Letter of 10/22/2012

I have yet to hear an update from the City of Dunwoody, so wrote the following email to Ms. Drysdale with the city.

Ms. Drysdale,

I wanted to check in with you regarding whether or not the city had received the results of the Stonington Road study.

Kind thanks,

Thomas O’Brien

The Study is Underway!

Good news for folks following the efforts underway to calm the traffic on Stonington!  Two tubes cross the street near the bottom of the Stonington hill, midway between the two central stop signs.  Though I am no expert on the hardware, I would believe that these will give the city the opportunity to track volume of traffic by each side of the street by hour (tracking cut-through traffic), as well as speed (at a location that should capture cars at their fastest).

My one concern regarding the nature of this study would be the lack of attention to tracking compliance with the stop signs.  I will wait for results before raising this issue in a formal sense.  It certainly is possible that the tubes will be moved near the stop signs at some point during the study, or perhaps there will be stop sign calculations based on automobile speed that may help gauge compliance.  It is also possible that solutions which would be considered could cure the stop sign issue by implication.  We shall see.

Anyway, forward progress on this project is welcome, and I will share any communications from the city as I receive them.  Thank you for your support!

Our petition for study has been granted!

I received this email response from the City regarding our petition to conduct a traffic study on Stonington.  Apparently, things move quickly during this phase, though we shall see.  By their timeframe, we should have results by or around October 12-13.  It is my hope that they not only study speed, but cut through traffic, and observing signs as well.  I will keep you posted as this develops.

Mr. O’Brien,

We received the signatures and I was able to verify them today. You have over 20% so we have ordered the traffic study and we will contact you once we receive those results. This usually takes 2-3 weeks, tops. Feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Thanks,

Jada

Jada Drysdale

Public Works Administrative Assistant

City of Dunwoody

41 Perimeter Center E, Suite 250, Dunwoody, GA 30346

(678) 382-6850 direct | (770) 396-4828 fax

Initial Interest is Established

We have forward progress!  As you may recall, the City of Dunwoody requested a petition signed by at least 20% of the properties on Stonington to establish our interest in conducting a further review of the traffic situation.  This petition was completed yesterday afternoon, well in advance of the October 1, 2012 deadline, and I have emailed a PDF copy to the City, as well as sent original documents.  I have declined to post original copies of the filing to this blog for privacy purposes, but I will be happy to share copies via private email should you wish.  Below, you will find a copy of the cover letter that I sent with the petition, which notes three major issues that should be addressed by the study.  I have redacted portions of my personal information for privacy purposes as well.

September 17, 2012

VIA REGISTERED MAIL

City of Dunwoody - Public Works Department

41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 250

Dunwoody, GA 30346

Re: Stonington Road Traffic Issues – Request for Study

Dear Ms. Drysdale:

            Pursuant to your helpful email communication of August 17, 2012, I have secured eight signatures of Stonington Road residents who are directly affected by the traffic issues I describe below.  This represents approximately 22% of the 36 homes that abut Stonington Road, and should serve to communicate to the City of Dunwoody that there is sufficient interest to proceed with a study.

            As I have communicated previously, an adequate study will address the impact of three factors that currently make Stonington Road unsafe.  These three factors are as follows:

1. Drivers exceeding the speed limits by considerable amounts.  Stonington Road features a significant hill and valley, and allows cars to frequently attain speeds of 40-50 mph with very little difficulty (in a 25 mph zone).
2. Failure to observe the stop signs.  Though the stop signs are posted at intersections, the “flow-through” nature, and steep hills of Stonington Road makes them very, very easy roll through.  It is common to see the stop signs ignored at very high speeds.
3. Illegal use of Stonington Road as a cut through.  The neighborhood of Dunwoody North is surrounded by “No Cut Through” signs that are ignored.  Stonington Road siphons a considerable amount of this traffic.  Additionally, despite signs indicating that Stonington Road is closed to westbound traffic between 7-9am, a considerable amount of Tilly Mill traffic uses the Stonington Corridor illegally during those hours.

