. "There used to be a crosswalk; but there's not one anymore."

Buckhead Business Association executive director Jenn Thomas cited "poorly defined intersections in general."

Other weaknesses wre confusng road alignments, such as the left turn lanes headed north on Peachtree just before the split with Roswell. The street parking on Roswell Road in front of the also drew fire.

"You have to be pretty brave to want to parallel park on Roswell Road," said Elizabeth Pritchard of the Peachtree Battle Alliance neighborhood and vice chairman of the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods.

Strengths were in shorter supply. Buckhead city council representative Yolanda Adrean said she likes the vintage storefronts on the west side of Roswell Road near the Buckhead Theatre. "What would make it perfect would be people who live above them," she said. She also cited West Paces Ferry, with its St. Regis Hotel, restaurants and Whole Foods.

"That corner is lovely, is attractive, with things to do," Adrean said.

Kim Kahwach of Buckhead Forest had big dreams for a light rail system down Roswell Road from the city of Roswell to Sardis Way. With traffic studies citied showing 40,000 cars a day on Peachree, and about half that on Roswell, she thinks development should be carried out on Roswell to bring more traffic there. She envisions Roswell Road as an area of shopping, entertainment and restaurants like Washington's Georgetown.

The Buckhead CID's  Brian McHugh said improvements are crucial, especially with the pending construction of Oliver McMillan's Buckhead Atlanta project.

"Development is coming in and we have to race ahead of it with short-term and good long-term solutions," McHugh said in opening remarks.

At a recent Buckhead CID board meeting, McHugh said one plan is relieving traffic on Peachtree by diverting it down Pharr Road to Piedmont. He said the Ga. DOT representatives have been talking about a "traffic diet" for Peachtree. Kimley-Horn representive Jeff Smith at the Wednesay meeting mentioned Greenview Avenue as another route relieving Peachtrree.

The participants in the meeting also looked at ideas contained in the 1994 Buckhead Blueprint study for the area. The concepts called for increasing the green space around Loudermilk Park and such plans as reconfiguring the road grid to cut off Roswell at the park and divert traffic to a redesigned Sardis Way. One idea for extending the street grid northeast toward Mathieson Drive was opposed by representatives of surrounding neighborhoods who feared extra traffic.