Can we talk about the future of Dunwoody? (Atlanta, Decatur: real estate, hotel)

[abalashov]

Originally Posted by CMMom

For the love of all that is holy, synchronize the lights on Ashford-Dunwoody! That's where I always get trapped.

Yep. I lived close to the Walmart on Ashford-Dunwoody for a year, and ... that Perimeter Center East light. Every time. I swear. I've never spent so much of my life at one traffic light, and I'm not being flippant.

[Just Blaze]

I live in PC and love it. I'm off Ashford and PC East and couldn't possibly consider moving anywhere else in the metro. I was in Alpharetta and it convenient to commute to work and play in Midtown.

[abalashov]

Originally Posted by Just Blaze

I live in PC and love it. I'm off Ashford and PC East and couldn't possibly consider moving anywhere else in the metro.

I lived there for a while and have spent lots of time there, and that's baffling to me.

The thing about Perimeter Center is that it comes tantalisingly close to getting suburbia kind of right, but then seems to get cold feet at the last minute and regress to the usual cruft.

The general area has three MARTA heavy rail stations, which redounds greatly to the appeal of the place, but the neighbourhoods aren't designed around them, They're separated from the rest of the world by huge parking lots and generally aren't easy to get to except by car. There doesn't appear to be any effort at transit-oriented development along the stations; the ones I'm most familiar with are Sandy Springs (set in the middle of a shopping strip and a sea of parking) and Dunwoody (set behind Perimeter Mall).

Ashford-Dunwoody, Abernathy, etc. could easily become actually walkable streets if zoning did not restrict the development of meaningful destinations directly along the pedestrian corridor, without huge setbacks or frontal parking minimums. Parallel street parking would also need to be allowed on some of those four-laners; street life doesn't last long with cars going by 2 inches in front of people's faces at 50 MPH.

But in principle, it's one of the more compact areas, and definitely lends itself better to retrofitting for greater habitability than, say, Alpharetta. That's why I'm baffled that they aren't going along the same general progression (however sluggish) as, say, Chamblee.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by abalashov

I lived there for a while and have spent lots of time there, and that's baffling to me.

The thing about Perimeter Center is that it comes tantalisingly close to getting suburbia kind of right, but then seems to get cold feet at the last minute and regress to the usual cruft.

The general area has three MARTA heavy rail stations, which redounds greatly to the appeal of the place, but the neighbourhoods aren't designed around them, They're separated from the rest of the world by huge parking lots and generally aren't easy to get to except by car. There doesn't appear to be any effort at transit-oriented development along the stations; the ones I'm most familiar with are Sandy Springs (set in the middle of a shopping strip and a sea of parking) and Dunwoody (set behind Perimeter Mall).

Ashford-Dunwoody, Abernathy, etc. could easily become actually walkable streets if zoning did not restrict the development of meaningful destinations directly along the pedestrian corridor, without huge setbacks or frontal parking minimums. Parallel street parking would also need to be allowed on some of those four-laners; street life doesn't last long with cars going by 2 inches in front of people's faces at 50 MPH.

But in principle, it's one of the more compact areas, and definitely lends itself better to retrofitting for greater habitability than, say, Alpharetta. That's why I'm baffled that they aren't going along the same general progression (however sluggish) as, say, Chamblee.

I lived in PC when I first moved to Atlanta. I enjoyed it as it was a good intro to Atlanta, but soon found myself wanting more walkability. PC is your typical transit-served, edge city (Tyson, VA). There are sidewalks and transit, but everything is still car-centric. Huge parking lots, too high speed limits, traffic signals are timed too long for thru traffic; all make walking miserable. PC could be a nice, dense walkable area and I think it's trending that way with infill development on many parking lots, but they need to slow traffic and give it better transit connection to Cobb, Gwinnett, and North Fulton.

[wasel]

Originally Posted by primaltech

On Google Maps you can see the clear arterial corridor paralleling Ashford that was unfortunately broken up, Perimeter Center Pkwy/ Ridgeview Rd, all the way up to Mt Vernon. That N/S corridor should be re-connected as best as possible.

Also, Valley View Rd should connect over to Mt Vernon as a new main E/W corridor, and that would intersect with Ridgeview. There's definitely a clear path and space to do it.

Then finally, needs to be at least 1 more connection, preferably 2 more, between Perimeter Center and the rest of Dunwoody to the east. South of Valley View Rd I mean. Connect Lincoln Pkwy to Old Spring House Ln (as a road, not just pedestrian), connect Perimeter Center East Ext to Chateau Dr somehow, and then extend Cotillion Dr along the north side of 285, to Ravinia/Hammond. That would be the biggest help.

Those 3 things, along with direct access to Perimeter Center Pkwy from I-285 (which is I guess in the works), then that will finally get you some relief and decent options to bypass Ashford.

Originally Posted by wasel

The Old Spring House Lane property has been purchased by a developer who purchased all those parcels along OSH along with the parcels on Perimeter Center. He's not going to build a vehicle road. Also, there has been talk of connecting that street WAY in the past (years ago) as a vehicle street but the existence of Nancy Creek posed some issues.

Edit: OSH lane is the street, but the neighborhood parcels involved are along Georgetown Trail.

Update:
Pedestrian bridge installed to connect Dunwoody’s Georgetown to Perimeter Center

https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2...xfk36B9GRw5VO8

[cqholt]

Why is it the suburban cities and counties prefer these sidepaths?

[primaltech]

They need to extend Cotillion/Savoy Dr access roads west over to Ashford Dunwoody. That would be the biggest fix.

[wasel]

Originally Posted by primaltech

They need to extend Cotillion/Savoy Dr access roads west over to Ashford Dunwoody. That would be the biggest fix.

Not sure if that is part of the express lane plan. I don’t think it is.

[wasel]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Why is it the suburban cities and counties prefer these sidepaths?

What’s a side path?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by wasel

What’s a side path?

A trail that runs along the side of a street or road. Eg: Atlanta Rd in Cobb County