Traffic in Alpharetta? (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: transferring to, subdivisions, tax)

[yellow333111]

Hello all,

I have to go from lawrenceville area to North Point Mall area until 9 am on weekdays. When I enter my address in mapquest, it says take peachtree industrial blvd and take 120 w/abotts bridge then continue to state bridge.. Last time I took this route, it took me nearly 1 hr and 15 mins to drive and I just wanted to ask if there is any other way I can take so I can save some time. I have lived around this area for a long time but not familiar with Alpharetta area so I just wanted to ask if there is anyone who can help. Thank you all! I will be waiting for your reply.

[roadtrip75]

It depends, of course, on exactly where you are going to and from, but 120 and State Bridge are the general path. 1:15 sounds like the worst case scenario to me, but I don't drive there in the morning rush.

[ericsonga]

I travel from the Brookwood area of Lawrenceville to Old Milton and 400 in Alpharetta everyday. I take Pleasant Hill to State Bridge to Old Milton. 120 is two lane most of the way and it gets insanely backed up. Traffic is always going to be very very bad. I honestly would never live in North Fulton because of that reason.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ericsonga

I travel from the Brookwood area of Lawrenceville to Old Milton and 400 in Alpharetta everyday. I take Pleasant Hill to State Bridge to Old Milton. 120 is two lane most of the way and it gets insanely backed up. Traffic is always going to be very very bad. I honestly would never live in North Fulton because of that reason.

As a lowly city of Atlanta resident, I am blown away by the massive level of traffic in Alpharetta. Holy cow!!



I guess it's a function of the explosive growth in the northern suburbs. You can't add several million people without having some traffic snarls.

Another reason intown traffic is so much lighter is that there are many more alternate routes, plus a fairly comprehensive transit system.

[Mossberg]

Originally Posted by arjay57

As a lowly city of Atlanta resident, I am blown away by the massive level of traffic in Alpharetta. Holy cow!!



I guess it's a function of the explosive growth in the northern suburbs. You can't add several million people without having some traffic snarls.

Another reason intown traffic is so much lighter is that there are many more alternate routes, plus a fairly comprehensive transit system.

Yup. Apparently the county and city governments are ok with issuing thousands of building permits for all of those subdivisions that popped up over the years without investing in an ounce of road infrastructure. It's like they saw the building permits as guaranteed tax revenue in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. There is no excuse for all of those subdivisions to have been built and leaving them to be accessed by a system of two-lane roads. inexcusable...

The Alpharetta area is not alone in this. I have the same gripe for many Gwinnett County areas.

greedy and shortsighted idiots....

[ATLTJL]

I think you could look into trying other routes. They may not be as direct, but perhaps less congested and therefore less annoying.

For example, what if you took 20 all the way over, and then shot down 400? You're overshooting Alpharetta to the north by a bit, but I bet 20 is a much less annoying ride than 120.

I guess it depends on you. I've always been the kind of person who would rather spend an hour cruising down the highway at 70 miles per hour than spend a half hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Takes years off your life. Not worth it.

[cqholt]

And that's why I choose to live intown Atlanta and ride MARTA. Guess Gwinnett County should have approved MARTA when they had the chance?

[ericsonga]

Originally Posted by cqholt

And that's why I choose to live intown Atlanta and ride MARTA. Guess Gwinnett County should have approved MARTA when they had the chance?

Yes, because a county with over 800,000 residents wouldn't have traffic otherwise...

[ATLTJL]

And that's why I choose to live intown Atlanta and ride MARTA.

Hmmm, interesting solution. How would you get from the North Springs MARTA station up to Alpharetta? I guess you could take a bus. The OP could also do that by taking Gwinnett County Transit buses and transferring to MARTA buses....but I assume when we talk about MARTA, nobody is actually talking about riding a bus.

BTW, MARTA has not been voted on in Gwinnett county in over 20 years. Many people think if it were to be voted on today, the county would vote for it. However, Gwinnett may install its own rail system to connect with MARTA. I would be more tempted to go with that solution instead of pouring money into subsidizing MARTA. There's no guarantee that a Gwinnett rail system would have better management than MARTA....but come on, could it possibly be any worse?

[cqholt]

All infrastructure is subsized. MARTA would love to expand into Gwinnett County, a huge resource. And besides MARTA has the only rail transit experience in the state so I think even if Gwinnett County built a light-rail line they would need insight from MARTA.