Atlanta Business Chronicle
From the December 5, 2005 print edition
Ray Glier - Contributing Writer
Developers paving way for smoother traffic flow
Lindbergh area revitalization spurs solutions
As the neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Piedmont and Lindbergh is
refashioned into a live-work-play zone, developers are searching for ways to alleviate
traffic congestion.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has the area on its radar, along with other
agencies, such as the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), the Atlanta
Regional Commission and city of Atlanta planners.
Among signs that the traffic flow could slow down further, the mixed-use shopping and
residential project by The Sembler Co. is coming out of the ground on Piedmont and will
feature big-box giants Best Buy and Target. The Cosmopolitan at Lindbergh, which will
feature high-end living units, is under construction at Lindbergh and Adina. There are
plans for a mixed-use development on the site of the old Gold Club on Piedmont, near
Interstate 85.
The Lane Investment & Development LLC and Harold A. Dawson Co. partnership,
which is redeveloping the 1940s-era apartments at Lindmont into high-end living units,
have taken a proactive approach to dealing with the traffic. Joel Brockmann of Lane said
the partners are financing road improvements around the new complex.
"On our Lindmont property we're going to give people another way to get from Piedmont
over to Lindbergh and go east on Lindbergh," Brockmann said. "We're restoring the
street grid in that area. One of the things the experts have talked about over and over is
diffusing the flow."
Lane and Dawson submitted their plans to GRTA, which has conducted a Development
of Regional Impact (DRI) study to see how the Lindmont redevelopment will impact
traffic in the area. GRTA is the state authority whose mandate is to improve mobility, air
quality and land-use practices.
There also will be an extension of Garson Drive, which comes off Piedmont and
continues around to the MARTA station. Brockmann said that extension will be done
with private dollars.
"We don't want the traffic to get screwed up, because if you can't get on the roadways and
get out of there it makes it a little difficult to satisfy residents," Brockmann said.
In addition to the review by GRTA, Lane/Dawson and other developers have met with a
Lindbergh Area Design Review Committee, which also discusses traffic concerns. Some
of the traffic congestion in the area will be relieved just by having the MARTA station,
which is across Piedmont from the Lindmont and Sembler projects.
"A certain component of any development will use MARTA and I think the mixed-use
apartments of Lindmont redevelopment will use MARTA quite a bit," Brockmann said.
Mike Lobdell, a preconstruction engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation,
said the Georgia DOT, while it has had discussions with the city, has no plan on the
board to widen Piedmont and create dedicated left-turn lanes so there are three lanes
moving through the area. Piedmont and Lindbergh, at the congested site, are state roads.
Several other developers asked to comment on the traffic plans for Lindbergh/Piedmont
did not return calls.
Although there is nothing in the long-range plan for widening Piedmont and having three
through lanes, Lobdell said there is money authorized for street-scaping in the area,
which will improve the pedestrian access.
Shaun Green, a transportation engineer with GRTA, said developers understand the
issues with traffic and how to improve conditions, such as adding parallel roads and
connections. GRTA helps developers polish their transportation plans with a set of
conditions that are enforced by the local zoning authority.
"The development patterns we're seeing are from developers who seem to know what
they are doing, especially within the city limits," Green said. "They are adding to that
roadway network, rather than subtracting from it."