Peachtree Industrial (Expressway Portion)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Major props on Born 2 Roll for the history.

I do want to dabble on one thing being lost...

The "super arterial" concept isn't necessarily a freeway concept and extends far beyond that one stretch and the tolls lanes idea that was pushed at one time.

The idea is to create a few heavy use roadways for longer commutes where the road has intersections, traffic lights, etc..... but far fewer of them.

The idea is to keep speeds low, but consistent and prevent backups. Build small interchanges with major freeways and bridge over major intersections. It also limits the number of local roads that cross and it is much harder for a new business of neighborhood to build a new curbcut onto the roadway without building several more onto other roadways.


In many respects the idea is not to build a freeway, keep costs down, and curb development onto intersecting streets at nodes and not the roadway itself. In other words not build more barriers along the roadway. Freeways come into play when there are too many existing intersections and businesses that they just decide to build over or there is a local zoning purpose for it. Moving freight/trucks off local roads and into the large industrial parks in Dekalb and Gwinnett played a large roll to the existing freeway portion that is built today.

In many respects we need to keep zoning tight on other roadways without development for the same purposes (Ie. US 29 between Ronald Reagan and Lawrenceville, State Route 20, Lawrenceville Suwanee Rd, amongst others...).

Create strategic stretches of roadway that are arterials with a few occasional freeway-like features, but with fewer barriers to prevent traffic from flowing a continuous 45 mph.

Those are excellent points.

The type of "super-arterial" concept that you are talking about (with limited curb-cuts and grade-separated intersections along a major surface arterial route) is currently being strongly-considered for implementation along the stretch of Georgia State Route 141 (Peachtree Parkway/Medlock Bridge Road/Peachtree Parkway) between the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard split in the Norcross/Peachtree Corners area and the GA 400/GA 141 interchange in Cumming.

The increasingly serious talk is of converting GA 141 (P'tree Pkwy/Medlock Bridge Rd) from the current high-speed surface arterial road with at-grade intersections at major junctions (GA 141 has speed limits of 45-55 mph along its length between PIB in Norcross and GA 400 in Cumming) to a "managed arterial" with tolled grade-separated express lanes through (over or under) the busiest junctions.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Those are excellent points.

The type of "super-arterial" concept that you are talking about (with limited curb-cuts and grade-separated intersections along a major surface arterial route) is currently being strongly-considered for implementation along the stretch of Georgia State Route 141 (Peachtree Parkway/Medlock Bridge Road/Peachtree Parkway) between the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard split in the Norcross/Peachtree Corners area and the GA 400/GA 141 interchange in Cumming.

The increasingly serious talk is of converting GA 141 (P'tree Pkwy/Medlock Bridge Rd) from the current high-speed surface arterial road with at-grade intersections at major junctions (GA 141 has speed limits of 45-55 mph along its length between PIB in Norcross and GA 400 in Cumming) to a "managed arterial" with tolled grade-separated express lanes through (over or under) the busiest junctions.

That would great, but expensive as all get out.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

That [a conversion of GA 141 to a managed-arterial] would [be] great, but expensive as all get out.

That's why the express lanes through those busy junctions that would become grade-separated would have tolls placed on them, to pay for the grade separations.

There's also talk of leasing the GA 141 roadway out to a private investor/operator who would get to keep all remaining revenues from the tolls on the GA 141 corridor after paying all initial construction and continued operating and maintenance costs during the life of the lease.

There's also talk of using the privatization of the GA 141 roadway as a tool to upgrade and expand the current GRTA Xpress commuter bus route into more of a full-service express bus route with higher frequencies, lower headways and a possible extension of the current GRTA Xpress line beyond its northern terminus at McGinnis Ferry Road.

There's also talk of possibly using Tax Increment Financing and/or Value Capture (a portion of property tax revenues from commercial property along the GA 141 corridor) to pay for the multimodal transportation upgrades (grade separations and vastly-upgraded bus service) to the GA 141 corridor.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Those are excellent points.

The type of "super-arterial" concept that you are talking about (with limited curb-cuts and grade-separated intersections along a major surface arterial route) is currently being strongly-considered for implementation along the stretch of Georgia State Route 141 (Peachtree Parkway/Medlock Bridge Road/Peachtree Parkway) between the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard split in the Norcross/Peachtree Corners area and the GA 400/GA 141 interchange in Cumming.

The increasingly serious talk is of converting GA 141 (P'tree Pkwy/Medlock Bridge Rd) from the current high-speed surface arterial road with at-grade intersections at major junctions (GA 141 has speed limits of 45-55 mph along its length between PIB in Norcross and GA 400 in Cumming) to a "managed arterial" with tolled grade-separated express lanes through (over or under) the busiest junctions.

Barrett Parkway west of US 41 in West Cobb is a good example of a partial limited access arterial. No grade separated intersections, but curb cuts are limited.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Barrett Parkway west of US 41 in West Cobb is a good example of a partial limited access arterial. No grade separated intersections, but curb cuts are limited.

US Hwy 41 (Cobb Parkway) in Cobb County (between the Bartow County Line and the I-285 Perimeter) is another major surface arterial road in which there is increasingly serious talk of converting the existing roadway into a "managed arterial" with vastly-upgraded and public transportation along the corridor.

Currently, the talk is of converting at least 12 current at-grade intersections into grade-separated intersections (with tolls on express lanes through intersections) and implementing either extensive local/express bus service, bus rapid transit, or light rail transit along the US 41 Cobb Parkway corridor.