Sandy Springs Circle Improvements Include Street Parking, Multi-Use Path

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SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- Dozens of residents ventured over to the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church's Activities Center to get a first glimpse of conceptual plans that would enhance the look and feel of Sandy Springs Circle.

The city on Wednesday hosted an open house at the facility to allow residents to provide input on the proposed design for the project.

The concept plan, which is in its early stages, include incorporating infrastructure improvements spelled out in the Sandy Springs' City Center master plan.

Those improvements include enhancing pedestrian access, rolling out an multi-use path on one side and an Americans With Disabilities Act compliant pedestrian path along each side of Sandy Springs Circle from Hammond Drive to Mt. Vernon Highway.

Plans for the west side of Sandy Springs Circle include a 2-foot curb and gutter, 4-foot landscape strip, a 12-foot wide multi-purpose path, 6-foot wide landscape/furniture zone, 6-foot wide concrete, ADA-compliant sidewalks and a 10-foot wide strip for trees and utilities.

On the east side of the thoroughfare, improvements include the curb and gutter components, the 6-foot wide landscape strip, 10-foot sidewalk and a 2-foot utility/tree zone. Additionally, a 2-foot wide curb and gutter, 2-foot wide paver strip, 8-foot sidewalk and a 2-foot tree and utility strip will be situated adjacent to Heritage Green.

Another component: plans call for changing the existing four-lane roadway to accommodate one, 11-foot wide travel lane in each direction, a 10-foot median and left turn lane and an 8-foot wide parallel parking lane.

The estimated cost of the project is around $7 million, and Marty Martin, the city's Capital Improvement Projects unit manager, said those cost include both construction and design estimates. Once a contract is awarded and a notice to proceed is granted, the project is expected to start in early 2017 and take about 12 months to complete.

The initiative could include intermittent lane closures, and city spokesperson Sharon Kraun said Sandy Springs will continue to keep surrounding residents and businesses informed about the impact to the area.

One resident, David Waldman, said he likes the beautification aspect of the project, but worries what the reduction of two travel lanes will do to traffic in the area.

"They are all growing in size, and I don't know how we are going to support an already built out area in terms of traffic," he said, referring to Sandy Springs Circle, Roswell Road, Mt. Vernon Highway and other surrounding thoroughfares.

Another resident, Mary Bignault, said she likes the proposed narrowing of the travel lanes, as "people drive down that road too fast."

While the reduction of travel lanes from four to two could make the traffic backup worse, Bignault said she's more excited about the improved sidewalks that are planned for the .32-mile stretch of road.

"It's phenomenal," she said, referring to the ability to walk to the Sandy Springs Farmers Market from her home in the area.

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Photo: Barbara Pryor, center, discusses design concepts for Sandy Springs Circle streetscape improvements with Beth Ann Schwartz, a design engineer with Michael Baker International, right, as her husband Jay looks on. Credit: Kristal Dixon