Metro school systems boost safety protocols after Winder shooting ► PAGE 5
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City opens talks on future sidewalk plans By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
CITY OF SANDY SPRINGS/PROVIDED
A map shows plans for a proposed sidepath along Roberts Drive in Sandy Springs’ North End. A resident who lives along the corridor is lobbying the city to reconsider plans for a 12-footwide path on Roberts Drive from Roswell Road to Dunwoody Place.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs City Council discussed ways it might better prioritize commercial and residential areas in need of sidewalks Sept. 3. At issue is millions of dollars in transportation sales tax money the city has programmed for pedestrian improvements. Most existing sidewalks in Sandy Springs and Metro Atlanta are around 5 feet wide with a two-foot buffer. With a drive for alternative transportation and walkability from the Atlanta Regional Commission, new multi-use trails or sidepaths can be anywhere from 8 to 12 feet wide. The terms sidepath or multi-use trail are used to designate a paved route wider than a sidewalk. Bill Griffith, who has spoken at every
public comment opportunity since May 21, gave another set of “tweaks” to the city’s plan for an 8-foot-wide sidepath along Roberts Drive. The city plans for an $11 million multi-use sidepath along the corridor from Roswell Road (Ga. 9) to Dunwoody Place. Griffith, who lives on Roberts Drive, objects to the city’s scoping study for the proposed sidepath. He said he uses the existing 5-footwide sidewalk on Roberts Drive multiple times a week with bicyclists and pedestrians passing one another without issue. “This is important, a portion of the proposed sidepath is 8 feet wide with a two-foot-wide landscape strip,” he said. “However, much of the proposed sidepath is 12 feet wide with a 5-foot-wide landscape strip; that’s 17 feet, equivalent to one-and-a-half vehicle travel
lanes.” Grifith said 8-foot-wide sidepaths with 2-foot buffers along the corridor would avoid infringing on protected neighborhoods and cost escalation. “That’s consistent with the goals of the [Roberts Drive scoping] study,” Griffith said. “And it will save a lot of money.” The city has been forced to place sharper focus on sidewalk projects as the price of concrete has increased 40 percent since early 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sandy Springs Public Works Director Marty Martin said his staff is working on scoring sidewalk project candidates in preparation for next year’s update to the Sandy Springs Transportation Master Plan, which was funded in the 2025 budget.
See COUNCIL, Page 13
Theater company lifts young talent By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — When Shuler Hensley was growing up in Marietta and attending Westminster Schools in the early 1980s, there were few opportunities for young aspiring actors in Metro Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta had the Fox Theatre and some private schools with theater programs, but there was nothing like the City Springs Theatre Conservatory’s Pre-Pro Company. Created after City Springs Theatre Company’s first two performances of its 2018 inaugural season, the Conservancy’s youth training programs
prepare aspiring thespians for their first vocal, acting and dance auditions. Hensley said the area’s young talent always impresses him when he returns from his work on Broadway. Today, there is a musical theater ecosystem in north Metro Atlanta, which simply didn’t exist a generation ago. “Back in those days, if you had someone who could be a triple threat, which is great dancer, singer and actor all rolled into one person, that was considered extremely rare,” Hensley said. “Now, all these kids are triple threats … the PrePro program is so good at the practical things.”
See HENSLEY, Page 15
CITY SPRINGS THEATRE COMPANY/PROVIDED
City Springs Theatre Company Artistic Director Shuler Hensley and Executive Director Natalie DeLancey are gearing up for the seventh season of productions at the Byers Theatre.