Last week the GaDOT and representatives with the City of Alpharetta had a Public Information Open House for residents interested in finding more about the proposed improvements to Hwy 9 / South Main Street / Cumming Hwy. The proposal is to widen Route 9 from Upper Hembree Rd. to Windward Parkway.
Some how I missed the proposed budget for this project but my understanding is that the money is already set aside for DOT projects and it’s only a question of getting approval for this particular plan. Of course, I’m biased, but I think something like this is exactly what Downtown Alpharetta needs, it’s just too bad it wasn’t coinciding with the once -proposed City Center.
The improvements will include
- Two travel lanes in each direction
- A raised median
- Additional turn lanes
- Improved intersections
- Reconfigured side roads
- Traffic and pedestrian signal upgrades
- Sidewalk and bicycle lanes as well as other safety and operational improvements
The proposed project intends to provide a continuous roadway through the entire corridor but sidewalks and bike paths will be intermittent throughout the entire project. There will be 11-foot travel lanes, a 17-foot raised grass landscaped median, 4-foot bicycle lanes in each direction, 11.5-foot shoulders with curb and gutter, 2 -foot landscape strip and 5-foot sidewalks.
The unfortunate aspect is that with projects this large, the results will be a long way off. If approved the project will start in 2013 with right-of-ways and the bulk of the project will be done in 2014. This is a project that will make the downtown Alpharetta area more pedestrian and bicycle friendly – a huge plus for residents and downtown businesses alike.
As you can see from the artists rendering, there will be street benches, ornamental roadway lighting and better signage. This all goes towards improving our city and creating a sense of place for Downtown Alpharetta. Let us know what you think about this project or other improvements the City isn’t focusing on.
Bob, you don’t remember when the council started talking about this back in January? There were some creative shell game accounting tricks involved to pull this off. Check out this article…
http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-c-2010-01-27-181746.114126_Alpharetta_fixing_bridges_adding_median.html
Doesn’t pass my sniff test. But in the long run, downtown Alpharetta will look better. Can’t be all that bad I guess.
-Lee
Personally, I think Alpharetta needs the city center project a whole lot more than it needs a beautified Main St/Hwy 9. I drive that route every day at rush hour from Roswell to Windward Pkwy and back. It is rare that there is significant congestion. Don’t get me wrong, it does get backed up but nothing like other areas of the city. The more you cater to the car, the more the car will come. I do like the fact that there will be sidewalks and the streetscape will be beautified but that won’t do as much for the city. What has a beautified streetscape on Windward done? It’s brought a bunch of crappy development that can’t be accessed by anything other than a car. Yes, there are sidewalks but they don’t get much use. OK, I do concede that some of the funds have been allocated and that they might as well get used on something that makes an improvement. Thanks for the post. – Mike