Tucker residents complain about school-related traffic issues at council meeting

The Tucker City Council at its Aug. 12 heard a litany of complaints about traffic congestion, littering, and speeding from residents living around Idlewood Elementary School.

Several residents living in the Idlewood Acres neighborhood and surrounding areas spoke during public comment, saying that they are being held hostage in their homes during school drop-off and pick-up times at Idlewood Elementary School , as motorists block their driveways without regard to egress and ingress.

“Every day they are blocking my driveway, blocking the street and I can’t get in or out of my house for two hours every day,” Christine Jackson said. “If there was an emergency, nobody could get to my street.”

Jackson said she has spoken to school officials several times about the problem to no avail.

“For about a day or two, staff members come out and direct traffic and then it goes back to business as usual,” she said, “We are looking for some reprieve so we are not trapped in or out of our homes.”

Another resident of Idlewild Acres, Bill Washburn, a police officer for 20 years, said he is concerned about vehicle speeding during off-school hours and congestion during them.

“It is part of my training to visually estimate speed, and it  is no joke when we say that speeds are often 60 miles per hour in front of Idlewild Elementary,” Washburn said.

Washburn urged the council to consider traffic-calming measures rather than widening the road.

Idlewood Acres resident Rosa Esperanza said living in the subdivision is “a curse when school is in session.”

She said trash is thrown into the street and around the school, loud music blasts from cars during school hours, and she often hears honking horns and loud arguments between people, even from her bedroom.

After the public input, Tucker Mayor Frank Auman said although the council cannot comment on the statements, “it doesn’t mean that you are not being heard.”

The council also approved several measures to advance improvements and construction at area parks. It approved a $380,000 contract with Georgia Power to relocate utilities in an area that will soon become Tucker’s new park. In addition, the council approved an update to the city’s parks master plan and approved the installation of electrical improvements at Fitzgerald Park

In other action, the council held a public hearing regarding a Special Lane Use Permit and several variances that would allow the construction of a Fifth Third Bank with two drive-through lanes at 3925 LaVista Road, on the former Kasey’s Home Cooking restaurant site. The council passed the measures 5-2 several modifications, including an increase in the amount of parking spaces at the bank. Council Members Alexis Weaver and Vinh Nguyen voted against the variances and SLUP, saying that they violate the character area dictates.

In other news, the council:

• Discussed but did not take action to purchase of an LED video/scoreboard for use on sports fields, events, movies and viewable activities;
• Awarded a $548,000 contract to Vertical Earth to resurface  Lilburn Stone Mountain Road from the Gwinnett County line to Old Stone Mountain Road and a downtown parking lot.
• Canceled its scheduled Aug. 26 meeting.

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