Johnson Ferry Road Design Plan Blasted

After listening to Cobb planning officials and civic leaders talk about the Johnson Ferry Road Design Plan in late March, East Cobb resident Pete Borden summed up some of the skepticism in the room when he asked:

"Who gets to decide what's aesthetically pleasing?"

Earlier this week, Borden expanded his thoughts in a column in The Marietta Daily Journal, saying the long-term project would "change the corridor into a replica of the neutered, antiseptic, uniform and unbelievably boring main street of a theme park."

The column is behind a subscription wall. He continued:

"The plan is to force all new development into a preset mold, so that everything looks like everything else. Yuck! Uniform street lights, uniform benches, uniform sidewalks, uniform trash receptacles, ad nauseam, add up to a nightmare for us who love the serenity of the small-town character that originally attracted us to the area."

Some readers pointed out that the Johnson Ferry Road corridor hardly has a small-town feel, with its traffic congestion, continuous strip shopping centers and office parks and other commercial development.

The Johnson Ferry Urban Design Plan, developed after months of meetings involving the county, civic leaders and business owners, calls for a very gradual addition of expanded amenities, including sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, street lighting, landscaping and a multi-use trail that's friendly for pedestrians and cyclists and aims to improve safety.

Only businesses that move into the corridor or request rezoning would be asked to incorporate design components along their portion of Johnson Ferry.

Borden also was skeptical of comments by District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott that the plan would not cost taxpayers any money and claims the design effort "was engendered by some 'johnny-come-lately' group determined to force its tastes on the rest of the community." He concluded: 

"I won’t live to see this travesty come to fruition. Unfortunately for them, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to live with the boring, sterile world these folks will create."

We've attached the design plan presented last month so you can have a look for yourself, and feel free to answer the following questions:

Are the Johnson Ferry Road design plans too uniform? How would you try to improve the corridor if you don't like what's been proposed? Tell us in the comments.