One local issue ultimately took center stage at the Dahlonega City Council meeting last Tuesday. And that was the traffic troubles surrounding Mountain Park.
It was during the public comments portion of the meeting that several citizens stepped up to the podium to voice their concerns regarding the growing neighborhood and the possibility that the City may adopt the now privately maintained roadway leading into the community. After the public comments, councilman Ryan Reagin echoed those worries.
“I think everyone has the same train of thought here,” he said. “It’s not something we have to do right now, and when it comes to safety, I think it’s something to be cautious about.”
The charge was led by Mountain Park residents Bill and Janice Halderson, who were first to step to the podium.
“I wanted to address the last item on the agenda tonight, which is Mountain Park Drive Street Acceptance…,” said Bill. “I have a petition here that I want to present to the City Council that would ask for a public hearing prior to giving approval to accept the private mountain park drive as a city street.”
Some of Bill's main apprehensions centered around safety for the community.
“I am not opposed to the city accepting Mountain Park Drive. What I am opposed to is that we do it immediately, so that we can resolve some of these safety issues, between the City and the developer,” he said. “…The first one is the insufficient ingress egress that we have there. The road currently relies on a single point of entry. If there's a blocked entrance, or are problems at all, motor accidents, whatever, there's no way for emergency vehicles to get into the community.”
With more community growth ahead, Bill warned that the problem could get even worse.
“The County has an ordinance for phase three subdivisions, where there must be two exits for subdivisions over 125 building units, when that's possible. And we have 149 Phase One and are looking at 166 in Phase Two,” he said. “We did a count of our own several months ago, and there was just under 3,000 cars a week, and it's much busier now. That didn't include what's going into Chelsey Park. The intersection at Highway 60 and Mountain Park Drive is very dangerous now, and it's going to be even more so when you have two and a half times the traffic.”
Janice followed up, voicing her concerns regarding the dangers presented to the community.
“There are several safety issues that must be addressed, before the city takes over the street,” she said. “Getting in and out of Mountain Park Drive onto Highway 60 is extremely dangerous. The line of sight that we have there is almost nonexistent.”
Janice said she has struggled personally with trying to pull out of the neighborhood.
“I've almost pulled out in front of people several times, and they come speeding up around that corner. They do not obey the speed limit sign and the 40s are still quite fast, if you can't see people until they're on top of you. So that's a real issue. The lane to get off of 60 and turn onto Mountain Park Road is very short, and sometimes there are people parked there for one reason or another.”
Janice further reiterated her husband’s concerns regarding the precarious location of the school bus drop off.
“The school bus issue and the lack of a sidewalk for the children is horrible,” she said. “I can't stand it when I see these kids walking down this long, very steep road, out in the road, with their backpacks on, and the pounding heat, without a sidewalk. And the college students that live there come flying down that road. They have no sense of how fast they're driving. And often, they're not even looking at where they're going.”
Several other residents followed, voicing their reservations.
CHANGING LANES
The last topic on the agenda for the night was the possible vote to accept Mountain Park Drive into the City’s street system.
City Manager Allison Martin explained what the City has already done in preparation.
“We did receive a check last week, in the amount of the estimated cost of repairs plus the 30 percent inflationary increase,” Martin said. “We received $170,000 to set aside for future work on Mountain Park. [City Engineer Mark Buchanan] did let me know he has already had conversations with the school system, so the school buses, once that becomes a city street, would go to the T‑intersection to drop children.”
She added that the City has also been in contact with GDOT.
“We’ve also had conversations with GDOT about sight distance and the lifting of the tree canopy,” Martin said. “So we constantly have discussions with them and with the County school system. So, they’ll go to the T‑intersection once it becomes a City street. That’ll alleviate at least one of the major concerns to the children’s safety.”
When it came time to vote, only Councilman Ross Shirley supported accepting Mountain Park Drive as a City street. His motion would die after it didn’t receive a second.
Councilman Lance Bagley then offered an alternative motion.
“At this time, I would make another motion that we defer this to a future meeting to give time for a meeting with the shareholders, to make sure that all the concerns are addressed,” Bagley said.
Councilman Dan Brown seconded that motion.
Bagley explained his reasoning further.
“The only thing I’d say is, I don’t think, from what we read, that it’s critical that we approve this tonight,” he said. “I’m not saying this is something I would approve or disapprove of on the merits. I think what we heard tonight is enough to say, let’s listen, and let’s bring our shareholders together, and make sure that all of these things are addressed.”
Councilman Johnny Ariemma said he shared those concerns.
“Yes, I agree with the councilman,” he said. “I heard a lot of things: ingress and regress issues, how many units, the fire marshal standards. That’s news to me. I want to know what’s going on there.”
He added that the school bus and sidewalk issues weighed heavily on him.
“There are still issues with the school bus coming down there safely: no sidewalks, the sight distance,” he said. “So, there are several things over and over again I just heard tonight. I think it’s worth going back and really diving into their concerns and making sure that everybody feels comfortable with this, because I can tell you right now, after everything I’ve heard, I’ve got questions as well.”
Brown said visiting the neighborhood in person helped him understand the residents’ worries.
“I went out there last week with my family and just drove around the neighborhood,” he said. “You kind of have to look both ways, and then say a prayer, close your eyes, hope for the best, and slam on the gas.”
Shirley explained why he was still inclined to move forward.
“I worry with all the comments that were made, but there’s no real urgency,” he said. “Whether we approve it or not, the safety issues are there tomorrow. But if it’s a City street, then we truly have more of an obligation to drag the DOT and everybody else there that needs to be there.”
Mayor Sam Norton closed the discussion by acknowledging the public input.
“You all make very good points, and the public made really good comments as well, and that’s the way it is supposed to work,” Norton said. “Council has heard what you said, and we are prepared to act that way. We can surely hear it, and we can give it a try, and do what we can to make it better.”
No official date for the hearing has been set. The matter may potentially be discussed at the next meeting on September 21.