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| Image from here |
Mr. Ellis-
I would like to thank your office, volunteers, and you for assembling the town hall meetings. I was in attendance this past February 21st. It is good to hear what is on fellow residents’ minds, and what the status of the county is directly from you.
With that, Greenco and animal control took up the majority of question and answer, I wanted to quickly run down a few items of concern that I have.
Here are my concerns as a resident on DeKalb County:
Contents:
1. Safety “Housing Density vs Police Presence”
2. Public Transit / Vehicular Traffic
a. Bus Stations – “One Stop, One sidewalk”
b. Revisable Road “Go with the flow?”
3. Appearance “Dress how you want to be represented”
a. Existing roadways – “Take Pride in what we have”
b. Illegal signs “Really? We cannot stop this?”
4. Housing Density “Provide for the People”
a. Urban Density but rural amenities
b. Brookside – “Welcome to OTP!”
1. Safety “Housing Density vs Police Presence”
a. I agree with the gentleman that commented that we (Stone Mountain – Lithonia/ Rockbridge) need a greater police presence. Look at the amount of people living in this area vs crime.
i. I agree with your Police Chief, a new police station may not be the answer, but there needs to be more boots on the ground.
2. Public Transit / Vehicular Traffic
a. Bus Stations – “One Stop, One sidewalk”
i. When moving to DeKalb County, I was surprised at all the dirt worn paths along the roadside. This is from people walking to and from the bus stops. Bus stops that are just a sign in the ground.
1. Each bus stop should have a sidewalk to it. This would encore more pedestrian activity and it would enhance the appearance of our major roadways (IE Stone Mountain – Lithonia Road). In order to have a Healthy DeKalb, you need the infrastructure to support a Healthy DeKalb.
a. If I was going to move my headquarters or bring my company to DeKalb, and I see that they do not provide basic services to promote their transit system, I would defiantly go somewhere that did.
b. Revisable Road “Go with the flow?”
i. How could DeKalb County encourage people to use public transit?
1. Make it easier to get to!
a. I take the train, and my commute consists of Stone Mountain Lithonia -> Panola -> Redan -> Indian Creek. This means the road shifts from 4 lanes to 2 lanes 3 times. What happens when the road changes lanes – multiple bottlenecks. Cars back up all the way to where it was 4 lanes.
i. Why can’t the county create reversible lanes where the road goes to 2 lanes? There are existing turning lanes that are rarely used, and defiantly are not used during rush hour. These turning lanes turn into express lanes for frustrated drives tired of waiting and create a dangerous situation.
1. Allow for a more efficient commutes by utilizing existing infrastructure. Make getting to public transit a priority, rather than forcing people to take a winding back road.
a. Again, if I am moving my company to DeKalb, and I see they cannot figure out traffic, and have the ability to do something about it, but do not– I would move on down the road – Literally.
3. Appearance “Dress how you want to be represented”
a. Existing roadways – “Take Pride in what we have”
i. During the Town Hall, a public works person stated there are a lot miles of roadway in the county. I understand that all roads cannot be maintained, but what about the major roadways?
1. Stone Mountain Lithonia
2. Panola
3. Redan
a. All those streets have curbs. Curbs the county made to improve drainage and appearance. I have attached a photo of a typical DeKalb County curb.
i. Why are these curbs not ever cleaned? There is grass growing on all the debris in the curbs. This defeats the purpose of having the curb in the first place.
ii. It also gives off the appearance that the county does not care about this area.
iii. Please, clean up the curbs.
b. Illegal signs “Really? We cannot stop this?”
i. I am signed up to become a Neighborhood Ambassador in April, but why is there not any viable enforcement of this?
1. I go out one day a week and drive Stone Mountain Lithonia -> Panola ->Redan and pick signs off the telephone poles. I got 49 today. 49 illegal signs for Junk Cars, carpet cleaning, and more junk cars.
a. There are phone numbers on the signs – can the county call these numbers and prosecute these people or fine the business that allow the signs to remain?
i. Seems like easy money to me.
ii. When I am in North DeKalb, I do not see these signs, why does South DeKalb allow this?
4. Housing Density “Provide for the People”
a. Urban Density but rural amenities
i. Is your office doing anything to discourage developers from coming and building low quality housing with density that the physical and community infrastructure cannot withstand.
1. Attached are to images of housing off Stone Mountain Lithonia and Redan.
a. These housing projects are isolated (cannot walk) from any public transit, grocery stores, libraries, or parks. The developers have basically created ghettos within our county. The crime stats confirm this.
i. What is being done to improve the existing housing that is vacant, improve the lives of those who live in and around these projects?
ii. Housing prices continue to slide and communities keep sliding with it. Attached is a local real estate snapshot.
1. It says the houses should sale for 66K but there are houses for 33K that are not selling, and new houses are still being built?
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| West of Hairston |
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| Crime in that Same Area |
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| Home Values |
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| New Housing east of Stone Mountain Lithonia |
b. Brookside – “Welcome to OTP!”
i. North Decatur near 285
1. What is being done with this abandoned property?
a. It is an eye sore, danger, and a turn off to anyone who looking to establish their business or family outside the perimeter.
Thank you for the time.
I will be more than happy to donate time, resources, and insight to resolve, and/or improve these concerns.
