GDOT's Response to Questions About I-285 Express Lanes: (real estate, houses)

[architect77]

GDOT's Response to Questions About I-285 Express Lanes:


https://majormobilityga.com/projects...ument-library/



It's the "Comment Response Letter" PDF file.


Basically people were requesting either additional exits or removal of exits near where they live.

Concerns about noise were the next common topic. People want noise walls erected before and during construction, and they don't want trucks driving through their neighborhoods during construction.

Tree Removal was cited as a concern (by me) and their reply was that safe sight distances had to be maintained through the corridor, and that's most important.

Basically, they didn't commit to replacing any of the thousands that have come down already, nor did they mention landscaping at all.

Transit being incorporated was also addressed but I didn't read that carefully.

One interesting nugget is that they will use water detention ponds to manage the runoff along I-285.

That's typical these days with any project that reduces pervious ground area to mitigate the effects of flash flooding when it rains really hard and fast.

[ATLTJL]

Can they at least make the detention ponds attractive, like they do in Florida, instead of just letting them be mosquito infested dumping grounds?

[pat565]

They can put trees in and still maintain safe site distances, that is such garbage

[architect77]

Originally Posted by pat565

They can put trees in and still maintain safe site distances, that is such garbage

It was a ridiculous cop-out of a response.

The trees that have been felled were between the neighborhoods and other properties next to the I-285 corridor.

That really doesn't have much to do with site distances that are ostensibly for reading the regulatory and exit signage on the shoulder, which is much closer than the tree buffers along the edges of the corridor.

It's like I said before, they did these open houses for show only, you can't change their minds about anything.

I was on I-75 Southside through the Southern suburbs yesterday and man, that is a hectic, cramped corridor with tons of traffic and not much breathing room.

With all of the billboards and stuff located right up next to this interstate, it was a very unpleasant driving experience and not attractive either..

The top end and Northern metro freeways are freakin' beautiful compared to I-75 on the South side.

[eRosewater]

GDOT's planners are following best practices from 20 years ago.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by eRosewater

GDOT's planners are following best practices from 20 years ago.

If this is another "why isn't this project rail?" statement, it's kind of hard for GDOT's planners to do anything else when their bosses are hemmed in by an archaic constitutional requirement which restricts motor fuel tax revenue to roads and bridges.

[eRosewater]

While more rail would be great, I wasn't really commenting on that. I don't even think areas outside the perimeter can be effectively served by rail, so for the foreseeable future roads are the solution there. But roads can be built in ways that don't waste real estate, make motorists/pedestrians less safe, and degrade the aesthetics of an area. Needless to say, GDOT does not build them that way.

They are still following outdated practices like excessive sight lines and slip lanes that actually make everyone less safe by encouraging excessive speed. They still don't understand that measures like sound walls pay for themselves by preserving land values. They take no steps to distinguish no distinction between urban, suburban, and rural road designs - all of which should have extremely different design criteria. And for an entity whose entire purpose is to build roads, there's still no one in the entire department that understands a proper street section and the importance of elements (trees, sidewalks, parking lanes, etc.) other than the actual blacktop. Might as well rename it the Georgia Department of Asphault Installation because it's literally the one thing they know how to do.

And that is all ignoring the larger issues that, yes, transit needs to become a larger part of the transportation mix and - even when it comes to roadways - interstate-style freeways need to become a much smaller part of the mix with a greater emphasis on fixing our completely non-functional surface street network.

[SEAandATL]

COVID-19 has really changed our priorities. Now it wouldn't be so bad if they scrapped this project altogether as long as companies continue to work from home, and it would save billions of dollars that could be used elsewhere.

[architect77]

Originally Posted by Gulch

If this is another "why isn't this project rail?" statement, it's kind of hard for GDOT's planners to do anything else when their bosses are hemmed in by an archaic constitutional requirement which restricts motor fuel tax revenue to roads and bridges.

Well I like transit, but I like roads too.

If put to the public for a popular vote, spending on roads would still win by a large margin compared to using it for transit only.

It is not archaic or unjust to use gas tax revenue, about $6 per tank of gas, on the roads that they are using and want maintained and improved.

No one would pay that much on every fill up and tolerate damaging, rough roads while sending that money for rail that will 90% of the time wouldn't be close enough for them to use anyway.

Funding for transit could be raised many other ways starting with a gofundme campaign targeted at posters on this forum.

It is egregious to ask for gas tax to used on anything else that doesn't benefit the infrastructure they are using....]

which is also the single most critical infrastructure for every business and industry in the region to function.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

COVID-19 has really changed our priorities. Now it wouldn't be so bad if they scrapped this project altogether as long as companies continue to work from home, and it would save billions of dollars that could be used elsewhere.

It remains to be seen what the post-coronavirus traffic levels will be. I suspect that when we finally get there, most but not all of the traffic will return. Some people who work from home love the convenience of no longer having commutes that consume an hour or more of their time every day.