Transportation Updates

Improvements Should Help Traffic, Parking Woes

The Woodstock Hub Transformation Project, designed to improve traffic and parking challenges downtown, is one of many efforts planned on the city, county and state level to make a substantial difference for the city’s residents and visitors.

The project leverages the existing downtown roadway network and accompanying infrastructure to improve mobility significantly through the center of the city without sacrificing the pedestrian-friendly environment. The goals are to:
• Establish a left turn capability for Towne Lake Parkway at Main Street.
• Create a roundabout at Towne Lake Parkway and Mill Street.
• Return Mill Street to two-way traffic.
• Reposition the Mill/Paden/Pinehill intersection.
• Create considerably more flexibility for the traffic utilizing grid streets (Reeves, Market and Paden streets) around the popular Elm Street Green area.

Other projects that were presented at a recent Woodstock Transportation Summit include state improvements on I-575 and Highway 92, and county improvements on nearby corridors, including Trickum Road. The summit, which offered information on the major projects in progress or in the planning stages, was presented by city, county and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) officials.

Intersection Plans
Improvements for Towne Lake Parkway at Buckhead Crossing, and for Main Street at Ridgewalk Parkway, include establishing three new dual left turn lanes at southbound Buckhead Crossing (which was to have been completed in December 2019), eastbound Ridgewalk Parkway (May 2020), and northbound Main Street (May 2020). Twelve other new single-turn lanes were highlighted by the city at the summit, with an emphasis on lessening impediments to traffic flow throughout city streets. Long-term improvements were shared for Rope Mill and Dobbs roads, as well as the extension of Ridge Trail that will reach from Ridgewalk Parkway to Rope Mill Road by early 2020.

Neese Road Improvements
The overall improvement of Neese Road includes a major transformation of the Neese at Highway 92 intersection, as well as upgrades to the entire road. The Neese intersection component includes dual left turn lanes on eastbound Highway 92 turning onto Neese, as well as dual left turn lanes southbound on Neese turning onto Highway 92. This improvement is scheduled for 2021 and will reduce substantially the backups on Neese Road and Highway 92.

Goals for I-575
GDOT shared information about the multi-year project to improve the I-575 interchanges at Towne Lake Parkway and Ridgewalk Parkway, which will include multiple lane additions for traffic entering and exiting I-575 at these two interchanges. While these substantial and complex changes will take many years to execute, the public will notice many of the immediate improvements that are being completed rapidly across the city to improve the flow of traffic.

– Rob Hogan, director of Woodstock’s Public Works Department.