Alpharetta Approves Downtown Pedestrian Safety Study

ALPHARETTA, GA — The Alpharetta City Council has agreed to a proposal that would study pedestrian safety in the downtown area and other key corridors. AECOM will perform the work for $124,280. The agenda item was unanimously approved at the City Council's Sept. 4 meeting.

According to city documents, the study will evaluate Alpharetta's existing pedestrian facilities with respect to existing and planned projects. It will seek to determine where people are walking today, where they will likely walk once planned projects come online, how can the city's existing infrastructure can be improved and what additions can be installed to support an increase in pedestrian activity.

Roads included in the study area include Canton Street and Old Canton Street, Canton Street at Hopewell Road, Milton Avenue, Main Street, Thompson Street from Haynes Bridge Road to Westside Parkway, Alpharetta Highway, Old Milton Parkway near the Wills Recreation Center, Haynes Bridge Road, Roswell Street and Old Roswell Street, Mayfield Road and North Point Parkway.

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The study will be divided into four parts:

• documenting current pedestrian infrastructure and destinations to get an idea of the current conditions of the existing network;
• performing field evaluations around the focus areas to observed driver and pedestrian behavior to get a sense where pedestrians are crossing the street and how they and drivers are using existing infrastructure;
• using the data gathered from the field to come up with recommendations on improvements to existing or future infrastructure needs to enhance walkability and safety; and
• prepare recommended pedestrian safety measures that could be used with future projects and developments.

Once the city gives AECOM a notice to proceed, it expects the work to take about six months to complete.

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