Politics & Government

Johnson Ferry/Woodlawn Traffic Changes Planned

Improvements prompted by a serious accident in March do not include a requested turn signal -- for now.

The Cobb Department of Transportation has begun making safety improvements at the intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Woodlawn Drive following a horrific accident there earlier this spring.

The changes include moving a stop bar to enable a near 90-degree left turn from northbound Johnson Ferry to southbound Woodlawn, instead of a much sharper turn that currently exists.

But for the moment, there are no plans to install a green arrow to help motorists complete that turn.

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It's a turn a Kennesaw motorist was trying to make in the late afternoon of March 16 when his pickup truck struck a Lexus heading southbound on Johnson Ferry.

A passenger in the Lexus, 22-year-old Kyle Lysaght of East Cobb, was seriously injured when his vehicle slammed into a utility pole during the accident.

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East Cobb Patch readers commented about the dangers of that turn at the time and District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott was contacted about the matter.

But at a town hall meeting Wednesday night at Walton High School, Ott said the peak traffic figures of vehicles making the turn do not warrant a left turn signal, at least for the time being.

A turn signal also would cause an estimated 25 percent delay in southbound Johnson Ferry traffic getting through the intersection, he said.

Cobb DOT has been monitoring peak-hour traffic numbers in the wake of the accident. Southbound Johnson Ferry traffic averaged 164 left turns at the intersection (and into Woodlawn Commons Shopping Center) during the 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. period.

Northbound Johnson Ferry numbers averaged less than 40 left turns onto Woodlawn during the same morning hour.

The stop bar will be relocated 15 feet, closer to a strip shopping center at the intersection that includes a CVS store. Additional road striping to further mark the turn area also was put down on Tuesday.

"A turn signal is not out of the realm of possibility," Ott said, adding that Cobb DOT will continue to monitor traffic in the intersection "to make sure what we're doing is enough."

Ott also said motorists turning left out of Woodlawn Commons to southbound Johnson Ferry near the Goldberg's Bagel location will soon be unable to do so. A median will be installed to prevent that turn due to safety concerns.

"It's just dangerous," he said. "There's not enough room to get across the northbound [Johnson Ferry] lanes and into the southbound lanes."


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