By Helen Borland / Staff

Some residents of Grimes Bridge Road think Roswell's new "Roundabout" is a waste of money.

Marshall Walter, a resident of Grimes Bridge Road is disgusted that the proposed roundabout on Grimes Bridge Road and Norcross Street/Warsaw Road is "a done deal." He attended an Open House on February 4 at the Adult Recreation Center on the matter and noted that a chart on the wall said plans for the roundabout were started in 2008.

Walter is opposed to "the idea of spending money in a depression that we don't have. I'm a fiscal conservative and I'm mad at [Roswell Councilwoman] Becky Wynn because she's supposed to be a conservative. I was upset because I wanted to make a point. I've lived here for 38 years and Roswell politics is a joke." Walter says Wynn does not seek enough input from her constituents. "I'm against it because it costs money. It's now $950,000, but it will end up costing $2 million. Just like the [Grimes Bridge Road] bridge went over budget; but [Deputy Director of Transportation] Low wouldn't admit it. He wouldn't say yes or no. It's a done deal," Walter alleged.

But Wynn countered Walter's claim. "What we have to look at is the safety of our citizens," Wynn explained. "This particular intersection is one of the twelve most dangerous in the city." The two-year councilwoman said the cost is an estimate, and it may go up or down. "Allocating money to make our city a safer place is what we should be doing," Wynn maintained.

Wynn said the roundabout is in the city's overall master transportation plan, and that when she brought it forward as the council's transportation liaison, it was approved by the council. "This initiative was voted on in the 2010 budget and passed by Mayor and Council," she added.

When asked if he was aware of this fact, Walter admitted that he quit going to the council meetings 25 years ago. "I used to go every week when the meetings were in the old jail. Now you have to sign a list to be on the agenda," he complained.

GRIMES' GRIPERS

John Klingner, another resident of Grimes Bridge Road who did not attend the open house, agrees with Walter on his main point. He feels the roundabout is "not necessary; it's a waste of money." He's also upset that Grimes Bridge Road will be tied up for another two years with construction and says it's a mistake to put a roundabout in a residential district. According to Klingner, if the lights on Holcomb Bridge Road were timed properly the congestion problem would be solved. Klingner is of the opinion that drivers use Grimes Bridge Road as an alternate to Holcomb Bridge Road. "The roundabout will just cause more people to use Grimes Bridge Road and it won't reduce the number of accidents at that intersection," he predicted.

Mary Browne, who is a neighbor of Klingner and Walter, agrees. "I think the city is spending money that's not necessary. The traffic doesn't warrant it. I've lived here about 15 years and I've never seen an accident there [at the intersection of Grimes Bridge and Warsaw Roads]. I go through there between 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and the traffic is not heavy then. They're very short lights; they're synced so there's not that much wait time. There may be other areas that need something like that; I don't see it in this area. Now that the bridge is expanded there isn't that much traffic. Maybe people don't know it's open yet. We as citizens only see it [infrastructure improvement plans] a few weeks or months before something is done."

WEB-LESS

When advised that the information is on the city's website and a lot of discussion takes place at city council meetings, Browne responded that she has never been to the city of Roswell's website and doesn't go to the council meetings. Browne declared, "The city needs to send us information by postal service ahead of time."

 Contact Helen Borland at hborland@beaconcast.com.