Cumming residents got the green light to celebrate at City Hall this week.

Residents from a nearby neighborhood burst into applause on Tuesday night after the Cumming City Council unanimously approved adding a new traffic signal on Pilgrim Mill Road as it intersects with Lanier 400 Parkway and Parkside Walk.

“Over the last year it has become increasingly difficult to exit and enter our neighborhood,” said Rich Montgomery, president of the Parkside at Pilgrim Mill Homeowners Association. “This particular problem has become increasingly concerning. We’ve had residents who have suffered car accidents. We continuously worry about our children.”

Montgomery, who was joined by about 20 other residents, said speeding has become a problem since the widening of Pilgrim Mill and a blind cover coming southbound has made issues worse.

Even Councilman Chuck Welch, who lives in the surrounding area, expressed his frustrations with the road.

“I use Lanier Parkway three or four times a day, and in the mornings high school kids think it is fun to pass you … in the turning lane,” Welch said. “It’s absolutely a public safety issue.

“It’s going to get worse as Lanier Parkway builds out.”

Design will be about $12,000 and installation will be about $170,000. It does not appear the city will need to purchase right of way. 

City attorney Dana Miles said the public safety issues should make the bid process easier.

Mayor H. Ford Gravitt said funding the project will come from the city’s contingency funding and said he wants the signals up as soon as possible.

“I think when signals get in,” he said, “it will slow the traffic.”