Stockbridge / McDonough

[atler8]

"Hmmm" to a couple of specific comments above made @ 12:48.
I live east of Jonesboro in unincorporated Clayton County about 1 mile from state route 138 & about 1 mile from the upper end of Lake Spivey. I traverse state route 138 from it's intersection point with Walt Stevens Road constantly, including twice on Monday of this week for example.
There is nothing generally "sketchy" at all about that portion of 138 in Clayton east from it's Walt Stevens Road intersection & I can't see what is sketchy about the 138 commercial corridor in Stockbridge at least over to it's interchange with I-675.
Please don't paint too broadly here when it comes to Clayton County. There is already FAR too much over generalization & criticism of every aspect of that county as it is now. It has plenty of problems which I never gloss over but it's just a convenient whipping boy far too often when it is unwarranted.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by atler8

"Hmmm" to a couple of specific comments above made @ 12:48.
I live east of Jonesboro in unincorporated Clayton County about 1 mile from state route 138 & about 1 mile from the upper end of Lake Spivey. I traverse state route 138 from it's intersection point with Walt Stevens Road constantly, including twice on Monday of this week for example.
There is nothing generally "sketchy" at all about that portion of 138 in Clayton east from it's Walt Stevens Road intersection & I can't see what is sketchy about the 138 commercial corridor in Stockbridge at least over to it's interchange with I-675.
Please don't paint too broadly here when it comes to Clayton County. There is already FAR too much over generalization & criticism of every aspect of that county as it is now. It has plenty of problems which I never gloss over but it's just a convenient whipping boy far too often when it is unwarranted.

You're probably right, but my recent impressions of Stockbridge proper (Hwy 42) has not been a positive one.

[NativeTex]

Thanks everyone for the input. I have a question about traffic. What is rush hour like if you are commuting from Fayetteville east towards Stockbridge - 54, McDonough Rd, Noah's Ark Rd. They look like minor roads, but I know even minor roads can get jammed. Any input is appreciated.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by NativeTex

Thanks everyone for the input. I have a question about traffic. What is rush hour like if you are commuting from Fayetteville east towards Stockbridge - 54, McDonough Rd, Noah's Ark Rd. They look like minor roads, but I know even minor roads can get jammed. Any input is appreciated.

It can be pretty brutal. East-west cross commuting is the biggest problem in Metro Atlanta, and even on the less-densely populated Southside it's still a challenge. There are ways to get from Fayette County to Henry County, and vice versa, rather quickly, but it's mostly by backroads that would be pointless to try and tell you about here and now. It's one of those things you just have to discover for yourself.

For example, my sister lives in Fayetteville and teaches school in Hampton. Depending on the day and the time, it can take her 20 minutes to get to work or an hour, and back again. Like I said, the problem really isn't the roads in Fayette and Clayton counties, it's the roads in Henry County. I-75 runs right through the center of the county, and the arterial routes connecting east to west are pretty bad. They're working on them (I-75 is being widened and toll lanes are being installed through most of the N-S length of Henry County), but getting across the interstate on key routes is still ridiculously long and tedious, even though most all of them have now been widened from little two-lane country roads to 4 and 6 lane highways.

Just an example: Yesterday, it took me nearly 30 minutes to get through holiday traffic and onto I-75 South at the Ga. 20 / Hampton Road exit in McDonough. Granted, there's a big shopping center there and pre-Thanksgiving traffic was a beast. But it's not uncommon during rush hours for all those East-West corridors in Henry County to be gridlocked, largely because I-75 is almost always gridlocked.

It's a real mystery. But as I said, they're working on it.

That said, if you tell me where abouts in Stockbridge you think you'll be working, I can give you a better idea of just how it might be done.

[tasha 34]

how bad is the crimes in henry county between gwinnett county and henry county which one is better when it come to safe areas,good schools, family friendly communities ,diversity and not too far out from shopping malls ect because I will be relocate to ga in june 2014 from upstate ny my husband job locations are in college park, Duluth and Bethlehem what I am looking for is a safe areas and good school district.Please help

[GeorgiaBoy12]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

That said, there's very little "ghetto" in Henry County -- for now. But unfortunately, thus far the county's development patterns have not promised long-term sustainability. Like neighboring Clayton County to the northeast, which boomed in the 1970s and '80s and now has hit rock bottom, too much of Henry's development is focused on entry-level (i.e. cheap or "affordable") housing and there doesn't seem to be to much effort to change that. The best thing that Henry could do at this point is to revise it's zoning and development codes to encourage more upscale projects, but I don't see evidence of that happen. Thus far, the developers and land owners have made a fortune on selling to this demo and it's not likely to change.

All that said, Henry County is an OK place to live. Though it's got far more population, the quality of life is below that of other southside counties like Fayette and Coweta, IMO and far below that of northside counties like Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cherokee and Cobb But it's not too late to change that, if the local leadership would just catch a higher vision for the future.

I moved to Stockbridge from South GA in January. Fortunately, Henry county may be turning things around in regards to zoning and building materials requirements. The new construction neighborhood I moved into is 4-sides brick, sidewalks on both sides of the street, streetlights, etc... Others that we considered (all in Henry) were also 4-sides brick, etc.

Here is an article regarding County Commissioners denying a request from the builder to build the low-cost type of neighborhood you mentioned:
County puts brakes on proposed zoning change | Henry Daily Herald

Originally Posted by Newsboy

You're probably right, but my recent impressions of Stockbridge proper (Hwy 42) has not been a positive one.

Agreed, but I think most of this is due to age and lack of proper upkeep, moreso than there is a legitimate concern about safety. I had to convince the wife of this before we decided to move here.

To answer some of the other questions, we're very happy with the move so far and feel very safe. Traffic can be bad at times, but you won't get away from that anywhere in metro ATL, honestly. There are good days and bad days. What I like about Stockbridge is that it offers easy access to both McDonough and Mt. Zion shopping options. McDounough (Jonesboro rd) has Sam's, Super Target, Home Depot and everything else you can imagine. Mt. Zion has Sams, Costco, Target, Home Depot, etc. Between the two of them, we have EVERYThing we need and we're no more than 15 mins from either.

Side Note: First post. This site was instrumental in my research before moving and purchasing in the metro-ATL. Thanks to everyone who contributes and I hope to become a part of the community as well.

[kool hand luke]

McDonough is a cut above Stockbridge as a whole. Stockbridge has been getting people exiting Clayton Co for years (not good), although McDonough gets some spillover as well. As time goes on, one has to get further and further out in order to avoid the thugs.