We moved from Salina Kansas to Dunwoody Georgia in 1983. We chose Dunwoody to fit our needs. First, it was close to Norcross and Technology Park where I worked. Next, if was close to the Dental Hygiene School where my wife wanted to get her Hygiene Degree. The subdivision we chose had large homes on large lots and we had 6 kids, 5 girls and 1 boy, ranging in age from 10 to 18. The home we picked was in a cul de sac,1 block from Austin Elementary, the best school in the area. Our home was 2 blocks from Dunwoody Village, where the kids could walk to work at their part-time jobs. Our home was 1 block from the subdivision swimming pool and tennis courts. The neighbors were great and our kids made lots of friends their own age and our home became a “hang out”.
Atlanta had a warm, mild climate with lots of rain to grow plants, flowers and colorful trees. Atlanta Metro was nestled in a forest of trees in the foothill of the Appalachian Mountains at 1050 feet above sea level. We have few bugs. Dunwoody was a suburb, north of the City of Atlanta with good access to highways. I-285 was a circular beltway. It was attached to I-70 and I-85. The population of Atlanta Metro was 3 million in 1983 and travel by car was easy. We took the kids to see all of the attractions, visited our relatives in St. Louis every year and took the kids to Florida to swim in the Gulf. Our kids found their spouses here and begin to move out from 1988 to 2000. Our home is still a gathering place for the family.
Atlanta Metro was growing due to the “electronics boom”. The Metro included DeKalb County where we lived plus Cobb County and Gwinnett County where the expansion was happening. The City of Atlanta had narrow streets and needed to maintain and replace 100 year old water and sewer lines. I-285 remained as the “inner belt, but proposals for an “outer belt” were ignored, so Truck Traffic was increasing.
Just north of the City of Atlanta, wider main streets were being built and cities were forming in the 3 counties. Most Main Roads were not expanded beyond 2 lanes in the Metro. The counties North of the Metro were becoming the “exurbs” and subdivisions were being built beyond the Metro. Construction on Georgia 400 began with the initial section opening in 1968 from I-285 into North Fulton County.
The population of Atlanta Metro reached 4 million in 2000. The population of the Atlanta metropolitan area reached 5 million in 2006. The population of Atlanta Metro reached 6 million in 2020. In 2020, the Atlanta metropolitan area, as defined by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), included 11 counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale.
Georgia State Route 400 (SR 400) starts at I-85 in Atlanta and ends at US 19 near Dahlonega. Specifically, it begins just north of downtown Atlanta, near Buckhead, at I-85, and terminates where US 19 joins SR 60 at SR 115 in Lumpkin County, south of Dahlonega. The total length of SR 400 is approximately 53.74 miles, according to AARoads.
Much of the truck traffic congestion in Atlanta Metro could be alleviated if the Ga DOT would connect US 129 to I-85 and I-75 south of Atlanta so trucks could avoid I-75 and I-85 traffic. This could also be achieved by the US DOT.
U.S.
Route 129 (US 129) is a north-south highway that runs through the southeastern
United States, spanning from Florida to Tennessee. It begins in Chiefland,
Florida, and travels north through Georgia and North Carolina before
terminating in Knoxville, Tennessee. The highway passes through both rural and
urban areas, connecting small towns and larger cities, such as Gainesville,
Florida, and Athens, Georgia.
The alternative is to move manufacturing jobs north of Atlanta to allow Atlanta Metro to ease back the population from 6 million to 5 million. The Georgia Legislature will want to move these jobs back to the Rural Counties throughout Georgia. Before 1990, Manufacturing Companies had 100 employee plants in the cities within these Rural Counties. Hospitals would reopen and Physicians would return.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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