I have a childhood friend who just moved from Birmingham back to Marietta for a job offer. Her new company is situated in Midtown, and she told me that for her first day she was going to allow an hour and a half commute time to get to work by 8:30 am because she heard how horrible the traffic is. I live in Brookhaven and it takes about 30 minutes one way, which is not too bad at all. I have worked in downtown/midtown for about 4 years now and plan my commute times, work out times, and social schedule around the traffic. So I was amused and slightly dismayed when I read an article titled “Expert: Traffic killing Atlanta's ability to lure companies.” I love Atlanta and sincerely hope that traffic doesn’t scare people away. Traffic here is bad, but could be worse.
Also, I recently attended a meeting where a DOT representative came to talk to us about the traffic plans that will affect us - short term and long term. Here are just two projects planned for the city that people should know about: 1. Downtown Connector Resurfacing Project: Basically, northbound and southbound lanes will be affected and include lane closures as necessary at night from 7:00 pm – 6:00 am during the week with continuous closures on weekends starting Friday nights through Monday mornings. This project will begin in March of 2008 and last until November 2008.2. 14th Street Bridge Improvement Project:. Although the end product will be a tremendous improvement, in my opinion this is going to be a huge inconvenience as it won’t be completed until 2010. Beginning summer 2008, the 14th street bridge will be closed, Techwood Drive will be closed between 16th and 10th street, and Williams Street has been reduced to one lane between 16th and 10th street.
If you don’t have a GPS navigator system in your car, my advice is to keep a map on you at all times and above all, be a conscientious driver. Please and thank you.
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