Smyrna, Mableton, Vinings (Atlanta, Decatur, Lakeview: estate, zoned, work)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Cooper Lake between E-W and Mableton kind of stinks because it wasn't designed for high traffic volume. I wonder if it's any better on Fontaine or heading towards Veteran's Memorial.

They recently added a westbound turn lane to southbound Cooper Lake Road at the E/W Connector intersection, and that seems to have made a huge difference in the wait when crossing the Connector going southbound.

I'm not sure what could be done to the other side, though, and the expansion of Woodbridge Crossing (if that actually happens) probably isn't going to improve things at the times when things are nasty. Although folks there have the option of getting on the E/W Connector directly.

At least most of the purely vacant areas on Cooper Lake south of the E/W Connector are developed now, and the housing slowdown will probably result in a serious slowdown of fill-in and/or replacement development, so it likely won't get much worse, at least in the short term.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by netdragon

The intersection of E-W and Cooper Lake is poorly designed and can probably be improved. Perhaps widening Fontaine and creating additional cut-throughs to Fontaine from Cooper Lake all the way down to the center of Mableton (Nickajack is the only one and isn't designed for high traffic either) so people farther out (such as Old Vinings Lake) can bypass most of Cooper Lake. Fontaine was designed for more traffic than Cooper Lake and is considered the main artery in that area but it could use an extra lane.

We actually take Fontaine all the way down to Floyd when we head out to the center of Mableton. It takes about the same amount of time, but it bypasses all of the stop signs. As you said, there are no other cut-throughs. One problem with creating cut-throughs from Cooper Lake to Fontaine is that the railroad tracks run between the two streets.

[spacelord75]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

Netdragon, I was just rereading through the first page of this thread and noticed you live off of Camp Highland. Honestly, that area is just that much closer than Cooper Lake. I agree that there are some nice houses out this way, but for those of us who commute during rush hour, the congestion of Cooper Lake as well as the E-W Connector makes it not a great commute. By being at Camp Highland, you avoid probably 20 minutes of traffic from Cooper Lake.

As for Fontaine or Veteran's Memorial, neither of those are any shorter. I have tried Fontaine on quite a few occasions, and although the line getting onto E-W Connector is shorter, there are fewer lanes, and hence the traffic moves just as slow, if not slower, than Cooper Lake.

If you live in VE, why don't you just leave out the Pebblebrook entrance of the development and then take that to Buckner, down to Veterans, then take Veterans to Riverview Rd.? Or, you can take Buckner to Oakdale, hang a right, take a left on one of the roads that cut over to Riverview and then take a left on Riverview to either get on 285 at S. Cobb, or take S. Cobb into town via Hollywood/Perry/Marietta? Not sure where you work, though.

[casualobserver]

Like so many others in these city data forums, I too am considering a relocating job situation. And let's say the employment possibility in this case will be "in the vicinity of" the Galleria/Cumberland Mall.

If I wanted to ensure a commute time of 30 minutes or less (and I would have to travel in the normal rush period in the am), about how far west or maybe southwest into Smyrna could I go for housing or about how far north into Marietta do you guess I could reasonably go? (I'm partial to reasonably new housing vintage. No kids in tow any longer, so school system considerations would be just for eventual resale value someday.)

Secondly,I am assuming this would all be Cobb County. Anyone know the tax rate per thousand and whether assessed value runs at true market or somewhat below?

Thanks for the contributions so far to this thread. The comments have been very informative.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by casualobserver

Like so many others in these city data forums, I too am considering a relocating job situation. And let's say the employment possibility in this case will be "in the vicinity of" the Galleria/Cumberland Mall.

Which is where I work. More or less.

If I wanted to ensure a commute time of 30 minutes or less (and I would have to travel in the normal rush period in the am), about how far west or maybe southwest into Smyrna could I go for housing or about how far north into Marietta do you guess I could reasonably go? (I'm partial to reasonably new housing vintage. No kids in tow any longer, so school system considerations would be just for eventual resale value someday.)

I would think that just about anyplace in Smyrna would be fine in terms of commute, since since there are at least three decent routes from Smyrna into the Cumblerland Mall area (Cumberland Parkway down by One Ivy Walk, Paces Ferry to Cumberland Parkway, and Spring Road to Cumberland Blvd).

Secondly,I am assuming this would all be Cobb County. Anyone know the tax rate per thousand and whether assessed value runs at true market or somewhat below?

