OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Dekalb County Transportation Update Meeting - March 18, 2026

Board of Commissioners & CommitteesWednesday, March 18, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateWednesday, March 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 19:03

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Look all the way to the right, you'll see that Columbia Drive from Clarendon Avenue to Katie Kerr is currently on the LME 26 uh list.

0:12

Uh and that's the LMEC funds that the board recently approved that we get from the state.

0:16

So that will come up soon for resurfacing.

0:19

You also look up near the top of the list, you see Columbia and Rainbow.

0:24

That section of Columbia Drive was resurfaced in 2019, and it's currently rated at a one.

0:32

Now, also looking on the right, you see these three sections with a yellow dot.

0:37

Those three sections, while when we created the 300, uh the splot one list of 300 miles, none of those streets were rated high enough.

0:46

When we created the 200 mile list of splots two, those three highlighted sections were not rated high enough to be placed on that list.

0:55

Currently, as of the most recent rating, those three sections that have the yellow dot are now rated high enough to be considered for resurfacing.

1:05

But again, they don't currently appear on the 200 mile list because they weren't rated high enough at that time.

1:11

So uh with that being said, those streets uh should we have another splot should appear on the next group of splots resurfaced.

1:22

We we can't give them an exact time uh because we don't know uh when that next list will will come out, but they will stay on the list and they will move up accordingly as time goes.

1:36

Now, another section of streets uh the community wanted us to look at Spring Valley Subdivision that's in the Columbia Drive area.

1:44

We uh pull those streets up as well.

1:47

If you will look at the rating uh column to the right, you will see that the that um there's one street that um rated 29, and it is listed.

2:03

That section of street is currently listed on the Elmic, not L me is currently listed on the SPLOS 200 mile list of streets.

2:13

So that one section is currently listed on that on that list to be resurfaced.

2:19

None of the other streets in the Spring Valley subdivision are currently rated high enough or listed on the 200 mile list of streets.

2:30

So those were the two uh streets that uh the community wanted us to look at Columbia Drive and the Spring Valley subdivision, and we provided this information to them uh on uh a number of occasions.

2:46

So, and then one of the other questions that they they asked us was well was for plans or construction plans.

2:53

We don't do construction plans for uh resurfacing, but I did provide in the presentation a typical section just so they would be able to see the one and one half inch uh layer of resurfacing.

3:07

This is after the street is milled and prepped and resurfaced.

3:13

So that's all of the information in this presentation that's regarding the resurfacing process and the situation where their streets fell in the process.

3:24

Okay.

3:26

Wasn't there an issue of it?

3:30

Um pardon me, Zach, you're breaking up.

3:33

Was there an issue about a pot a pothole?

3:35

Oh, yes, there was a question uh that was raised last week about a small sinkhole on a street.

3:42

Um, and um initially I thought it was one that we had taken care of a month ago, but it wasn't.

3:50

We went out on that same day and uh took care of that.

3:53

So that small depression in the road has been taken care of.

4:00

All right, uh, if there's pictures related to that, um, can someone send that to me?

4:07

Um, or and whatever else you can share about that repair and that repair being done, so I can um and the date that it was done, so I can articulate that it's been done as you um guys are you know, maybe over you could imagine not everyone's um emails may be sent out and you know, information provided.

4:26

Not everyone has it um or has accessed it, is what I will say.

4:32

And so when it comes up as a question, I want to be able to speak to when we did it um when we got it done because um, as you can imagine, folks will argue that it's still not done, even though it had been completed.

4:48

You can certainly get that photograph to you, Commissioner.

4:50

I I think actually one of the members of the community saw the crew out there and um taking care of it and responded to that effect.

4:58

But we'll get the photo and the date.

5:00

Thank you.

5:02

So there was also discussion regarding uh traffic study crash analysis.

5:08

Um data showed what uh that is correct.

5:13

I pulled the slide up, and Tim is available to share that information.

