Nashville-based RPM Transportation Consultants held the first of several public meetings Wednesday to begin soliciting input to be included in Union City’s South Fulton Parkway Corridor Study.

Funded by the city and developers, the study proposes to establish a comprehensive transportation and development plan that spans the 6.5-mile stretch of the parkway recently annexed by Union City, said RPM President Bob Murphy. Geared toward the future, the plan is expected to provide a template for municipal decisions affecting the corridor area through 2027.

The May 9 meeting was an exploratory conversation intended to report on statistical findings such as traffic flow data and to determine the geographical locations where residents currently participate in activities such as working, shopping and dining.
Many of those attending the meeting at Liberty Point Elementary School reside in unincorporated south Fulton County. South Fulton residents have long-maintained that the multi-county significant South Fulton Parkway, with an overlay district complete with 100-foot buffers and virtually no curb cuts, should never be compromised. Sharing that perspective was Cedar Grove resident George Ratliff.

"I applaud the initial efforts of the Union City study for South Fulton Parkway, incorporating public input early in the planning process,” Ratliff said. “It appears that the final report will not be finished until early September. However, I think if the developers will allow the Union City study group to independently incorporate the best of these recommendations and integrate the plans with a regional mind set, the process they are taking will work. In the interim, Union City needs to keep improving their maintenance program for their section of the parkway, with regular weekly litter cleanup and landscaping maintenance."

Cliftondale resident and Fulton County Community Zoning Board member Bruce Moody also attended the meeting, stating his concern that the study might advocate a higher density than the overlay previously approved by Fulton County.

The next public meeting, tentatively set for late May, will address issues such as current and future concerns relating to the parkway.

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