Teri Anulewicz: Construction Projects Making Smyrna Safer for Pedestrians

Ward 3 Council Representative Teri Anulewicz answered questions and discussed concerns about the Atlanta Road median project and other Smyrna traffic issues at her Fifth Monday Roundtable at the .

Anuelwicz said that many of the city’s construction projects are designed to make Smyrna more pedestrian friendly including the Atlanta Road median project and the Spring Road pedestrian bridge.

“We moved (to Smyrna) because we liked living in Cobb County, but we also liked the walkability we had in Virginia Highlands,” Anulewicz said. “When you think of OTP suburbs, I think we’re the most walkable one. I really do.”

Anulewicz said that the Livable Centers Initiative Study conducted in 2002 found that Atlanta Road would benefit from a landscaped median. She said that research has shown that drivers reduce their speed on tree-lined, shady roads. The median also limits the ways drivers can turn left out of streets, which she said makes roads safer for pedestrians, but irritates some drivers.

One driver is Karen Douglas. She said that the median has made it impossible to turn left out of her Ward 3 neighborhood. She also said she thought the medians made Atlanta Road more dangerous.

“There have to be four lanes of traffic clear and I’ve seen near misses several times,” she said. “We didn’t even know our neighborhood was going to be shut. We were like, ‘What are they building over there?’”

Douglas said that she understood the theory behind the medians, but disagreed that they make the roadway safer.

Anulewicz said the Spring Road pedestrian bridge is another measure the city has taken to make Smyrna more pedestrian friendly. alongside the Spring Road Bridge and will connect the Atlanta Road Pedestrian Trail to the Spring Road Trail.

Anulewicz also shared information about the city's vision for Windy Hill Road. She said that increased traffic from west Cobb commuters traveling to Interstate 75 had cut off neighborhoods north of Windy Hill Road. Anulewicz said she and other city officials recently met with Congressman David Scott about the Windy Hill Boulevard concept. 

"If you’ve been to Washington D.C. there are the through lanes and there are the local lanes," she said. "If you’re trying to get to get from west Cobb to 75, you can go on through. But if you live here and you’re going local you have your own local lane. And there would be dedicated plazas almost where people can cross through. We’re actually looking into some federal funding for that and maybe some SPLOST funding. I think that has the potential to be a very innovative project."

Ward 3 resident Sharon McQueen came to the meeting because she was concerned about drivers speeding on Church Street. The speed limit on the roadway is 25 miles an hour, but McQueen said she sees drivers doing 50 or 60. McQueen proposed installing speed bumps on Church to discourage speeders and reduce cut-through traffic. Anulewicz said she'd see about getting increased police presence along the roadway to ticket speeders. 

Do you think Smyrna is pedestrian friendly? Tell us in the comments.