Please let me know if further information is required.  There is a great deal of enthusiasm in our neighborhood about finally having these concerns addressed by our local government, and I would like to ensure that I give the City fast and complete responses as needed.  Additionally, I am keeping our neighbors informed through my blog at http://dunwoodytraffic.blogspot.com .  We eagerly await your response.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

                                                                        Thomas C. O’Brien, Esq.

                                                            4### Huntington Circle (corner of Huntington and Stonington)
                                                            Dunwoody, GA 30338

                                                            6##-592-8262 (cell)
                                                            7##-451-6646 (home)

cc:  John Heneghan, Michael Smith, Warren Hutmacher, Oliver Fladrich, Billy Grogan, Mike Carlson, Douglas Thompson, Gerri Penn, Sean Teichert

The First Step

As of this writing, we have 50% of the signatures needed in order to request that the City commence its study of the Stonington corridor.  The most common concern among the folks with whom I have spoken so far is regarding what happens next.  Some have expressed concern about fixes being implemented without review, others have expressed concern about the nature of potential fixes.  These concerns are important, but will not be addressed in this process until later.

Right now, the only action that the petition will bring about is to secure the City's attention in the form of a study.  Once the study is conducted and the results are published, then discussions about how and if fixes shall be implemented will begin.  I will be sharing all information as it becomes available.

A note to our Stonington Road neighbors

***This is a note that I emailed this morning to several neighbors.  If you did not receive this note, I do not have your email address.  Please send me a note through the "comments" section if you would like to get on the distribution list.  Thomas****

Good morning all,

After watching too many cars barrel through our stop sign at breakneck speeds, I have decided to do something.  I have started the process of requesting that the City of Dunwoody explore traffic calming measures for Stonington Road.  The first step is securing signatures on the “Initial Interest” form, which simply is the City’s way of ensuring that there is enough interest in beginning the traffic study. 

My rough calculations indicate that there would be 36 affected homes abutting Stonington Road, which would mean that we need the signatures of 8 families to begin the study process.  I am emailing this group to let you know that I have started the signature gathering process, and am seeking your support.  I hope to reach out to our other neighbors shortly (likely in person, since I do not have their emails), but I wanted to let you know of the effort underway.

I have also launched a blog that will detail the A-to-Z journey of navigating this process, so that other portions of our neighborhood may benefit, and hopefully avoid any issues that we encounter.  The blog is http://dunwoodytraffic.blogspot.com/, and will include all of my correspondence with the city, as well as notes about where in the process we currently find ourselves.

What I am asking for at this time is twofold:

1)   Please help the effort by endorsing a study.  There is no actual course of action created by the study, but simply knowledge of the scope of our issues.  I will be happy to bring the petition to your home at a time of convenience for you.

2)   Please share this effort with your Stonington neighbors.  We will need 70% support to enact any solution once the studies are done.  This represents approximately 26 households.

Thank you for your support, and if I can answer any questions, please let me know.

Thomas O’Brien

4260 Huntington Circle

Dunwoody, Georgia 30338

6**-592-8262

Cc:         Councilman John Heneghan

DNCA President Gerri Penn

Some Relevant Documents

I have hosted three important files that folks reading this blog might find of use.  These were supplied to me by Ms. Jada Drysdale, the Public Works Administrative Assistant.  They are all in PDF format, so you will need to have the ability to read Adobe Documents on your local machine.

1.  The City of Dunwoody Traffic Calming Policy

2.  Traffic Calming Procedure Flow Chart

3.  Initial Interest Form (Specific to Stonington Road)

Item 3 is the form I discussed in a previous post that demonstrates a desire for the City of Dunwoody to conduct a study on the affected road.  I included it for reference only, and if you desire to initiate this process on your own street, you will need to make contact with Ms. Drysdale for a similar form.