The City of Roswell has received a $3 Million Federal grant to build a Bike/Ped Multi-Use Bridge over the Chattahoochee River at Roswell Road. The Multi-Use Bridge would stand alone, running along the west side of the existing Roswell road bridge. Connecting on the south side, the Multi-Use Bridge would loop underneath the existing Roswell Road bridge and open out to Roberts Drive on the east, avoiding the crossing of traffic Roswell Road. On the north side, it would merge with the existing Roswell River trail.

This bridge is on the city limits between Roswell and Sandy Springs and the grant requires a local match -- about $350k from each city. Roswell is willing to come up with their portion of the match, now we need to convince Sandy Springs at their city council meeting on Tuesday, February 16th to do the same.

Eva Galambos, the Sandy Springs Mayor is on the fence with this one and has reportedly stated, “Nobody in Sandy Springs rides bikes”. Why does she think that? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the organized rides start early in the morning? Maybe it’s because there is no dedicated advocacy group of Sandy Springs citizens that regularly meets with the city and pushes for bicycle accommodations? Maybe it’s because there’s a limited number of locally-owned bike shops in Sandy Springs? Whatever the reason, could we all make the decision today to step forward and offer a bit of support before Tuesday, February 16th?

I ask you to do one or both of the following:

1) Please sign the on-line petition: http://sandings.epetitions.net

2) Attend the Sandy Springs city council meeting on:

Tuesday, February 16th at 6 pm
Sandy Springs City Hall
7840 Roswell Road, Building 500
Sandy Springs, GA 30350

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Petition Follows

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To the elected officials of Sandy Springs:

I ride my bike in Sandy Springs. I encourage you to support and build the multi-use bridge on the Chattahoochee River at Roswell Road. Safety is just about the number one issue that new bicyclists mention as a beginner. With present conditions, even seasoned bicyclists take risks in riding across the bridge. With this new bike/ped bridge, safety -- and rider’s comfort levels --will be greatly increased.

In undertaking this project, there will be both literally and figuratively a bridge between the two communities. This would be a fantastic connection for both cities to the area parks: connecting Island Ford and Riverside/Azalea parks. One day, we could envision families and children could ride their bikes safely to and from both sides of the river. Similar to the proposed bridge at Morgan Falls Dam, this connectivity can be a cornerstone of an on and off-road bicycle network throughout Sandy Springs.

In closing, this would be a wonderful start for the young City of Sandy Springs moving forward to becoming a bicycle friendly city. With a steady and focused determination, Sandy Springs can increase accommodation for bicycles as a viable, healthy and green means of transportation – for recreation and exercise, going to school, running errands or commuting to work. Build it and they will come!

http://sandings.epetitions.net