City, County & State: Let’s Talk

Did you know that when our neighborhoods need traffic signs, signals and street lights, unless there is a tragedy, it could take years for community requests to turn into reality?

Well, it is sad, yet true. Last night, I went to a well attended Fulton County Town Hall meeting. There was a good Q&A session at the end led by the Commissioner and lots of Fulton County staff who helped answer residents questions. It was very informative. Attendees asked hard questions and were pleased with answers. Below are my concerns that are spelled out in a request I sent to the City Councilman C.T. Martin, State Senator Tate and State Rep. Metze for the area on Atlanta’s southwest side. I will keep you posted on the progress of this request:
Councilman C.T. Martin, Sen. Tate and Rep. Metze,

Traffic backup on Sat., Sept., 19; Fairburn Road at Mays Crossing, noth of Cascade Road.

I attended the town hall meeting of Commissioner Emma Darnell. During the Q&A, I inquired about two things:
1) The lights that have been out for a number of years under the I-285 underpass at Cascade Road and continues to be a serious safety issue because it is so dark.
Their response – the money has been approved for that and the lights should be on before the end of the year. (Note: NPU-Q, Eric Toomer and I have been working on that for over a year. Before that, NPU-Q and Eric had been working on this for a couple years prior.)

2) The three-way stop sign on Fairburn Road at Mays Crossing. Due to the ongoing construction and traffic accidents along the I-285 corridor between I-285 & Cascade and Hollowell, motorists use Fairburn Road as an alternate route.
As a result, the traffic on Fairburn Road backs up between Mays Crossing and Walmart entrance.

Traffic backup of Fairburn Road on the bridge south of Mays Crossing Subdivision (north of Walmart entrance) on Sat., Sept. 19 about 4pm.

lWhen it is really bad, the backup goes back to the entrance to the Publix (on Cascade) as it did last weekend. While the 3-way stop is in the City of Atlanta, the traffic backs up into unincorporated Fulton County and affects all those travelling that vitally needed corridor. It is obvious there needs to be a traffic light there that only turns red on Fairburn Road when residents of Mays Crossing are exiting their subdivision.
Their response – We are familiar with that issue. But, that is in the city of Atlanta.

Last month, I discussed this to a DOT Engineer who is aware of the problem. I also discussed this with Kathy Crawford, the chair of NPU-H. She also acknowledged the problem and the reason they do not have a Transportation Committee is there are not enough people who want to help. She supports the issue, yet does not have the manpower to follow-through on it. So, now I am turning to you, as our elected officials, for your help. Will you take this issue, identify funding sources, and see what other community groups can help so that you, me, local residents, and anyone using Fairburn Road as an alternate route will not have to continue to suffer such long delays when I-285 is backed-up?

The traffic signal this intersection needs would be the same as the one at the YMCA on Campbellton Road and at Tyler Perry Studios on Continental Colony Parkway.

Thanks for all you do to help sustain our southwest and northwest communities,

Sherry B. Williams
Proud to be an Atlanta Native

Atlanta Race Riot Anniversary

If you are an Atlanta native or a history buff, you may know about the Atlanta Race Riots of on September 22, 1906.

Below is the link about the ATL Race Riots. I have never heard of the ATL Race Riots. Oh well. That is why I listen to WAOK 1380 AM and other talk radio stations. 👍🏽

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_race_riot

This video starts out with the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and then gives history of rarely mentioned ATL Race Riots.

This is similar in nature to what happened in Black Wallstreet in Tulsa, with Emmet Till, etc. History continues to repeat itself. So, let us all hope and pray we all know enough to recognize signs early enough, and care enough to prevent future race riots in Atlanta and across the U.S.

Labor Day 2015

All across the nation, many people are fortunate enough to be employed have Labor Day off. Others are working and receiving time and a half pay. While most families are looking forward to a holiday barbeque, few know why we celebrate Labor Day. Nor do most know the origin and purpose of the minimum wage, eight hour work day, 40-hour work week, or the role organized labor played in our national work rules.

A really good book that is a classic and “must read” is The Jungle  by Upton Sinclair.  And, I highly recommend you Google and read all you can about the Triangle Factory fire in New York to learn more about how workers were treated before labor unions, labor laws and the minimum wage were instituted. Children and women were abused (more than men) before laws, rules, regulations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, O.S.H.A., was created.

Until you know what you do not know about how bad the workplace was can you appreciate how far we have come. And today some unions are not as effective as they once were, and are in need of some much needed change to attract workers who need to be organized becausr they have no other recourse to get fair treatment, wages, and working conditions.

Today, states as Georgia are “right to work” states. This gives workers no real protection. When legislation such as “right to work” slipped through state capitols across the nation, most had no idea what it meant. Many still do not know. Well, there is no time like the present to look this up on your smart device and reclaim your power through the ballot box in every election in the future. In this way your future work days might be more tolerable. And your future Labor Day celebrations may be filled with more than barbecue and just another day off in which you do not know its’ origin.

It is time for us to reclaim our power.

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