Canton city manager outlines traffic changes, RCUT and safety steps for new Cherokee High School opening

Billy Peppers, Canton’s city manager, told the Cherokee County School Board on May 14 that the city is coordinating several traffic interventions ahead of students occupying the new Cherokee High School campus in August.

Peppers said the city and district have mapped access points, performed a March 10 dry-run with 55 bus drivers and staff, and plan another practice run on May 19 to evaluate traffic flow. He emphasized the use of an RCUT (restricted center U-turn) design at the Martin Luther King Drive entrance as a recommended solution from the Georgia Department of Transportation to preserve flow and reduce conflict points.

The RCUT design would allow drivers to enter the campus from MLK but direct afternoon exiting traffic to the right toward Reinhardt College Parkway, preventing left turns that could back up Riverstone Boulevard. Peppers said the protected left at Reinhardt College Parkway is controlled by GDOT and that the city has already hired an engineering firm to support a letter asking GDOT to authorize a protected left where warranted.

Peppers shared queuing and capacity estimates: the current high school site supports about 40 vehicles in a typical queuing lane, while the new front-entrance configuration could queue roughly 112 car riders in that lane. He said those are capacity estimates rather than peak-volume predictions, and added, "It doesn't mean that's gonna happen because you don't have 117 or 170 students being dropped off at the same minute of the hour." He and staff stressed that the first weeks of school will rely on observation, enforcement and driver education in addition to engineering fixes.

Board members asked for examples and data behind the RCUT choice. Peppers pointed to prior RCUT implementations along State Route 20 in the county and said those installations reduced cross-direction conflict by forcing consistent turning patterns. He also noted constraints imposed by GDOT: "GDOT is not going to allow us to have a school safety zone in the area on Reinhardt College Parkway" because that roadway is a divided median route with signals at either end, he said.

Cost and timing details included a $34,000 estimate for concrete work and restriping tied to an immediate project and two signal projects in the area that Peppers said have approach prices near $1,000,000 each. He said the concrete/restriping contract is slated to begin the first week of June and take about 30 days to complete.

Peppers recommended the school board consider joining a letter to GDOT to support a protected left during peak hours and to help accelerate any warranted signal changes. He also described follow-up steps: gathering hard counts once school opens, submitting a warrant study to GDOT if volumes indicate a new signal is needed, and coordinating with school police and city public safety for the first weeks of operation.

Why it matters: the new CHS consolidates several campuses and will concentrate student drivers, car riders and buses in a smaller area. Board members repeatedly flagged the Reinhardt College Parkway/MLK intersection as a local safety concern; Peppers said the city will continue re-evaluating once real counts are available.

– "We really don't know what that impact is gonna look like when people are consolidated in 1 area," Peppers said, noting the need for post-opening observation and potential adjustments.

The board did not take a formal vote on the traffic plan; officials said further follow-up with GDOT and on-the-ground monitoring will guide next steps.