Northwest Atlanta traffic study: 20 years until at full capacity

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - By 2040, several streets in Atlanta's northwest corridor could exceed capacity. That's according to several city council members.

“From what I've heard about, more people in the area, it's going to get worse,” says Mike Warren who live in northwest Atlanta.

Warren is right. That's why the city is preparing for growth.

“Traffic would really stifle growth and we have to come up with transportation plans that's going to allow the movement of people so we can grow,” says City Councilman J.P. Matzigketh.

He's one of the council members who pushed for a transportation study. It was approved on Thursday. Planners will survey the area. They've been charged with coming up with effective ways to get people through northwest Atlanta into communities like Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown. The commute, which travels through many residential communities, is already challenging.

“It's taking longer to get places, they can't get out of their driveways they worry about emergency vehicles being able to get to their locations,” the councilman told FOX 5's Kerry Charles.

One of the goals of the study is to find ways to reduce the amount of cars and trucks on the road. That comes with problems, especially along two-lane streets like Wieuca Road.

“What we're not going to be able to do is to widen the roads, have any significant mass transit,” says Councilman Matzigketh.

Warren disagrees.

“They either got to look to invest in public transportation or cut down on building new projects or something.”

The transportation study is due to council members by July 1.