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Residents press pedestrian safety as DOT seeks federal grant for Powder Springs Road and Stilesboro intersection
Summary
A public commenter criticized county road projects that add turn lanes as undermining pedestrian safety; county DOT asked commissioners to authorize federal lands access grant applications for a multi-use trail on Powder Springs Road and intersection safety work at Stilesboro Road and Old Mountain Road, actions the board approved unanimously.
A resident and county officials clashed over whether recent road projects labeled as pedestrian or safety improvements in Cobb County prioritize vehicle throughput over protection for pedestrians.
At the June 10 meeting, the county Department of Transportation requested authorization to submit two Federal Lands Access Program grant applications: one for a Powder Springs Road multi‑use trail and another for intersection safety improvements at Stilesboro Road and Old Mountain Road. The board approved the grant‑application authorizations 4-0 with the chair absent.
In public comment, Matt Segal, who identified himself as a District 1 resident, described seeing a multi‑use trail blocked by an electronic sign and questioned why safety projects often add travel lanes. “It’s just a pattern...we're just using that as a cover to add more and more lanes, more and more cars and more and more dangerous, incidents for our pedestrians and our most vulnerable users of the roads,” Segal said.
Drew Ressler, a DOT representative, presented the two grant requests and later described three DOT agenda items for the meeting, including contract approvals and a supplemental engineering agreement. The Powder Springs Road item described a multi‑use trail project; the Stilesboro Road item was presented as an intersection safety improvement that includes new channelized right turns and a westbound left‑turn lane.
Commission discussion noted that some intersections carry traffic from surrounding counties and that improvements are intended to address high traffic volumes. Commissioners approved the DOT contract and grant‑application motions without recorded dissents.
The public comment and the DOT presentations highlight tension between engineering choices that add vehicle capacity (channelized turn lanes and extra turn bays) and advocates’ calls for design approaches that favor pedestrians and vulnerable road users. DOT and county leaders did not alter the grant submittals at the meeting; staff said projects proceed through design and permitting processes where pedestrian elements can be refined.
