GDOT Monitoring Traffic Count At Woodland High School

CARTERSVILLE, GA -- The Georgia Department of Transportation appears to be going back to the drawing board in reviewing requests to install a traffic signal in front of Woodland High School in Bartow County.

Principal Dr. Wes Dickey said an engineer with the state agency informed him that officials will begin collecting new traffic counts at the two driveways along Old Alabama Road starting Tuesday, Aug. 1.

"I want to count on a good representative school day," District Traffic Engineer Grant Waldrop said in email to Dr. Dickey.

One traffic engineer will be posted at each driveway collecting data from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This latest turn of events come on the heels of the school, its parents, Bartow County school system officials and others in the community campaigning for GDOT to install the traffic signal as part of its project to widen and improve Old Alabama Road. GDOT previously said that a traffic study conducted on that stretch of road showed the volume was not high enough to warrant a traffic signal. However, GDOT notes it plans to roll out other safety enhancement measures, such as implementing a school zone with a speed limit reduction as well as lowering the hill at that location to improve sight distance.

This news also comes around the same time Georgia DOT approved nearly $200,000 in Quick Response Program funding to construct a traffic signal along S.R. 61 at the intersection with Shinall Road and the Toyo Tires entrance.

Work on this high priority project will begin soon and weather permitting, it's expected to be completed in 60 days.

"Some people may interpret that to mean that a rubber tire is more valuable than a living person," the Woodland principal added.

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