The City of Atlanta is in the final planning phase of improvements to the 6-way Marietta Blvd./ Bolton Rd./ Adams Drive/ Plant Rd. intersection.  A major portion of this plan includes the PERMANENT closure of Adams Drive at this intersection.  If the plan remains as stated by the Department of Public Works (DPW), the traffic light at Adams Drive and Marietta Blvd. will be taken down, Adams Drive will be barricaded and this access point to our neighborhoods will no longer be available.  No new alternative or rerouting of Adams Drive is in the currently proposed plan, as was suggested in a 2005 LCI study and then passed by the Atlanta City Council.
 
The TAD/Publix/Moores Mill Shopping Center project is in NO WAY connected to the project which closes Adams Drive. 
 
We the undersigned, as members of the community who use Adams Drive at the Marietta Blvd. intersection, oppose the permanent closure of Adams Drive for one or more of the following reasons...

1) All traffic currently entering and exiting the neighborhoods via Adams Drive will be, in effect, rerouted to either the Marietta Road / Bolton Road intersection or down LaDawn Lane to Dunseath Avenue.  The Marietta Road / Bolton Road intersection is already overwhelmed with volume, in addition to 18 wheeler traffic, and no improvements are planned.  Rush hour traffic will backup into residential areas.  Similar issues will be created on Dunseath Avenue as it already struggles to handle 2 way traffic due to its limited width and the heavy reliance on street parking.
 
2) The response time for emergency vehicles to respond to all calls in our neighborhoods, in particular to students of Bolton Academy, will be increased as less direct routes with multiple speed bumps will be the only way in and out of our neighborhoods.
 
3) The increased traffic that will result on arterial streets, such as LaDawn Lane and Marietta Road, will include school buses, food service delivery trucks, and all other traffic destined for Bolton Academy.
 
4) The closure of Adams Drive alone will not improve traffic throughput at the Marietta Blvd./ Bolton Rd. intersection.  While access to Adams Drive will be eliminated, the City will not be re-routing Plant Road (the Water Treatment Facility's access road).  As such, the Marietta Blvd./ Bolton Rd. intersection will remain a 3-cycle traffic light.
 
5) The traffic studies being relied upon by the Department of Public Works planning team are outdated.  The first traffic and environmental study of the area was performed in 2001 with a second study performed in 2005.  Neither of these studies addressed the impact of closing Adams Drive on the arterial streets in the neighborhood neither did they take into consideration traffic for Bolton Academy or the area’s newest subdivision, Dupont Commons.
 
6) The traffic study used by the City did not include vehicle counts or study the traffic patterns on the arterial streets which are to be greatly affected by this project.
 
7) No study showing the impact to Bolton Academy has been undertaken in regards to shutting down Adams Drive at Marietta Blvd.
 
8) The increase in reliance of the private access road off of Adams Drive near Whetstone Creek will result in far more dangerous situations than currently exist at the Marietta Blvd./ Bolton Rd. intersection.  The private access road is a heavily used pedestrian and parking area for families and small children attending Buckhead Gymnastics, Black Knight Martial Arts, Fencing Star Academy, and Top Dog Sports.
 
9) The loss of Adams Drive access will make it almost impossible for future development at the corner lots of the Marietta Blvd./ Bolton Rd. intersection on either side of Adams Drive (former home of Bark Avenue and Blimpie). 
 
10) The project includes zero plans to improve or beautify the area where Adams Drive is slated to be shut down at Marietta Blvd.
 
11) The lack of RECENT public input from the community on proposals for this project.
 
12) The misrepresentation of these plans to the community, as in the past, the community was given assurances that the project would include a realignment or re-routing of Adams Drive and not merely the closure of this road.

*NOTE - signatures are not limited by address, multiple signatures can come from a single address

*NOTE - no contact information from this petition will sold or distributed to anything other than events directly related to this issue.

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