Residents offer ideas to improve Peachtree Dunwoody multi-use trail

Sandy Springs residents and representatives of local businesses shared their thoughts on the city’s plan for a Peachtree Dunwoody Road multi-use trail that would replace the existing sidewalk along a section of the western side of the road.

The estimated $6 million project will be funded with transportation sales tax revenue and contributions from the Perimeter Community Improvement District (PCID) in an anticipated 50/50 split.

The multi-use trail would be approximately 0.9 miles long, and 12-feet wide in most places from Mount Vernon Highway and Hammond Drive. A six-foot landscape buffer would separate it from the road.

The project’s goal is to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and access. It will tie into the Peachtree Dunwoody Lake Hearn Connectivity Project, PATH 400, and the Mount Vernon Highway Corridor improvements. Dedicated pedestrian crossings and lighting are part of the project.

TSPLOST (transportation special local option sales tax) Program Manager Allen Johnson said the multi-use trail provides alternatives to cars to get people to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station. Connecting to the Peachtree Dunwoody Lake Hearn Connectivity Project will enable pedestrian and bicycle access to the MARTA Medical Center Station also.

The existing sidewalk along Peachtree Dunwoody Road is only for pedestrians, he said. Instead of adding bike lanes, Johnson said the city is installing multi-use paths that allow bicycles and pedestrians on the same paths.

The project will add Georgia Oak trees along the new multi-use trail. These trees grow on granite I places like Kennesaw Mountain.

Sandy Springs Resident Bill Allen said the multi-use trail seems like a good step. He said anything toward making a more walkable community seems great.

His wife, Alex Allen said that the corporate, hotel, and tourism presence along the corridor makes a multi-use trail a major advantage.

“If it’s scenic and pretty, it gives the communities, the residential communities behind the commercial strips, access to another place where your child can ride a bike,” she said.

Vivian Hudson, who has homes in Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, is a frequent user of the corridor. She want to see a low-growth shrub such as juniper planted to help break up the heat coming off the concrete and to help with stormwater runoff.

Hudson doesn’t believe the multi-use trail will help much with the MARTA stations. But it could help other properties.

“We have quite a few vacant properties there. We’ve got a vacant hotel and some other things that are vacant, and so I think that it might help with the feasibility and the likeability of the area,” she said.

Comments may be made about the project until Thursday, Aug. 29 by email at communications@sandysprings.gov , mailed to City of Sandy Springs, 1 Galambos Way, Public Works Department, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Visit this link for more information about the project.

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