Avondale Estates Is Going On A Road Diet

The Georgia Department of Transportation has approved plans to change North Avondale Road from five lanes to just three where it passes through the main part of the city – from Clarendon Avenue to a bit past Sams Crossing. 

Avondale Estates Mayor Jonathan Elmore said the plan is all about safety. It will have bike lanes, side walks, and fewer “curb cuts” – where cars can turn directly off a road into a parking lot.

“When you have fewer curb cuts off of a big road like that, it just improves pedestrian safety because otherwise you’re walking down the sidewalk and you’re kind of constantly looking over your left shoulder to see if a car’s about to turn in behind you,” Elmore said. “And it just, it doesn’t feel as safe.”

GDOT initially rejected the plans last year because their traffic studies said the plan wasn’t feasible. But this past December, Elmore said Avondale Estates re-submitted the proposal and got approved. GDOT officials said the transportation agency did a more in-depth traffic study this time around – it included things like traffic signals – and found the road diet to be possible.

Elmore said the next step is to draw up engineering plans. He said he hopes the project will be completed in the next three or four years.