Howell Mill Road Traffic Relief Promised

The city will study placing traffic-calming devices along a residential section of Howell Mill Road, where a speeding driver almost struck a child getting on a school bus recently.

The incident raised worries in the Wildwood and Springlake neighborhoods. Wildwood Civic Association President Alex Smith in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed article said the city had determined that the road is not suitable for devices to slow traffic.

However, Joshua Mellow, assistant director of transportation for the city's planning department, told NPU-C Tuesday night that he would be "willing to revisit the area" along with public works officials to determine solutions to speeding and hazardous driving on the road.

Mellow made his comments in response to a question from NPU Charman Paul Melvin about the incident in which a driver sped around a stopped school bus, ignoring its stop sign, and almost struck the child.

Mellow said he would look at the possibility of placing roundabouts and other unspecified "traffic calming" devices in the area. In response to a question from an NPU member about installing stop signs up and down the road, as suggested in a neighborhood survey, Mellow said "stop signs aren't traffic-calming devices."

He also said traffic improvements on the road could be paid for with money from the 1 percent regional transportation tax, to be voted on in July. The transit tax proposal allows muncipalities to spend 15 percent of the proceeds on general transportation needs, he said.

"Traffic calming would be eligible" for the funds, he said.

In another recent incident that raised neighborhood concerns, a minivan went out of control on the road, crashed into a fence and some trees, and landed on its roof,  a resident of the area said in an e-mail sent to Buckhead Patch. The driver was unhurt in the 12:15 a.m. incident.