Dunwoody Construction Update

Dunwoody Construction Project Updates for 1/17/14

Dunwoody Village Main Street Project

Construction on the Dunwoody Village Main Street project began in December 2013 with work crews removing a portion of the vegetation and trees from the parkway median. Weather permitting, construction crews will be removing the median and beginning sub-grade utility work along the thoroughfare.

The Main Street project addresses the need for pedestrian improvements on Dunwoody Village Parkway, while fostering a sense of community, encouraging growth of small businesses, and enhancing quality of life. The shops, restaurants, and businesses located in the Village Parkway area will remain accessible throughout construction.

The parkway will be converted to a two-lane street with wide sidewalks, on-street bicycle lanes and landscape buffers.

The city has worked closely with the businesses in Dunwoody Village and continues to conduct proactive outreach and communication to ensure safe and efficient progress on one of the city’s most important commercial districts.

Based on the input and feedback from local businesses, city staff created a set of communication materials for display and distribution at Village businesses to inform residents and patrons about the Main Street project. Copies of the Main Street project information materials, including a store front project poster and point of sale flyers to display adjacent to registers, are free and available for Village businesses by contacting Bob Mullen at 678-382-6881 or bob.mullen@dunwoodyga.gov.

For additional information regarding the Main Street project please contact Michael Smith, Public Works Director, at 678-382-6850 or email michael.smith@dunwoodyga.gov.

Brook Run Trail

Preparations for construction of Phase II of the multi-use trail at Brook Run Park are underway. Phase II is a 1.3 mile addition to the multi-use trail at Brook Run Park. Over the next several weeks crews will begin initial construction activities on this second phase of the trail loop including preliminary grubbing and survey work for the installment of erosion control fencing. The survey efforts also will establish the trail’s final centerline demarcation.

The latest phase of the 12-foot wide multi-use trail will help open access to areas of the park which are not frequently used by park visitors. The new trail section also will connect with the existing 0.7 mile trail to create a nearly two mile, 12-foot wide concrete multi-use trail loop within Brook Run Park. The city anticipates the new segment will be completed by summer of 2014 and, similar to the first section of trail, decorative benches and waste/recycling receptacles will be installed along the trail route for beautification and convenience. As future phases are completed in the coming years, the entire Brook Run Trail will run from Brook Run Park to Chamblee Dunwoody Road and will cover 3.3 total miles.

Last year, city staff hosted an Open House event at the Brook Run Park Greenhouse Complex to facilitate active citizen engagement and understanding of the planned 1.3 mile section of the trail. The event offered attendees an opportunity to hear about and view initial plans for the new trail route and participants were treated to a walking tour to preview the first trail section.

An erosion and sediment control plan was established for the project, which strictly adheres to all Georgia Environmental Protection Division requirements regarding erosion and sediment control. The EPD’s approval of the erosion and sediment control plan enabled the city to issue a land disturbance permit which allows crews to proceed with construction of the trail.

Georgetown Park

Construction of the primary sections of the new Georgetown Park has continued throughout the fall and into the winter. The city anticipates substantial completion of the central park square, pavilion area, children’s playground, and the adjacent bathroom facilities by the end of February. The adjoining concrete path, adjacent to the central park square, is also near completion and it will eventually connect to the Dunwoody Trailway multi-use trail to create a 3.3 mile long trailway.

Depending on the weather, crews will perform landscaping and beautification of the park areas by planting trees, flowering shrubs, and water-saving grasses. The parks will also have new lights, benches, and garbage receptacles installed to help promote safety and sanitation efforts. Once complete, both sections of the new park will be available for community-wide use. Overlooking the new Georgetown Park are two of the planned 68 newly constructed single-family homes which have been built as part of Dunwoody Green, a new development from John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods.

Each year, the Georgia Planning Association (GPA) rewards local communities and regional commissions for their work to make Georgia a better place to live. This past October, the City of Dunwoody received the 2013 Award for Outstanding Plan Implementation for efforts and execution on the city’s Project Renaissance initiative. The award recognizes the city’s proactive transformation of 35-acres of vacant land by implementing a community-based master plan. The 2013 Chapter Awards delivered at the GPA Fall Conference honor plans and projects which demonstrate innovation, transferability, quality, effectiveness of implementation, comprehensiveness, public participation, technology, equity, sustainability and collaboration.

The Project Renaissance redevelopment initiative stemmed from the community-developed Georgetown/North Shallowford Master Plan created shortly after the city’s incorporation. Project Renaissance has since activated 35 total acres of land and upon completion will include new city parks, a multi-use trail, an owner occupied low-density residential development, a small neighborhood commercial development and potential civic facilities.

North Peachtree/Tilly Mill and Peeler Intersection Improvements

The Comprehensive Transportation Plan prioritizes making safety and operational improvements to the intersection of North Peachtree Road and Tilly Mill Road. This project has been identified as a top priority in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan and the city is committed to implementing this community-based plan. The preliminary concept includes adding turning lanes, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and a traffic signal at Peeler Road.

