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Neighbors urge cancellation of Crestline–Chrysler roundabout tied to SPLOST sidewalk funding
Summary
Residents told the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners they oppose a roundabout and related land take on Crestline Drive, saying the sidewalk funding is tied to a roundabout they do not want and that property owners were not informed until November.
Several Crestline Drive residents urged the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on March 11 to cancel a proposed roundabout and related sidewalk work on Crestline/Chrysler (Crestline–Chrysler) that they said would take private land and remove trees.
Mark Capson, a resident of 1842 Chrysler Drive, told commissioners he and his neighbors appreciated that Commissioner Michelle Long Spears and Commissioner Ted Terry visited the site but said they were not consulted before funding was secured. “It was great to hear Commissioner Long Spears tell us that this project would not be forced on us if we did not want it,” Capson said, adding that funding for the project comes from “tier 1 SPLOST funding.”
Capson said the sidewalk portion could only be funded along with the roundabout, which he and others oppose because it would require land beyond the public right-of-way, remove “hundreds of trees,” and reduce property values. He asked the commission to cancel the design work and reallocate the SPLOST funds to other safety projects.
Lynn Tetley, another neighbor, said a “handful” of residents asked for the sidewalk and speed reduction but that impacted property owners learned of the design only in November and were not invited to earlier meetings. “We have a lot of other angry neighbors that are ready to cancel this project as proposed,” Tetley said.
Neighbors offered alternatives they said would address pedestrian safety without a roundabout: speed reductions, installation of speed tables, inexpensive speed strips, and radar speed signs. Capson said Commissioner Terry had suggested speed strips and that the residents favored lower-cost, localized measures while they “wait our turn” for other non–tier 1 SPLOST sidewalk funds.
The speakers asked county staff to confirm whether non–tier 1 SPLOST or other grants could fund a sidewalk without the roundabout; Capson said there were grants the neighborhood could help pursue.
No formal vote on the Crestline–Chrysler project was recorded in the March 11 meeting minutes. Commissioners present acknowledged the public comments and site visits; no further action was listed on the agenda for that project at the meeting.
Ending
Neighbors said they will continue to press county staff and their commissioners for alternatives to the roundabout; they asked the county to confirm funding sources and to consider lower-cost traffic-calming devices while neighborhood-level options or grants are explored.