That will depend on where in Cobb County your house resides. The assessed value seems to be fairly close to true market, perhaps somewhat below, but they seem to assess things every few years, not every year, so your home's value won't increase every tax year.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

I just wanted to add that Vinings Estates is not in Mableton. It is in Smyrna city limits.

True, it is now within the Smyrna city limits. However, when it was first developed, Smyrna had yet to annex the subdivision. Furthermore, all of the area surrounding Vinings Estates was once Mableton, and much of it is still Mableton. To anyone who has lived in the area more than five years, Vinings Estates is definitely in Mableton, despite a recent political reclassification. Vinings Estates still maintains a Mableton Zip code (30126), unlike the Smyrna zip codes of 30080 and 30082.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by spacelord75

If you live in VE, why don't you just leave out the Pebblebrook entrance of the development and then take that to Buckner, down to Veterans, then take Veterans to Riverview Rd.?

Vet. memorial may be faster if taking I-20, but it'll most likely be close. Buckner also lets off on Oakdale near S. Cobb Dr if the op drives the other way down Buckner. Two issues I found when considering living off Buckner and commuting by Vet. Mem. were that taking the Vet Memorial entrance on 285 requires driving by Bankhead Courts (will be torn down someday, hopefully) and that Vet Memorial is much farther South (it eventually turns into North St and Ponce De Leon) so it almost necessitates taking I-20 downtown instead of 75. I-20 is in bad shape and has a 50mph speed limit on that part. Oakdale and Riverview Rd seemed to be back-tracking a little and I didn't like the rail-road crossing for Oakdale (I believe Riverview goes under it, right?) and also driving through an industrial zone which may occasionally get blocked by trucks. The nice thing about taking E-W is that it cuts through to ATL road, which hits 285 much farther North than even S. Cobb, so it's closer to 75. The thing that stinks about that whole area between E-W and Mableton Pkwy is it's a little South for 75 to be convenient and I-20 just isn't convenient at all. Mableton could benefit from Atlanta improving M. Luther King and and Bankhead Hwy for higher volume traffic, updating I-20, and making the Bankhead MARTA station safer.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by spacelord75

If you live in VE, why don't you just leave out the Pebblebrook entrance of the development and then take that to Buckner, down to Veterans, then take Veterans to Riverview Rd.? Or, you can take Buckner to Oakdale, hang a right, take a left on one of the roads that cut over to Riverview and then take a left on Riverview to either get on 285 at S. Cobb, or take S. Cobb into town via Hollywood/Perry/Marietta? Not sure where you work, though.

I did not even know about Riverview until you just mentioned it. I looked on Google maps, and it would certainly be a possibilty. How is the traffic on Riverview? I have tried Pebblebrook to Buckner (towards 285), but that really backs up. We leave around 8, which is the same time that carpool is in full swing at Whitefield. Thank you!

[spacelord75]

Sorry for just getting back - I was out for New Years.

Riverview is not bad at all, the only thing that can suck is if a truck gets in front of you, but fortunately there is usually so little reverse traffic coming that you can usually pass in the on-coming lane if need-be.

I used to live in Providence and work on North Ave. and used to always take Bankhead straight in, but got so sick of the backup from 285, that I tried Riverview and found it was way better. Sometimes you will get some back up from people getting onto 285, but it is not THAT bad. For me, I would actually take a right onto S. Cobb, take a left onto Peyton, right onto Hollywood, left onto Perry, which eventually becomes Marietta St. and would be at work in 30 minutes total travel time from Providence.

From where you are, you could actually take a RIGHT onto Pebblebrook, so it spits you out onto Veterans without dealing with Whitefield, then a left onto Veterans, then the left onto Riverview.

Hope this helps!

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

I did not even know about Riverview until you just mentioned it. I looked on Google maps, and it would certainly be a possibilty. How is the traffic on Riverview? I have tried Pebblebrook to Buckner (towards 285), but that really backs up. We leave around 8, which is the same time that carpool is in full swing at Whitefield. Thank you!

Just another idea related to Cooper Lake Road and the E/W Connector...

My wife says that if she leaves the house at 7:00am on the dot that the wait at the Cooper Lake/Connector intersection is pretty lengthy (around 15 mins), but if she leaves the house five minutes earlier it's almost always only 1/3 as busy.

This pattern seems to be true almost every day.

Have you tried to vary your leaving time at all? Even a five-minute change seems to make make a difference at that intersection at some times during the morning.