The city has taken steps to move this project forward and recently applied for a grant from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank to complete the funding for the project and is awaiting results of the grant request. During this time the city is finalizing necessary right-of-way and easement acquisitions in line with the project construction needs. In addition, the city is working with DeKalb County on the replacement of aging water supply lines beneath the roadway prior to the start of construction. Once these measures have been completed the city can plan for construction activities which are likely to begin in early 2015.

Street Paving, Sidewalk Improvement Projects & Traffic Signals

Street Paving & Assessments: In December 2013, a special pavement assessment and data collection vehicle equipped with lasers, computers and other equipment drove Dunwoody streets to collect pavement condition information. The truck gathered important data and measurements of overall roughness, rutting, cracking and general street condition for an update of the city’s 2009 citywide pavement assessment.

The road pavement condition ratings are used to objectively prioritize streets for paving. The City Council has adopted a policy, which allocates 70 percent of annual paving funding to address resurface and preserve highly-trafficked main roads. The remaining 30 percent of the annual paving budget is assigned by priority to the worst rated roads within the separate neighborhood and minor-streets grouping.

The latest pavement condition analysis update was recently completed and will be shared with the City Council at a future Council Meeting. The city’s current paving plans are available for review by visiting http://www.dunwoodyga.gov/Departments/Public_Works/Paving

The city is continuing its commitment to maintain and improve its roads by investing over $2,000,000 in paving in 2014, which is nearly 40 percent of the 2014 capital budget. Since 2009, including this year’s investments, the city has spent and/or budgeted nearly $10,000,000 to pave roads in Dunwoody. To date, the City has paved nearly 50 lane miles of roads. This has been accomplished in a short timeframe with no tax increases and no need to borrow money.

Sidewalk Projects: The city is pleased to announce the start of the Kingsley Safe Routes to School Improvement Project, which began construction activities this week. This project will improve the safety for children walking to Kingsley Charter Elementary School. The following improvements will be constructed in the community:

Sidewalks along Dartford Drive from Tilly Mill Road to Brendon Drive

Sidewalks along Brendon Drive from Davantry Drive to N. Peachtree Road

Raised crosswalks will be installed across:

-N. Peachtree Road at Davantry Drive

-N. Peachtree Road at Brendon Drive

-Brendon Drive at Brendon Court

-Dartford Drive at Brendon Drive

Addition of ADA Ramps, enhancement of existing crosswalks, and pedestrian lighting in front of the school

The $330,000 in improvements will be 100 percent federally funded through the Safe Routes to School program. The design and construction is being managed by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Work continues on several other critical sidewalk projects as part of the City’s sidewalk improvement plan, created to provide an objective process to prioritize the City’s sidewalk projects. The city will soon receive bids from contractors to complete the sidewalks planned for Roberts Drive, Hensley Drive, Mount Vernon Way, Peachford Road, and Dunwoody Park.

In the later part of 2013, the City substantially completed new sidewalk construction on Womack Road between Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Cambridge Drive, and on the northern end of Happy Hollow Road to complete the sidewalk for the full length of that road. Work on the remaining sidewalk on Valley View Road, which will connect existing sidewalk to Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, is expected to be completed in February, weather permitting.

The city has identified more than 21 miles of future sidewalk improvements and 87 future ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. Since 2009, including this year’s investments, the City has invested nearly $2,000,000 on completing roughly 5.4 miles of new sidewalk infrastructure, making Dunwoody a safer, healthier, and more enjoyable community for all.

Perimeter Flashing Yellow Arrows: In conjunction with the city’s Department of Public Works, the Perimeter Transportation Operations Program (PTOP) began upgrading left-turn signals with yellow flashing arrows this week at four intersections on Perimeter Center Parkway around Perimeter Mall. Perimeter is among the first locations in Metro Atlanta to use the new left-turn signal configuration, which has been used successfully in numerous states throughout the U.S.

The traditional three-arrow (red, yellow, green) left-turn signals along Perimeter Center Parkway will be replaced with new four-arrow signals that include flashing yellow arrow displays to improve safety and traffic flow in an area of Perimeter that is experiencing increased employment. Flashing yellow arrows will be installed at the following intersections on Perimeter Center Parkway:

Marriott Hotel entrance
Dunwoody MARTA Station entrance
First Perimeter Mall entrance north of the MARTA station entrance
211 Perimeter Center Parkway entrance

The new phasing will include the following order:

Steady green arrow giving a protected right-of-way to drivers intending to make a left turn
Flashing yellow arrow letting drivers know they can make a left turn after yielding to any oncoming traffic and pedestrians
Steady yellow arrow indicating the left-turn phase is about to end
Standard red arrow meaning no left-turn movements can be made

Lastly, the City of Dunwoody is committed to encouraging and facilitating active citizen engagement. To keep up with everything going on in Dunwoody, you can sign up for email updates at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/DUNWOODYGA/subscriber/new or check our website at http://www.dunwoodyga.gov.

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