Residents Voice Concerns on Brandon Mill Intersection at Town Hall Meeting

More than 200 people filled City Council chambers, Wednesday night, to voice concerns on neighborhood traffic problems associated with the Johnson Ferry/Abernathy Road project.

The gathering, a town hall meeting hosted by City Councilman Chip Collins also included an update on Abernathy Greenway Linear Park. 

But feedback from residents over a blind spot at the Brandon Mill Road/River Springs Road intersection was so strong that a spin-off meeting with Phillip Allen, head of transportation and traffic for Sandy Springs, was held after the town hall.

“…The grade was raised north of River Springs Road [on Brandon Mill],” explained Collins.  “That became a challenge because you couldn’t see what was coming over the hill. A stop sign was put there on Brandon Mill coming south. And then restriping lanes to create a left turn going in [to River Springs Road.]

Residents say motorists blow through the stop sign. Lynn Watson, who lives in Wyndham Hills subdivision, told Collins that drivers turning left onto River Springs Road must go beyond the white lines to make a safe turn.

“One takes their life into their own hands, and I do this every day… with my 10-year-old daughter in the backseat of my car,” said Watson during the town hall. “I personally almost had a serious accident.”

Following the meeting, Albert Shelby, senior project manager with the Georgia Department of Transportation said the raised grade on the road was necessary to help continuous movement on Abernathy and Johnson Ferry Roads.

“We had to realign Brandon Mill because now we had to realign Johnson Ferry Road headed south as an intersection,” he said. “You had basically a six-legged intersection…What we did was put some separation where Brandon Mill’s intersection with New Johnson Ferry Road is, and we realigned River Springs with the Sandy Springs Christian Church driveway.”

During the meeting, Collins told the packed room, “We all wanted these changes to improve this situation, not make it worse.  The City of Sandy Springs is committed to working with GDOT to make it right.”

Sandy Springs Patch will have more on other traffic problems discussed during the town hall meeting and an update on Abernathy Greenway Linear Park.