5:17

And I appreciate that in hearing that because um, you know, um Isaac White constituent services, he's gone out there.

5:23

They were insistent, of course, meeting on the road and you know, in a side road there.

5:28

Um and so just to show some of the dangers there and which he was able to observe some.

5:36

So I'm glad that we're addressing this as well.

5:38

Yep.

5:39

And so we've done a study uh or an assessment and compared that to other areas throughout the county.

5:44

I believe the average per year uh was like 6.6 crashes, which is actually low compared.

5:52

Well, it's all relative, right?

5:54

But yeah, that's on the next slide.

5:57

We actually we actually had GDOT run uh um analysis on that, how it compares to Cab County, and they said it was rated 613, that's out of like a thousand.

6:07

That's the crash rate, the number of crashes per uh volume.

6:13

So they and it didn't show up on any of their lists, so not like high up on the crash list.

6:20

And so is paper or someone uh when we discussed this the other day.

6:25

So this uh commissioner, you'll see uh the primarily, I guess it's primarily rear end crashes is over five years, 33 crashes, 6.6 crashes per year, 14 rear end, eight side swipe, so on and so forth.

6:40

But uh I think someone said an interesting statistic uh that last year we had I don't know if it was 34,000 or some number like that crashes throughout the county of which you know maybe six or so were at this site.

6:55

Is someone able to speak to that just to tell the commissioner?

7:01

I believe the police chief said that.

7:03

Yeah, that was Chief Pedro.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Transportation Safety████████████████████████31%
Community Engagement████████10%
Summary of Proceedings

Dekalb County Transportation Update Meeting - March 18, 2026

This meeting was a briefing for a commissioner on transportation and public safety concerns in the Columbia Drive area, including road resurfacing, crash analysis, speed studies, and specific community requests. Staff provided detailed data on project statuses, safety assessments, and upcoming actions.

Discussion Items

  • Columbia Drive Resurfacing: The section from Clarendon Avenue to Katie Kerr is on the LMEC list (funding from the state, recently approved by the board) and will be resurfaced soon. The section at Columbia and Rainbow was resurfaced in 2019 and is currently rated 1 (best condition). Three sections marked with a yellow dot were not rated high enough for the SPLOST 1 300-mile list or SPLOST 2 200-mile list but now meet the criteria; they will be considered for the next SPLOST resurfacing cycle. A timeline for the next list is not yet available.
  • Spring Valley Subdivision: One street is rated 29 and is on the SPLOST 200-mile list. None of the other streets are rated high enough or listed.
  • Pothole/Sinkhole Repair: A small sinkhole on a street was repaired the same day it was reported. The commissioner requested photos and the date of repair to share with constituents.
  • Crash Analysis: A GDOT analysis of Columbia Drive found 33 crashes over five years (6.6 per year), primarily rear-end (14) and side-swipe (8). The crash rate ranked 613 out of 1,000 compared to Cobb County and did not appear on any high-crash lists. Countywide, there were approximately 34,000 crashes last year (per Chief Pedro).
  • Speed Study: The 85th percentile speed was 46 mph (6 mph over the posted limit). Police are conducting aggressive enforcement, especially during school hours.
  • Signage and Vegetation: A sign on the right-of-way will remain, but vegetation will be trimmed to improve visibility. Reflective striping on signal heads was considered. Yellow and red clearance times were already adjusted.
  • Road Restriping: A restriping project for Columbia Drive is in procurement. It is on a short list to be fast-tracked.
  • Cedar Walk Lane (174 to CD Walk): Last year's rating was 26, which did not qualify for resurfacing. Staff will recheck the current rating and inspect the street.

Key Outcomes

  • Staff will provide the commissioner with: photos and date of the pothole repair, crash data and GDOT analysis (including pedestrian incidents), speed enforcement data, timelines for each recommended action, and updated information on the striping project.
  • Vegetation trimming will be prioritized.
  • The PowerPoint slides and meeting recording will be shared with the community.
  • The commissioner offered to assist with community education and resolution, suggesting the item could be brought to the PEX committee if needed.

