Sandy Springs City Council Work Session - March 17, 2026

The work session of the Sandy Springs City Council was held on March 17, 2026 at 6:01 PM, presided over by Mayor Pro Tem John Paulson. The session celebrated the 2026 Citizens Leadership Academy graduation and featured a lengthy review of the GDOT Innovative Interchange Concept Plans for I-285 and Roswell Road. Council members expressed strong, bipartisan opposition to the current design, citing severe concerns for local businesses, pedestrian safety, residential connectivity, and emergency services.

2026 Sandy Springs Citizens Leadership Academy Graduation

• Mayor Pro Tem Paulson recognized the third graduating class. Over 30 residents were individually named and participated in a group photograph.
• City Manager Eden Freeman announced applications for the next class will open in late summer, with the program starting in September.
• Graduates were encouraged to become advocates for the city and share their knowledge about local government.

GDOT Innovative Interchange Concept Plans for I-285 and Roswell Road (Item 2026-063)

Presentation Details:

• Engineers Joel Seagraves, Andrew Farmer, and Andrew Smith (Gresham Smith) and GDOT District Program Manager Nebyou E. Negash presented the scoping study.
• Preferred Alternative: A Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), selected for its highest benefit-cost ratio and compatibility with the future I-285 express lanes. Alternatives included a Displaced Left Turn (DLT), Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI), and an improved TUDI.
• Cost: Total project cost is estimated at $70-85 million. Only the $1.25 million scoping phase is currently funded, with the City contributing $150,000.
• Right-of-Way: 23 parcels impacted, with one potential displacement (a gas station). Proposed ROW expands from the current 60-220 feet to 75-260 feet in this highly built-out corridor.
• Pedestrian Safety: Presenters stated the design maximizes safety by reducing pedestrian conflict points from 78 to 10 along the corridor.
• Design Variances: Anticipated for median usage, access control, and lateral offset to obstructions due to the urban nature of the corridor.
• Constructability: High road user costs during construction (~$37,800 per day) justify early completion incentives. Complex staging and utility coordination are expected.

Councilmember Andrew J. Chinsky (District 6):

• Acknowledged the intersection is "busy and suboptimal" but argued the plan is "extremely disruptive" to small businesses and residents in one of the city's most heavily pedestrian-trafficked areas.
• Multi-Use Path: Criticized the proposed 8-foot width, stating best practices recommend at least 10 feet, and the high traffic density warrants 12-14 feet. He noted the plan to route pedestrians across the bridge in the middle of the DDI is unique but challenging for walkability.
• Business Impact: Raised concerns about the displaced gas station (Par. 7) and questioned whether another station (Par. 8) should be a displacement since access is cut off. Emphasized the negative impact on Center Ice Arena (Par. 10), which sees 15,000-20,000 visitors during the holiday season.
• Emergency Services: Forcefully rejected the presenters' suggestion that fire trucks could simply drive over 6-inch curbs to navigate closed roads, requesting direct coordination with Police and Fire departments.
• Key Demand: Strongly advocated for extensive community engagement and individual outreach to property owners before the design is finalized.

Councilmember Mary Ford (District 5):

• Supported community engagement and asked that outreach materials be multilingual to reflect the diversity of the area.
• Questioned the process for identifying "historical areas" in the study zone (desktop screening was confirmed).
• Confirmed the bridge is intended to be fully replaced and asked about project milestones. The presenters estimated a 4-5 year timeline for design, permitting, and right-of-way acquisition post-scoping.

Councilmember Melissa Mular (District 3):

• Representing the north side, she provided extensive data on the density: 324 single-family homes/townhomes/condos, 650 apartment units (353 market-rate, 297 senior living), 22-25 commercial properties, and the heavily used Allen Park.
• Design Philosophy: Urged evaluation through the lens of pedestrian and bicycle mobility, not just vehicular traffic. Noted other GDOT DDIs function well but are not in such a dense corridor.
• Connectivity: Questioned whether the north access road could extend to Carpenter Drive to relieve proposed cul-de-sacs (a 10-15 foot grade change was cited as an obstacle).
• Traffic Modeling: Asked if local roads (Cliftwood Way, private plaza roads) were properly modeled, as her concern was about non-signalized intersections. Presenters agreed to review the micro-simulation.
• Noise Mitigation: Raised the long-standing issue of noise walls for the Atwater community and Allen Park. GDOT confirmed the scoping study is too early for this, and it would be addressed under the I-285 express lanes project.
• Public Involvement: Expressed strong disappointment that the concept report will be completed in April without a prior public open house, insisting that public input be gathered.

Councilmember Frank Roberts (District 4):

• Predicted many businesses will not survive the design or construction. Focused on the service station and businesses on Northwoods Drive, noting their access from Roswell Road is cut off.
• Asked if an access road could be built to serve those businesses. It was confirmed an access road was considered but removed from plans due to cost and constructibility issues related to the difficult terrain and large transmission poles.

Mayor Pro Tem John Paulson (Presiding):

• Delivered a scathing critique, calling the design "a terrible design" and predicting it would make life "impossible" for businesses like the ice rink to survive.
• Half-Mile Detour: Argued that forcing customers and residents to drive a half-mile out of their way instead of a 200-foot turn-in will cause businesses to fail, and this cost must be balanced against the cost of an access road.
• Unanimous Concern: Paraphrased the Council's unified position that the presenters "haven't fully thought through" the negative impacts on the community.
• Reasonable Request: Described the request to extend the cul-de-sac to Carpenter Drive as "reasonable."

Key Outcomes

• No Formal Vote: The work session was for discussion only. No formal action was taken.
• Unified Opposition: The City Council was unanimous in demanding significant revisions to the proposed interchange design.
• Specific Modification Requests: Council requested a wider multi-use path (10-14 feet), better vehicular access for businesses (including extending the north access road), and formal coordination with Police and Fire departments.
• Community Engagement Mandate: GDOT and Gresham Smith were clearly instructed to conduct extensive, multilingual public outreach with residents and property owners before the concept is finalized or approved. GDOT acknowledged this feedback.
• Next Steps: The concept report is finalized. A public open house is anticipated later in 2026. The project remains in the early scoping phase with no funding committed for preliminary engineering, right-of-way, or construction.