Our business is next door to the wonderful new greenway on Union Hill Road.
Over the years, Union Hill has become a popular cut-through from McFarland to Shiloh Road and Hwy 9. We have been located here for many years and have seen the increase in traffic and speed on the road.
A crosswalk for the greenway was installed on a flat part of the road which allows people to use a parking area and to access the two parts of the greenway path. Union Hill is a winding road with a huge hill coming down toward the path from Mullinax Road. Cars build up speed coming down the road and then go around a fairly sharp curve to the left toward the greenway. There is very little warning that the greenway is at the bottom of the hill. The stop signs for pedestrians in the crosswalk are right at the crossing.
Likewise, coming the other way from Shiloh Road, Union Hill has a straight part where cars build up speed and then a sharp turn to the left and all of a sudden the greenway path is there with very little warning. On a pretty day this area is congested with adults and children on bikes and lots of walkers. They not only cross at the walk but they go up and down the sides of the narrow road and the bridge over Big Creek. I am afraid that unless some measures are taken to slow down cars, we will have a tragedy.
We have already seen rear-end collisions of cars stopped at the path hit by drivers coming down the hill who don’t have time to react when they come around the curve. We also had a drunk driver careen around the bend from the Shiloh Road side who (luckily) lost control prior to the crowd of people and hit a tree instead of a person. I think that we need flashing caution lights, reduce speed signs, or speed bumps down the road on both sides of the trail crossing. The drivers on Union Hill simply don’t have enough warning that the greenway is there.
I hope it doesn’t take an accident to make the powers that be add the appropriate safety measures.
Janet Allgood
Cumming
Over the years, Union Hill has become a popular cut-through from McFarland to Shiloh Road and Hwy 9. We have been located here for many years and have seen the increase in traffic and speed on the road.
A crosswalk for the greenway was installed on a flat part of the road which allows people to use a parking area and to access the two parts of the greenway path. Union Hill is a winding road with a huge hill coming down toward the path from Mullinax Road. Cars build up speed coming down the road and then go around a fairly sharp curve to the left toward the greenway. There is very little warning that the greenway is at the bottom of the hill. The stop signs for pedestrians in the crosswalk are right at the crossing.
Likewise, coming the other way from Shiloh Road, Union Hill has a straight part where cars build up speed and then a sharp turn to the left and all of a sudden the greenway path is there with very little warning. On a pretty day this area is congested with adults and children on bikes and lots of walkers. They not only cross at the walk but they go up and down the sides of the narrow road and the bridge over Big Creek. I am afraid that unless some measures are taken to slow down cars, we will have a tragedy.
We have already seen rear-end collisions of cars stopped at the path hit by drivers coming down the hill who don’t have time to react when they come around the curve. We also had a drunk driver careen around the bend from the Shiloh Road side who (luckily) lost control prior to the crowd of people and hit a tree instead of a person. I think that we need flashing caution lights, reduce speed signs, or speed bumps down the road on both sides of the trail crossing. The drivers on Union Hill simply don’t have enough warning that the greenway is there.
I hope it doesn’t take an accident to make the powers that be add the appropriate safety measures.
Janet Allgood
Cumming