Local

Residents worry proposed project to ease traffic will ruin their community

People living in a local neighborhood fear a road project will destroy what they love best about their community.

There are three options to re-align Johnson Ferry Road.

One includes roundabouts. The other two are grid options. The green space on the map that is right down Mt. Vernon Highway is a park.

One thing everyone agrees on is the area of Mt. Vernon/Johnson Ferry Road/Roswell is a hot spot for traffic. What people don’t agree on is how to fix it.

“We are all trying to come up with some solutions this one we felt would be overly damaging.”

Signs placed in front of many people’s homes along Johnson Ferry Road are a silent reminder they are not happy with Sandy Springs' current proposal to elevate traffic along the Mt. Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road intersection.

“The current concept has the road dead-ending into our front yard. So incoming traffic lights could go into our house. We measured out the amount of land that we would take in, we would lose our parking pad we have to move back our fence that we built,” said resident Kevin Henze.

Henze lives on Johnson Ferry Road, his home is one of a handful that would be directly impacted. But it's not just homes affected.

“The concept has them tearing out the park across the street where our children play," Henze said.

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Public comment on the different options ended on Tuesday.

The city said the ideas to fix the traffic in this area are not set in stone and residents told us they won’t back down until their voices are heard.

"We want our neighbors to get behind the cause and try to help us push back against this the park, infringe on owners property we are really trying to get the word out and the message out," Henze said.

When Channel 2's Lauren Pozen spoke with a city official, she was told that all public feedback will be taken seriously.

They stressed the plans are not set. This one might even get taken out and the city might start over. It just depends on the type of feedback they received.