Tucker, GA — The intersection at Mountain Industrial Boulevard and Tuckerstone Parkway will undergo improvements, a collaboration between the city of Tucker and Tucker Summit Community Improvement District (CID).

Increasing safety and improving capacity on Mountain Industrial Boulevard was recommended in Tucker Summit CID’s freight cluster plan, conducted in 2020.

Mountain Industrial Boulevard at Tuckerstone Parkway is a safety issue but not complicated to fix, said Tucker City Engineer Ken Hildebrandt. Visibility is poor, accidents are frequent and tractor trailers have difficulty turning left from Tuckerstone Parkway.

At the Nov. 8 City Council meeting, Hildebrandt presented a contract for Kimley Horn in the amount of $29,800 to design a vehicle-activated warning signal and a median large enough for U-turns. Intersection improvement will be funded by federal funding and the SPLOST Quick Response account.

Councilmember Noelle Moneferdini said she drives that road all the time, and asked about a traffic light.

“Have we looked at lights for that area? I’m just afraid that if somebody’s going 45 mph around the corner, they’re not going to see a truck turning around,” said Monferdini.

Under the plan, vehicles will not be able to turn left onto or out of Tuckerstone Parkway. Instead, traffic would be forced to use North Royal Atlanta Drive, which Hildebrandt said is not over capacity. A traffic signal is not warranted because the traffic volume is not high enough, said Hildebrandt.

The last traffic study was conducted in 2020. Councilmember Michelle Penkava expressed concern for growing traffic in the area. She said she drives that stretch five or six times a week.

“People are flying. It’s very hard to turn right out of there. So, I’m just wondering how close we are to warranting a signal there,” said Penkava, who called the area treacherous. “The Branch Property [Hugh Howell Marketplace] is going to increase the traffic.”

Larry Kaiser, member of Tucker Summit CID, said there is “no way” the intersection requires a traffic light. Before voting, Monferdini suggested a new a traffic signal study, which would cost about $10,000.

City Council voted 6-1 to award the contract as originally presented. Monferdini voted no.

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