But when Johns Creek began work to install the light, Roswell revoked the construction permit.
“Their intention was to install the signal without doing the road improvements” that Roswell required before the signal went in, Roswell Transportation Director Steve Acenbrak told the city council’s transportation committee on Wednesday.
“When that happened, we revoked the permit. Either do it all the way or don’t do it all.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, “they didn’t like our position,” Acenbrak told the committee.
The majority of the intersection, where Nesbit Ferry and Bumbelow Road meet, is within Roswell city limits.
According to Acenbrak, on Feb. 4 Johns Creek began work to put in the light with little notification to Roswell and with changes in the original plans, deleting a turn lane and installing the mast arm foundation for the signal in the wrong location.
Roswell revoked the construction right-of-way encroachment permit a week later.
Since last summer, Johns Creek residents have been pressing for a light there to turn left onto Nesbit Ferry, particularly at peak hours.
Johns Creek approached Roswell with a proposal to split the cost, which would be around $100,000 each.
But last fall, Roswell told Johns Creek the intersection wasn’t high on its list for a signal and the city wouldn’t be involved in paying for one.
Johns Creek then floated an offer to take over and maintain Nesbit Ferry if Roswell would repave it, which would cost $500,000, and pay half the cost of a signal at the intersection.
Roswell again said no, noting the city preferred to keep the road under its own jurisdiction.
Johns Creek obtained a permit to do the work, which included the intersection improvements, Acenbrak indicated. Roswell maintains that the light should not go up without those improvements being done first.
“We’re not asking them to do anything we wouldn’t require anyone else to do,” Councilman Rich Dippolito said.
City staff drew up an intergovernmental agreement spelling out exactly what needs to be done, who should do it and how it will be paid for.
“I don’t want a border war with our neighbor,” said Mayor Jere Wood. “They may not behave in a way we think is appropriate, but they are our neighbor and we are going to have to work with them. We need to set an example, be a leader and say this is the way it should be done.”
Committee members agreed to put the agreement on a regular council agenda for a vote, with the exception that Roswell will not take responsibility for the light once it’s there.
Both council members Becky Wynn and Kent Igleheart opposed sending the agreement on to a formal council vote. Wynn said she had been against the light ever since it was first proposed because her constituents have complained to her there were enough signals in the area.
“I don’t know why we’re letting another jurisdiction put a light on our road that is going to impede our citizens,” she said. “And for them to completely ignore everything they said were going to do, that’s just icing on the cake.”
This is a major safety issue.
Why get into a border war?
Stop playing politics with our safety..
Shouldn't this be playing on the 6 o'clock news?
1. Someone will get killed making a turn onto or out of Brumbelow Road because of speeders in the westbound blind curve
2. Someone will steal / pilfer the copper and precious metals from the equipment Johns Creek has already installed
It's borderline negligence on Roswell's part to have allowed this intersection to be as it is for as long as it has, Johns Creek's contractual obligations aside.
There are a lot of people living on Brumbelow who work and do business with Roswell. If Nesbit Ferry is their domain, then it's in Roswell's best interests to make it a) less dangerous at that intersection and b) reduce congestion at the intersection for school buses that might be coming through the area.
The fact is is, it's a blind curve (westbound) through which people speed and get impatient at those turning left onto Brumbelow. So a turning lane is misused as a passing lane shoulder, thus resulting, every so often, a nice little accident. Any school bus that needs to turn left down that road runs the risk of getting rear ended by people speeding through the blind curve westbound, let alone regular drivers.
Whether or not you (Roswell residents) care for your Johns Creek neighbors or not, there's no excuse for being belligerent about a safety improvement, esp. in that location. If Johns Creek was not compliant, that's one thing, but I get the sense that Roswell politicians AND residents are against this sort of improvement in the first place.
Roswell needs to address its own problems;
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/19150911/investigation-into-roswell-program-halted
This intersection has needed attention for some time so its not surprising Roswell doesn't consider it a priority.
Mayor "bully" Wood & Roswell Transportation Director Steve we'll "revoked the permit" Acenbrak have no problem wasting Roswell property owners monies by spending $10 million to beautify the H. Bridge / Ga 400 intersection which are STATE ROADS and should have been improved using GDOT monies.
And what did Roswell DOT accomplish? They improve overall travel times thru this intersection for the average driver by 20 seconds each day (10 seconds in the morning rush hour and the same in the evening). DUH?????????.
After the greedy gets their pockets filled,a light with no respect to traffic flow will exist.
Solution (1)
To any one coming up to the light on Brumbelow, simply turn right and find a suitable place to turn around if you insist on remaining on Nesbit Ferry.
(2) Turn right at Brumbelow and then take first left and turn left onto Holcomb Bridge.
(3) Don,t go there at all during busy times.
(4) Sit and wait , you are not that much in a hurry.
Now they get the chance to prove how much they care for those very same folks and do the right thing and now they don't.
First they don't want to spend a dime on the light, JC decides to go it alone and now they throw up roadblocks?
Roswell...Step up and do the right thing.