Resident Blasts Plans To Build Arnold Mill Bypass

WOODSTOCK, GA — At least one Woodstock resident is calling into question the need for the city to construct a road that would cut down the amount of traffic moving through the downtown area. The Woodstock City Council at its Monday, March 12 meeting heard from a resident of the Woodstock Knoll subdivision, who called on the city abandon its plans to build the Arnold Mill Bypass.

Nancy Divita, who spoke during the public comment segment at the meeting, said she feels very strongly and "has concerns" about the project, which calls for building a new road from Arnold Mill Road at its intersection with Neese Road to the Ridgewalk Parkway-Main Street intersection. The bypass has been among the city's top transportation priorities over the last decade, and is viewed as a key project that could reduce through traffic in downtown Woodstock.

Divita said the project would cut straight through the Woodstock Knoll community, and disrupt the neighborhood feel of the subdivision. She also said the road would put residents who walk, bike and run at risk due to the exposure of additional vehicles in Woodstock Knoll. She also noted the new street will provide criminals with access to the community, thus bringing crime into the neighborhood.

"Many more people would have access directly to our neighborhood and our homes," she said in a prepared statement. "They say most crimes are crimes of convenience. Well, it would become very convenient to come into the neighborhood and make more criminals aware of our neighborhood. We’ve already had our
share of crime. Our neighborhood watch group is promoting awareness and vigilance, but more outside traffic is an invitation for criminals."

Instead of creating a bypass, Divita called on the city to create more bike paths and trails that residents can use to get to and from downtown Woodstock (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

City Manager Jeff Moon told Patch the Arnold Mill Bypass stems from a condition of annexation and zoning imposed on the property where Woodstock Knoll is located. That petition and its conditions were approved by the Council on Feb. 28, 2006. Specifically, the condition required the developer, Toll Brothers, to donate 100 feet of right-of-way across the property, which was done in 2007. At the time of donation, the property consisted of 194.41 acres of undeveloped land.

Moon also said he agrees with the contention that the road would increase traffic through the subdivisison "because it was planned for and designed to do exactly that – move traffic."

"We have been working with the county and USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) on the project, especially for the alignment through the USACE property," he added. "Our engineering firm estimates that it will be a five to six year process from this point."

At any rate, Woodstock is asking the firm to look at altering the alignment that would reduce some of the impact to Woodstock Knoll. Those plans, he said, would take several months to come into fruition, and it's not clear if it would be a feasible move.

A specific design for the bypass calling for a four-lane road is only at the concept level at this time. When they met with the Woodstock Knoll Homeowners Association in February 2017, Moon said the city it was committed with working with the neighborhood to come up with a design of the road that would satisfy everyone.

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