Several ideas would divert traffic from problem area
by Jonathan Copseywrite the author
Traffic in Crabapple is a known headache to those who have to travel through it. Vehicles get backed up significantly as they pass through the tight, one-lane squeeze that is the intersection of Birmingham Highway and Mayfield Road.
A community meeting held Sept. 27 at the Alpharetta Community Center was aimed at coming up with solutions to the problem.
First is a series of widenings and general improvements to the intersection itself, along with left-turn lanes on three of the four approaches. That's a done deal, said Milton Transportation Director Carter Lucas.
"We have money to build that, and one other option," he said.
That second option is what the meeting was about. Maps were presented to the public showing three different choices. All involved building new roadways with the eventual aim to create something like a ring road around Crabapple, as was promoted in the master plan created by planner Lew Oliver over the summer.
One option links Crabapple Road to Birmingham Highway behind the Olde Blind Dog group of shops, using several of the streets in the unfinished development at the back. This would create new roundabouts at both ends of the road.
Another option goes from that roundabout eastward and curves down to intersect with the traffic light at Charlotte Drive. This might also become a roundabout.
A third option could go from Mid-Broadwell Road and link up with Birmingham Highway to the south of the intersection.
Once a project is settled upon, any construction is still far off – it would be 2014 at the earliest, with a 2016 opening.
For more information on Milton's traffic projects, visit www.miltonintersectionprojects.com.
Labels: Crabapple, roads, Traffic
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 8:14 AM