Meeting Transcript

Look all the way to the right, you'll see that Columbia Drive from Clarendon Avenue to Katie Kerr is currently on the LME 26 uh list. Uh and that's the LMEC funds that the board recently approved that we get from the state. So that will come up soon for resurfacing. You also look up near the top of the list, you see Columbia and Rainbow. That section of Columbia Drive was resurfaced in 2019, and it's currently rated at a one. Now, also looking on the right, you see these three sections with a yellow dot. Those three sections, while when we created the 300, uh the splot one list of 300 miles, none of those streets were rated high enough. When we created the 200 mile list of splots two, those three highlighted sections were not rated high enough to be placed on that list. Currently, as of the most recent rating, those three sections that have the yellow dot are now rated high enough to be considered for resurfacing. But again, they don't currently appear on the 200 mile list because they weren't rated high enough at that time. So uh with that being said, those streets uh should we have another splot should appear on the next group of splots resurfaced. We we can't give them an exact time uh because we don't know uh when that next list will will come out, but they will stay on the list and they will move up accordingly as time goes. Now, another section of streets uh the community wanted us to look at Spring Valley Subdivision that's in the Columbia Drive area. We uh pull those streets up as well. If you will look at the rating uh column to the right, you will see that the that um there's one street that um rated 29, and it is listed. That section of street is currently listed on the Elmic, not L me is currently listed on the SPLOS 200 mile list of streets. So that one section is currently listed on that on that list to be resurfaced. None of the other streets in the Spring Valley subdivision are currently rated high enough or listed on the 200 mile list of streets. So those were the two uh streets that uh the community wanted us to look at Columbia Drive and the Spring Valley subdivision, and we provided this information to them uh on uh a number of occasions. So, and then one of the other questions that they they asked us was well was for plans or construction plans. We don't do construction plans for uh resurfacing, but I did provide in the presentation a typical section just so they would be able to see the one and one half inch uh layer of resurfacing. This is after the street is milled and prepped and resurfaced. So that's all of the information in this presentation that's regarding the resurfacing process and the situation where their streets fell in the process. Okay. Wasn't there an issue of it? Um pardon me, Zach, you're breaking up. Was there an issue about a pot a pothole? Oh, yes, there was a question uh that was raised last week about a small sinkhole on a street. Um, and um initially I thought it was one that we had taken care of a month ago, but it wasn't. We went out on that same day and uh took care of that. So that small depression in the road has been taken care of. All right, uh, if there's pictures related to that, um, can someone send that to me? Um, or and whatever else you can share about that repair and that repair being done, so I can um and the date that it was done, so I can articulate that it's been done as you um guys are you know, maybe over you could imagine not everyone's um emails may be sent out and you know, information provided. Not everyone has it um or has accessed it, is what I will say. And so when it comes up as a question, I want to be able to speak to when we did it um when we got it done because um, as you can imagine, folks will argue that it's still not done, even though it had been completed. You can certainly get that photograph to you, Commissioner. I I think actually one of the members of the community saw the crew out there and um taking care of it and responded to that effect. But we'll get the photo and the date. Thank you. So there was also discussion regarding uh traffic study crash analysis. Um data showed what uh that is correct. I pulled the slide up, and Tim is available to share that information. And I appreciate that in hearing that because um, you know, um Isaac White constituent services, he's gone out there. They were insistent, of course, meeting on the road and you know, in a side road there. Um and so just to show some of the dangers there and which he was able to observe some. So I'm glad that we're addressing this as well. Yep. And so we've done a study uh or an assessment and compared that to other areas throughout the county. I believe the average per year uh was like 6.6 crashes, which is actually low compared. Well, it's all relative, right?

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