Briers North is an iconic neighborhood in Dunwoody GA, best known for the huge welcome it gives to thousands of children on Halloween night. For more than 25 years, three to six thousand visitors have annually enjoyed extensive decorations and trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. 

Now we need your help. Please sign this petition to oppose multi-use trails along the East Side of Tilly Mill.

Petition Statement

• We, the undersigned citizens of Dunwoody and other cities, oppose the City of Dunwoody’s plan to replace sidewalks with oversized, shared-use, concrete trails (for pedestrians and bicycles) on the East Side of Tilly Mill Road.
  The multi-use trails, in 2 segments, are proposed to be located between Mount Vernon Road and Binghamton Drive (close to Peachtree Industrial). 
• The trails, wider than a car travel lane and accompanied by a grass margin and a construction band, could eliminate 300+ beautiful trees and would have a severe impact on adjacent homes.
• We oppose any new roadway or trail project that expands its footprint to the East Side of Tilly Mill, destroys 300+ trees, or causes loss of property, privacy, noise abatement, subdivision entrances, buffers, or sidewalks.
• There are better alternatives. We support efforts to bring all parties together to work out a reasonable alternative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Destructive Impact of City Proposal on Tilly Mill

The City of Dunwoody proposes to replace shaded sidewalks with expansive concrete multi-use trails along the East Side of Tilly Mill. The trails, wider than a car travel lane and accompanied by a grass margin and a construction band, would eliminate canopy and have a severe impact on adjacent homes. Simply put, there is not enough space along the East Side of Tilly Mill for an oversize concrete runway.   

Clear Cutting - More Than 300 Trees at Risk!

A recent survey by residents from Briers North identified more than 300 beautiful trees in the path of the proposed construction for the first phase alone. Many decades old, these trees provide perfect shade for users of the existing sidewalks, mitigate erosion and flooding, and reduce CO2 pollution. In the second phase, additional mature trees would be removed adjacent to Briers North.

Damaging Impact on Briers North

The welcoming entrance to Briers North would be permanently demolished. Adjacent homes, built with just a 10-foot setback, would be badly impaired by loss of buffer and increase in traffic noise. Sub-standard separation from the trail and elimination of entrance stonework and landscaping would badly impact architectural beauty and home values. 

Note that Briers North is of higher density (R50) than any other subdivision along the East Side; our yards are very small and can’t reasonably withstand the invasiveness of the proposed trail.

Effective Sidewalk Connectivity Already Exists

The east side of Tilly Mill is already fully connected by sidewalks. Cyclists are permitted to use the sidewalks. The sidewalks run end-to-end from Mount Vernon to Binghamton Drive, near Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Deficiencies of the Multi-use Trail Proposal

• The proposed multi-use trails would lack canopy, unlike trails in Brook Run where there is room for beautiful shade trees. 
• The proposed multi-use trails would be patchy. They would not run end-to-end, and they would not produce much gain in connectivity. Patches of trail would be interspersed by segments of sidewalk. 
• Danger of being struck by fast moving traffic on Tilly Mill is a deterrent to pedestrians today, a deterrent that will persist with an East Side multi-use trail.
• An additional safety concern arises from increased bicycle traffic mixing with pedestrians. Many families with young children live in the area.
• To no avail, the City has been asked for projections of pedestrian and bicycle usage. Consequently, there is widespread skepticism about utilization. 
• Extensive community review finds little benefit. Hundreds of residents adjacent to Tilly Mill have educated themselves on the trail proposals.
• The vast majority of those who invested time to understand the proposals have concluded that multi-use trails along the East Side of Tilly Mill would be highly destructive, largely a waste of money, environmentally damaging, and probably not used much. 
• East Side is the wrong environment.  Residents strongly support connectivity and green space in the right environment. However, multi-use trails don’t belong everywhere, and informed residents have concluded the East Side of Tilly Mill is simply the wrong place for a multi-use trail. 
• Several million dollars would be saved through more desirable alternatives. Especially in light of the City’s declining financial situation and a draw-down of reserve in 2023, residents find it unsettling that the City Council is doggedly pursuing problematic capital expenditures for future years.

City Council Unresponsive to Feedback

• Despite numerous public comments, emails, and presentations by residents, neither the City Council as a whole nor the Public Works Department have provided a wholistic project justification or indicated a change in direction. 
• Of the seven elected officials on the City Council, only Councilor John Heneghan has distilled community feedback and shared his opposition to these multi-use trails on the East Side of Tilly Mill. 
  
  Councilor Heneghan rightly stated “we are shoehorning 12 feet of concrete in front of single family homes by clearing the vegetation and leaving it with little or no shade, trees or beauty.  This scenario not [sic] what I believe the citizens of Dunwoody want when they say they want trails.”  
  Source: John Heneghan's Blog

Please support Briers North and Tilly Mill residents by signing this petition.

Thank you!