Smyrna residents, and anyone else interested, can learn more about the ongoing South Cobb Drive corridor study at a public town hall meeting this Thursday. The meeting will be held at Smyrna city hall, located at 2800 King Street, on Dec. 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Smyrna city council approved the use of its council chambers for the event during its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night. The council also received an update on the study from Smyrna community development director Ken Suddreth.

“This study was initiated in September and will be completed in March of [2017],” said Suddreth. “The existing conditions report has been completed and the future land use and transportation analysis is underway.”

The study involves the section of South  Cobb Drive between Concord and Windy Hill roads, and is being conducted in coordination with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Cobb County and CobbLINC (the county’s public transit system, formerly known as Cobb Community Transit). The goal of the study is to formulate various concepts for corridor improvements.

Suddreth added that stakeholder interviews are also being scheduled and some public input has already been received. Members of the project team, which also includes the consulting firm Croy Engineering, attended the Food Truck Tuesdays event at Taylor-Brawner Park on Sept. 27, and also were present at the Jonquil Festival on Oct. 22. According to Suddreth, more than 250 surveys were completed at the events.

The town hall meeting will be an update on the purpose and progress of the corridor study. South Cobb Drive, also known as State Route 280, is a highly traveled road providing connectivity between I-75 and I-285.

One of the goals of the study is to identify ways to promote walking and bicycling in the area, and to encourage use of the CobbLINC Route No. 20 bus line. Another goal will be exploring opportunities for landscaping, streetscaping and other elements to enhance the sense of place of South Cobb Drive for positive economic impact.

The South Cobb Drive corridor improvement study is one of four studies the city is conducting related to planning for future growth. One is a market analysis and land use study being conducted by Georgia Tech students which will be completed in February. It is focused on Spring Road and Cumberland Parkway to help anticipate future growth in those corridors.  The second is a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Spring Road corridor study. This study began in August and will be completed next March.

The third is the South Cobb drive study, and the fourth is a 10-year update on Smyrna’s 2030 plan, which will include elements of the other three. The updated 2030 plan will be completed in October 2017. All of the studies focus on land use, transportation, housing and economic development.

Ward 5 councilwoman Susan Wilkinson encouraged residents to attend Thursday’s town hall meeting.

“I’d like to invite the citizens to the meeting on Thursday night here in the council chambers,” said Susan Wilkinson, whose ward includes the area. “The meeting will cover the South Cobb corridor study and we’ll have some updates and a presentation. It will also be an opportunity for the citizens to ask questions and give their input. I’d love to see people come to that if they’re interested.”

For more information on the South Cobb Drive study, visit the Croy Projects website.

Interactive map of the study area: