Sandy Springs, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, United States. It is a northern suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

, Georgia, just south of Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...

 and west of Dunwoody
Dunwoody, Georgia
Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008...

. The city is named for the sandy spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

s that still exist as a protected historic site
Historic site
A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...

.

History

In 1842, the Austin-Johnson House was erected on what is now Johnson Ferry Road. It is the oldest house in Sandy Springs. In 1851, Wilson Spruill donated five acres (two hectares) of land for the founding of the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

, near the sandy spring for which the city is named. In 1905, the Hammond School was built at Johnson Ferry
Historic ferries of the Atlanta area
There were several historic ferries around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area, for which many of its current-day roads are named. Most of the ferries date back to the 1820s and 1830s, to carry travelers across the Chattahoochee River or several other smaller rivers...

 Road and Mt. Vernon Highway, across the street from the church.

After the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...

 was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Sandy Springs experienced a housing boom, bringing new residents and major land development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, Georgia 400 and Interstate 285
Interstate 285
Interstate 285 is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for . I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. Suburban sprawl has made it one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway...

 connected Sandy Springs to metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...

.

Debate over incorporation

Debate over incorporation began in the 1970s when the city of Atlanta attempted to use a state law to force annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...

 of Sandy Springs. (Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...

 had joined Atlanta in 1952.) The attempt failed when the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the law was unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...

. In response, the Committee for Sandy Springs was formed in 1975. In every legislative session since 1989, state legislators representing the area introduced a bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

 in the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....

 to authorize a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 on incorporation. Legislators representing the city of Atlanta and southwestern Fulton County, who feared for the tax revenue that would be lost, blocked the bills using the procedural requirement that all local legislation be approved first by a delegation
Delegation
Delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...

 of representatives from the affected area.

Referendum

When the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 gained a majority in both houses of the General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....

 in early 2005, the procedural rules previously used to prevent a vote by the full chamber were changed so that the bill was handled as a state bill and not as a local bill. It was introduced and passed as HB 37. The referendum initiative was approved by the Assembly and signed by Governor Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....

. The Assembly also temporarily repealed the 1995 law that all Georgia cities must provide at least three municipal services on their own or have their cityhood revoked, because the new city would need time to start up and would be contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

ing most of its services from the county through the end of 2006. The assembly also repealed the requirement that new cities must be at least three miles (4.8 km) from existing cities, because the new city limits border both Roswell and Atlanta.

The referendum was held on June 21, 2005, and residents voted 94% to 6% in favor of incorporation. Many residents expressed displeasure with county services, claiming, based upon financial information provided by the county, that the county was redistributing revenues to fund services in less financially-stable areas of the county, ignoring local opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...

 to rezoning, and allowing excessive development. Many residents of unincorporated and less-developed south Fulton County strongly opposed incorporation, fearing the loss of tax revenues which fund county services. County residents outside Sandy Springs were not allowed to vote on the matter. Efforts such as requesting the U.S. Justice Department to reject the plan were unsuccessful.

Interim government

As provided for by law, Governor Sonny Perdue named five residents to an interim government committee for the city, called the Governor's Commission On Sandy Springs. In five years (2010), the charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

 drawn up by the legislature will have to be reviewed for any proposed or necessary changes.

Elections and formal incorporation

A mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 and six city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 members were elected in early November 2005, and formal incorporation occurred on December 1, making it the third-largest city ever to incorporate in the U.S. (Centennial, Colorado
Centennial, Colorado
The city of Centennial is a Home Rule City located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States, and part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The city was to have a total population of 100,377 in 2010 census. Centennial is the tenth-most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its...

, Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...

, and Spokane Valley, Washington
Spokane Valley, Washington
Spokane Valley is an incorporated city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is located east of Spokane and west of Coeur d'Alene. It surrounds the town of Millwood on three sides...

, did the same in 2001, February 2003, and March 2003, respectively, making them first, second, and fourth). The six city council districts are roughly northwest (along the Chattahoochee River), northeast (north of Dunwoody), southwest, southeast, east (along Georgia 400), and central.

Timeline

  • In 1950, the state legislature blocked Atlanta from annexing the area.
  • In 1952, the Buckhead
    Buckhead (Atlanta)
    Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...

     area north of Atlanta and south of Sandy Springs was annexed.
  • In 1959, after a fire at Hammond Elementary School, Atlanta Mayor William Hartsfield urged residents to support annexation so that the area would have better firefighting protection.
  • In 1966, annexation was defeated in a referendum, with two-thirds voting against.
  • In 1975 and 1976, the Committee For Sandy Springs was created and efforts in the legislature began.
  • In 1989, a new push was made, this time to join neighboring Chattahoochee Plantation
    Chattahoochee Plantation, Georgia
    Chattahoochee Plantation is an area of east-southeastern Cobb County, Georgia, which was incorporated as a city in 1961 as a legislated boundary to prevent the city of Atlanta from annexing into Cobb County. Despite this, it never organized a city government, and its city charter was revoked along...

     in Cobb County
    Cobb County, Georgia
    Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...

    . This move was blocked by Speaker of the House Tom Murphy
    Tom Murphy (Georgia)
    Thomas Bailey "Tom" Murphy was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. Murphy was the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1973 till his defeat in the general election of 2002, making him the longest serving House Speaker of any U.S. state legislature...

    .
  • In July 2005, residents voted 94% for incorporation in a referendum.
  • In November 2005, Sandy Springs residents elected the city's first mayor and city council. Eva Galambos, who had initiated and led the charge for incorporation, was elected mayor by a wide margin. All city officials took office when the city was incorporated on December 1.
  • In 2006, the city's police force began service on July 1 with 86 police officers with the average 10 years of service. Today SSPD has 128 Sworn Officers.
  • In 2006, the city's fire department was launched on December 29.
  • In 2010, the city became the first jurisdiction in Georgia to successfully "bail out" from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Geography

The boundaries of Sandy Springs are Atlanta to the south, Cobb County
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...

 (at the Chattahoochee River) to the west and north, Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...

 (also at the river) to the north, and Dunwoody
Dunwoody, Georgia
Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008...

 and Brookhaven
Brookhaven, Georgia
Brookhaven is an unincorporated community located on the western edge of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, directly northeast of Atlanta. Most of the area was formerly incorporated as the city of North Atlanta, which disincorporated during the 1960s...

, at the DeKalb County
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...

 line, to the east. A small panhandle
Panhandle
A panhandle is an informal geographic term for an elongated arm-like protrusion of a geo-political entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.-Term:...

 in the northeast extends between the Chattahoochee River to the north and Dunwoody to the south, ending in a very small border with Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Out of all of Atlanta's northern suburbs, Peachtree Corners is the only one that was developed as a planned community...

 in Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...

.

Climate

Sandy Springs has a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfa).

Neighborhoods

Downtown

Although it does not resemble a traditional downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....

, the area around bounded by Abernathy Road to the north, I-285 to the south, and Sandy Springs Circle and Hildebrand Drive on the west and east is defined by the city and business groups as "Downtown Sandy Springs." The heart of Downtown is defined as Roswell Road (Georgia 9) in between Johnson Ferry Road and Cliftwood Drive, and is designated by the iconic nine-story Northside Tower
Northside Tower
Northside Tower is a nine-story, mid-rise office building located at 6065 Roswell Road in downtown Sandy Springs, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The building offers of office space, as well as street-level commercial vendors, including a restaurant. Construction of the building was...

, at Roswell Road and Sandy Springs Place, which has served as an unofficial landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 for the center
Town centre
The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...

 of the district since its completion in 1971. Downtown is also the site of the actual sandy springs that spurred the name of the city. The city owns the former site of the Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

 store on Johnson Ferry Road at Sandy Springs Circle, with long-term plans of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use municipal complex, complete with a city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...

. Also, the city is seeking to add more roads to the district so it resembles a more traditional street grid pattern. Historically, the downtown area was known as the Hammond community.

Riverside

Riverside is the western district of the city, bordering the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

, and forms the western border with Cobb County. It is a very affluent area and is marked by large mansions sitting on large lots on winding, hilly roads. The main road is Riverside Drive, and it is located off the Riverside Drive exit of I-285.

Perimeter Center

Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...

 is a commercial edge city
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...

 and business district surrounding Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....

. Although about 40% of Perimeter Center, including the mall, is located in Dunwoody, the western 60%, including most of the area's office towers, are located in Sandy Springs. Pill Hill
Pill Hill (Atlanta)
Pill Hill is a major cluster of hospitals and doctors’ offices in northern metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Pill Hill is in Sandy Springs, Georgia, near the intersection of Georgia 400 and Interstate 285, in the Perimeter Center district...

 is located in the Sandy Springs section of Perimeter Center, and is the largest medical center in Georgia. It includes Northside Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital
St. Joseph's Hospital
-In Canada:*St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton — Hamilton, Ontario*St. Joseph's Health Centre — Toronto, Ontario-In the Republic of Ireland:*St. Joseph's Hospital, Dublin — Dublin*St. Joseph's Hospital, Sligo — Sligo-In the United States:...

, and Children's Health Care of Atlanta. Hammond Park is located in this neighborhood, and it is also where the Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs (MARTA station)
Sandy Springs is an underground metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Perimeter Center area, including high-rise office parks near Georgia 400 and Abernathy Road, north of Perimeter Mall and within the recently-incorporated...

 and Medical Center
Medical Center (MARTA station)
Medical Center is an at-grade metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Pill Hill neighborhood of Perimeter Center, the location of Northside Hospital , St...

 MARTA
Marta
Marta may refer to:* Marta or Marta Vieira da Silva , a Brazilian women's football forward* Marta Estrella, a recurring fictional character from Arrested Development...

 stations on the Red Line
Red Line (MARTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between North Springs and Airport stations, running through Sandy Springs, Atlanta, East Point and College Park....

 are located.

Dunwoody Panhandle

The Dunwoody Panhandle is an affluent residential area bounded by Roberts and Dunwoody Club Drives at the Dunwoody
Dunwoody, Georgia
Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008...

 city limit to the south, the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

 to the north, Georgia 400 to the west, and Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Out of all of Atlanta's northern suburbs, Peachtree Corners is the only one that was developed as a planned community...

 (Gwinnett
Gwinnett
Gwinnett can refer to:*Button Gwinnett, signatory of the US Declaration of Independence*Gwinnett County, in the US state of Georgia*Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Gwinnett County's first non-profit performing arts troupe...

 county line) to the east. The district's name is derived from its location, sandwiched in between the river and Dunwoody, forming a geographic panhandle
Panhandle
A panhandle is an informal geographic term for an elongated arm-like protrusion of a geo-political entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.-Term:...

. Major roads include Dunwoody Club Drive and Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive is an approximately 12-mile east-west road connecting three suburban cities in north Atlanta: Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Peachtree Corners. The road, which roughly parallels the Chattahoochee River, is lined on both sides with affluent neighborhoods and private estates...

, and Interstate access is through the Northridge Road exit of Georgia 400.

It is a controversial area for the city, as it had been considered Dunwoody for many years. Tension mounted when Dunwoody street sign toppers were removed and replaced with Sandy Springs street sign toppers, and a compromise proposed by the Dunwoody Homeowners Association was rejected by the Sandy Springs city council. The area also resisted being within the city limits, with residents stating that they considered themselves Dunwoody. Sandy Springs responded with a claim that the area would be marketed as Dunwoody in Sandy Springs, much like Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...

 in Atlanta, but this has yet to be seen. Many residents still refer to their address as Dunwoody.

This area was previously part of two other counties, with DeKalb having cede
Cession
The act of Cession, or to cede, is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty...

d it to Milton
Milton County, Georgia
Milton County was a county of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1857 to 1931. It was created on December 18, 1857 from parts of northeastern Cobb, southeastern Cherokee, and southwestern Forsyth counties. The county was named for John Milton, Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799...

 several years after Milton's initial creation in 1857. Milton later merged into Fulton at the beginning of 1932.

North Springs

North Springs is the large northernmost district of the city, and is generally defined as the area west of Georgia 400, east of Brandon Mill Road and the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

, and north of Abernathy Road. The main thoroughfare is Roswell Road. North Springs High School
North Springs High School
North Springs Charter High School North Springs Charter High School North Springs Charter High School (formerly North Springs High School (1963–2007) and North Springs Charter School of Arts and Sciences is a public secondary school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Students may participate in...

, named after the district in which it is located, is off Trowbridge Road. North Springs
North Springs (MARTA station)
North Springs is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system and the northern terminus for the Red Line...

 MARTA station serves the district, and happens to be the terminus of the MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...

 North-South line, as no funds have been allocated by the state for further extension northward.

Sandy Springs ITP

Although a small portion of Sandy Springs extends into the Perimeter, it is technically not part of the Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...

 district of Atlanta. The main commercial road is Roswell Road. Peachtree Dunwoody Road is the approximate eastern border, while the Chattahoochee River forms the western border. The southern border is the city of Atlanta. Most of this area is extremely affluent and centers around scenic, mansion-filled single-lane roads such as Northside Drive, Mt. Paran Road, and Powers Ferry Road.

In its February 2010 rankings of 420 U.S. communities with populations above 75,000, Portfolio.com determined Sandy Springs to be the 2nd wealthiest in the South, and the 9th wealthiest in the United States. This is mostly due to 30327 zip code, which is the wealthiest zip code in Georgia, and is split between Sandy Springs ITP and Buckhead.

Demographics

(Note: the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 numbers are for Sandy Springs prior to incorporation, but cover the same area.)


According to the 2010 US Census in 2010 the population of Sandy Springs was 93,853. There were 42,334 households. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 65.0% white, 20.0% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 5.0% Asian, 6.9% from some other race and 2.7% from two or more races. 14.2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In the official census of 2000, when there were 85,781 people, 39,288 households, and 19,683 families residing in the CDP, the population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,274.1 people per square mile (878.1/km²). There were 42,794 housing units at an average density of 1,134.5 per square mile (438.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55% White, 12.04% African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.94% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.93% of the population. According to a 2006 report by the Atlanta Jewish Federation, 15,300 Jews reside in Sandy Springs and the adjacent city of Dunwoody.

There were 48,288 households, out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

According to a 2008 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $106,240, and the median income for a family was $129,810. The average income for a household was $116,406 and the average income for a family was $169,815. Males had a median income of $60,053 versus $50,030 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $70,790. About 3.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Sandy Springs is home to over 8,000 business and the headquarters of more Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...

 companies than anywhere in the State including Atlanta. United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...

, Newell Rubbermaid
Newell Rubbermaid
Newell Rubbermaid is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products including such well-known brands as Rubbermaid food storage, home organization, and refuse container products; Sharpie, PaperMate, Parker and Waterman writing instruments; Calphalon gourmet cookware; Goody beauty and...

, and First Data are all headquartered in Sandy Springs. Global Payments, Inc., Mirant Corp., Spectrum Brands, and Wendy's/Arby's Group, which are Fortune 1000 companies, are also based in the city. The city is also home to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, was formed in 1998 when Egleston Children’s Health Care System and Scottish Rite Children’s Medical Center merged. Both hospitals maintained their original locations, but the merger brought together Egleston’s teaching and...

, InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...

, IBM Internet Security Systems, Northside Hospital, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

 Cars North America and Saint Joseph's Hospital
Saint Joseph's Hospital (Atlanta)
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta is an acute care hospital located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of Catholic Health East. Saint Joseph's was recognized as one of the 50 finest hospitals in the country by HealthGrades for 2007....

.

The city's largest business district is the Roswell Road corridor and Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...

 (although Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....

 itself lies in adjacent DeKalb County
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...

). Perimeter Center, which is the biggest edge city in the Atlanta area, includes many high-rise buildings, including the 570 feet (173.7 m) Concourse Towers
Concourse at Landmark Center
Built in phases between 1984 and 1991, the Concourse at Landmark Center is a real estate development in metro Atlanta's Perimeter Center business district, in the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States...

, which are often identified locally as the "king and queen" towers because of their distinctive architecture. Just south of this business district, across I-285, is a major medical center, anchored by Northside Hospital, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Saint Joseph's Hospital.

AFC Enterprises
AFC Enterprises
AFC Enterprises is the Sandy Springs, Georgia-headquartered company that owns Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits. AFC Enterprises is a publicly traded company....

 (owner of Popeye's Chicken and Cinnabon
Cinnabon
Cinnabon is a chain of American baked goods stores and kiosks, normally found in high-traffic areas such as malls. The company's signature item is a grande cinnamon roll. As of July 2009, over 750 Cinnabon bakeries are in operation in over 30 countries around the world...

) has its headquarters in Sandy Springs. Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken is a US-based chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, also trading outside North America as Texas Chicken. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To Go by George W. Church, Sr., on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, across the street from The Alamo...

 has its headquarters in Sandy Springs. First Data
First Data
First Data Corporation is an American payment processing company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. First Data is a provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions...

 has its headquarters in Sandy Springs. Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. and its subsidiary Arby's
Arby's
Arby's is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States and Canada. Roark Capital Group owns 81.5% of the company, with Wendy's Company owning the other 18.5%. It is primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers,...

 have their headquarters in Sandy Springs. Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...

 and subsidiary Cox Radio
Cox Radio
Cox Radio, Inc. is a division of Cox Enterprises that holds a number of radio stations. Cox Radio is headquartered at 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia....

 are headquartered in Sandy Springs.

Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest worldwide trading company , and is a diversified corporation. Sumitomo is headquartered in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Y in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan...

 operates its Atlanta Office in Suite 2150 at Six Concourse Parkway, NE. Industries supported include Living Related Products and Real Estate.

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...

1,678
2 IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

1,592
3 AT&T Mobility 938
4 WorldPay
WorldPay
WorldPay is a payment processing company. It provides payment services for mail order and internet retailers, as well as point of sale transactions. Customers are a mix of multinational, multichannel retailers, with the majority being small business merchants...

641
5 Ceridian
Ceridian
Ceridian Corporation is a global business services company in the human resources, transportation and retail markets, serving businesses worldwide with employees in the USA, Canada, Europe and Mauritius. It was a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange until it was acquired in 2007...

603
6 AutoTrader.com
AutoTrader.com
AutoTrader.com is an American automotive classified Web site operated by AutoTrader.com L.L.C.; Cox Enterprises owns 75% of the company, Providence Equity Partners owns the rest. It was founded in August of 1997 and is the largest classified automotive site in the United States...

572
8 J. E. Dunn Construction 550
9 Global Payments
Global Payments
Global Payments Inc. is a payment processing company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Global Payments functions as an electronic payment processor to merchants, independent sales organizations, financial institutions, government agencies and multinational corporations in the United States, Canada, Latin...

596
10 Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...

492


Annual festivals

The Sandy Springs Festival is an annual pet-friendly, celebration to help raise proceeds to maintain and protect the remaining green space of Sandy Springs. They have the Kiwanis
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...

 Pet Parade and Award Ceremony, a two-hour blast-from-the-past 80's music fest, singing groups and marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

s. It will be on September 25th and 26th.

Points of interest

The Heritage Sandy Springs Museum that opened on March 20, 2010. It is dedicated to the history of the Sandy Springs community and is located in the repurposed Williams-Payne house at Heritage Green. Two notable exhibits are "Sandy Springs: Land and People" which tells the changing story of Sandy Springs as the home of Native Americans, rural farmers, and modern suburbanites and "A Land Nearby" which features a collection of 20 photographs of Georgia's Barrier Island taken by Dr. Curt Hames Jr.
Sandy Springs also has a museum on Anne Frank.

Parks & recreation

Sandy Springs is home to twelve parks and green space areas, three of which provide recreational facilities.
  • Hammond Park - Multipurpose building, gym, game room, AstroTurf soccer field, lighted tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic pavilions, playground, restrooms
  • Morgan Falls Overlook - Picnic pavilions, children's playground, boat dock/fishing pier, hiking trail, fire pit, porch swings, scenic views, restrooms
  • Morgan Falls Athletic Complex - Baseball fields, T-ball fields, football fields, picnic pavilions, playgrounds, concessions stand, restrooms
  • Sandy Springs Tennis Center - Clubhouse, pro shop, restrooms, locker rooms, lighted tennis courts, jogging trail
  • Abernathy Park - Tennis courts, playground, picnic tables, arts center
  • Allen - Playground, multipurpose court, walking trail, basketball court
  • John Ripley Forbes Big Trees Forest Nature - trails, tree, plant and wildlife sanctuary
  • Ridgeview - Nature trails, picnic pavilion, playground
  • Heritage Green

Officials

  • Mayor: Eva Galambos
    Eva Galambos
    Eva Cohn Galambos is the mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia. She is Jewish. She has a Ph.D. in economics from Georgia State University, master's degree in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia .She has...

  • District 1: John Paulson
  • District 2: Dianne Fries
  • District 3: Chip Collins
  • District 4: Gabriel Sterling
  • District 5: Tiberio "Tibby" DeJulio
  • District 6: Karen Meinzen McEnerny
  • City Manager: John McDonough

Services

City services are performed in a public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...

. Most services are being handled by the engineering and operations firm CH2M HILL
CH2M Hill
CH2M Hill is an American-based global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services for corporations, nonprofits, and federal, state, and local governments. The firm is headquartered in Meridian, an unincorporated area of Douglas County, Colorado in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan...

, although public safety is not outsourced. Sandy Springs, at first glance, appears to be run just like other similarly-sized cities, with a council-manager form of government. However, it is the first city in the nation to outsource services to such a great extent to a private sector company.

The city's police department took over services from the county on July 1, 2006 with 86 Police Officers from all over the State of Georgia,and is now staffed by 128 officers. The city's fire department began operations in December 2006. The department consists of 97 full time firefighters. The former Police Chief Gene Wilson Jr. was replaced by current Police Chief Terry Sult in 2009 while the fire department is headed by Chief Jack McElfish. It is staffed by 91 full-time firefighters and 52 part-time firefighters. The police department answered 98,250 calls in FY 2010 while the fire department handled 17,000 responses to 8,205 calls for service.

The city of Sandy Springs has purchased the old Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

 building (originally Richway) located on the corner of Sandy Springs Circle and Johnson Ferry Road. The building has sat vacant since the December 2008 purchase. Rumors say that this location will one day be the new home to the Sandy Springs City Hall.

Disputes with Fulton County

During the transition period, the city has had some disputes with the county. Most notable among these was over the existing park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

s then within the city. The county commission voted to sell them on the "open market
Open market
The term open market is used generally to refer to a situation close to free trade and in a more specific technical sense to interbank trade in securities.-Use of the term in economic theory:...

", but later the Commissioner At-Large, Rob Pitts, clarified that there was no intent to sell for land development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

 purposes. , there was still harsh debate over whether to sell the parks for $5,000 each, $1 per acre, or at market value
Market value
Market value is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with open market value, fair value or fair market value, although these terms have distinct definitions in different standards, and may differ in some...

, or to lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...

 them for 50 years for one dollar each annually. Under state law, the county cannot legally give the parks away, nor can any parks be used for development. In December 2006, Sandy Springs purchased 11 parks and greenspace areas from the county.

The newly-purchased facilities include:
  • Abernathy Park
  • Allen Road Park
  • The John Ripley Forbes Big Trees Forest Preserve
  • East Conway Drive Park
  • Ed Morey Pocket Park
  • Hammond Park
  • Island Ford Park
  • Johnson Ferry Road Greenspace
  • Lost Corner Preserve
  • Morgan Falls Athletic Fields
  • Morgan Falls Overlook Park
  • Ridgeview Park
  • Sandy Springs Tennis Center
  • Sandy Springs Historic Site & Park

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools continue to be operated by the Fulton County School System
Fulton County School System
The Fulton County School System is a school district headquartered in East Point, Georgia, United States. The system serves the area of Fulton County, Georgia outside the Atlanta city limits...

.

Elementary schools serving sections of Sandy Springs include Dunwoody Springs Charter Elementary School, Heards Ferry Elementary School, High Point Elementary School, Ison Springs Elementary School, Lake Forest Elementary School, Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School, and Woodland Charter Elementary School.

Two middle schools, Sandy Springs Middle School and Ridgeview Middle School, are in and serve Sandy Springs. Two high schools, North Springs Charter School of Arts and Sciences and Riverwood High School
Riverwood high school
Riverwood International Charter School is a charter school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Riverwood is one of Fulton County School's four Magnet sites, offering the International Studies and International Baccalaureate Programs...

, are in and serve Sandy Springs.

There are private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

s located in Sandy Springs. Some of those are:
  • Brandon Hall School (4th grade through high school)
  • First Montessori School of Atlanta (preschool through middle school)
  • Greenfield Hebrew Academy (k-8)
  • Holy Innocents' Episcopal School
    Holy Innocents' Episcopal School
    Holy Innocents' Episcopal School is a fully accredited, college-preparatory day school for 3-year-old through 12th-grade students located in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1959, the school offers boys and girls a program based on the Episcopal education tradition of inclusion, exploration and respect...

     (preschool through high school)
  • Mount Vernon Presbyterian School
    Mount Vernon Presbyterian School
    Mount Vernon Presbyterian School is a Christian , private, coeducational day school in Sandy Springs, Georgia. MVPS currently operates grades K - 12, in addition to a preschool. The Lower School Campus, which houses grades K-6 and the preschool, is located at 471 Mt. Vernon Hwy and the Glenn...

     (preschool through high school)
  • St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School (k-8)
  • The Alfred and Adele Davis Academy (k-8)
  • The Doris & Alex Weber School
    Weber School
    The Doris and Alex Weber Jewish Community High School, formerly New Atlanta Jewish Community High School, is a trans-denominational Jewish high school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, a suburban Atlanta-metro area city.- Mission :...

     (high school) - Rated Top High School by the Sandy Springs School Association in 2009.
  • The Epstein School
    The Epstein School
    The Epstein School is an independent Jewish day school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia for children from 18 months through eighth grade and is a member of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association. The Head of School is Stan Beiner. The school has two campuses, and has a summer camp.- History...

    (k-8)
  • Holy Spirit Preparatory School
    Holy Spirit Preparatory School
    Holy Spirit Preparatory School is an independent, Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Atlanta, Georgia and was established in 1996, originally as the Donnellan School. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta....

     (k-12)

Media

Some notable newspapers that cover areas of interest to sandy springs include the Sandy Springs Neighbor and The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Television production

Two television series are recorded within the city: Auction Kings
Auction Kings
Auction Kings is a reality television series produced by Authentic Entertainment for the Discovery Channel. The series premiered on October 26, 2010 and features the auction house Gallery 63 in Sandy Springs, Georgia, located on Roswell Road immediately north of the Atlanta city limit...

at Gallery 63 on Roswell Road, and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta
Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta
Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta is a TLC reality series which follows events at Bridals by Lori in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding...

at Bridals by Lori on Hammond Drive.

Roads

Sandy Springs is served by two major limited-access highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

s, Georgia 400 – which runs north-south – and I-285 – which runs east-west. Major surface streets include Roswell Road (U.S. 19 south of I-285 and Georgia 9
Georgia State Route 9
State Route 9 is a north–south highway running from Atlanta to just north of Dahlonega. It overlaps U.S. 19 from along 14th Street, in northwest Atlanta, to Roswell Road at I-285, in Sandy Springs. It is also concurrent with U.S. 19 from Dahlonega to its northern terminus at US 129...

 entirely), Hammond Drive, Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive is an approximately 12-mile east-west road connecting three suburban cities in north Atlanta: Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Peachtree Corners. The road, which roughly parallels the Chattahoochee River, is lined on both sides with affluent neighborhoods and private estates...

, Johnson Ferry Road, Abernathy Road, Glenridge Drive, and Dunwoody Club Drive.

State

The GDOT is widening Abernathy Road between Johnson Ferry and Roswell Roads from two lane
Lane
A lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...

s to four plus a road median, and the city is developing a linear park
Linear park
A linear park is a park that is much longer than wide. It is often formed as a part of a rails-to-trails conversion of railroad beds to rail trail recreational use...

 where homes along Abernathy were demolished, with sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

s and walking trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

s to add greenspace
Open space reserve
Open space reserve, open space preserve, and open space reservation, are planning and conservation ethics terms used to describe areas of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside...

 and improve connectivity in the city. The western intersection
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...

 is being reconfigured so that traffic to and from Johnson Ferry Road – which now carries heavy loads of Cobb County commuters across the Chattahoochee River at rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...

 – now flows directly with Abernathy to and from the northwest. The length of this project is temporarily numbered as Georgia state route 947, though there are no signs to indicate this.

Additionally, the Roswell Road bridge over I-285 is finally getting a badly-needed widening to add a turn lane in each direction. Currently, it is a major traffic bottleneck
Bottleneck
A bottleneck is a phenomenon where the performance or capacity of an entire system is limited by a single or limited number of components or resources. The term bottleneck is taken from the 'assets are water' metaphor. As water is poured out of a bottle, the rate of outflow is limited by the width...

, as the turn lanes to both direction of I-285 are very short, sharing the center lane of the bridge, and forcing traffic to be allowed to turn twice per cycle (a "split phase") of the traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...

s. Despite the unusual timing of the lights, traffic still backs up into the through lanes, causing major traffic jams at rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...

. The project's scheduled completion is November 2012, about a year after the expected start date. There had previously been talk of a tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

 under the freeway to bypass the highway interchange altogether, however this proved to be much too expensive.

Another state project is the addition of a half-diamond interchange to Georgia 400 on the north side of Hammond Drive, allowing southbound traffic to exit and northbound traffic to enter the highway. (Ramps on the south side were not possible due to the proximity of the 400/285 interchange.) , this project is mostly complete, including the widening of the bridge that carries Hammond over 400. Replacing the former forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 on each side of the highway is now an auxiliary lane and metal noise barrier
Noise barrier
A noise barrier is an exterior structure designed to protect sensitive land uses from noise pollution...

s, which continue up to and down from the next exit at Abernathy Road. A reconstruction of the 400/285 interchange is partly included in the TSPLOST, a regional sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....

 which will be voted on in 2012.

City

The city's public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...

 department has made significant improvements in the conditions of roads and traffic signals since incorporation in December 2005. The department has cleaned approximately 1,500 catch basins, striped 30 miles (48.3 km) of roadway, responded to more than 2,000 calls for repair and service, re-timed hundreds of traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...

s to help improve the flow of traffic and reduce automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 idling, and repaved 60 miles (nearly 100 km) of roads.

The 2008 fiscal year saw the creation of the Sandy Springs Traffic Management Center (TMC). The TMC was constructed and began to operate in less than six months. Construction began in February 2008, five cameras viewed traffic
Traffic camera
A traffic camera is a video camera which observes vehicular traffic on a road. Typically, these are put along major roads such as highways, freeways, motorways, autoroutes and expressways, as well as arterial roads, and are connected with optical fibers buried alongside or even under the road,...

 along Roswell Road by the end of June. Special features of the TMC include a webpage that allows the public access to real-time traffic conditions and voice-activated controls. By June 2009, 16 traffic camera
Traffic camera
A traffic camera is a video camera which observes vehicular traffic on a road. Typically, these are put along major roads such as highways, freeways, motorways, autoroutes and expressways, as well as arterial roads, and are connected with optical fibers buried alongside or even under the road,...

s are now available and can be viewed onilne at www.sandyspringsga.org.

There are a number of roadway Capital Improvement Projects that have either been completed by the city or are currently underway:
  • T-0001 - Johnson Ferry Road from the Chattahoochee River to Abernathy Road and Abernathy Road from Johnson Ferry to Roswell Road
  • T-0002 - Abernathy Greenway Linear Park
  • T-0003 - Roswell Road at Dunwoody Place intersection improvement
  • T-0004 - Roswell Road at Northridge Road intersection improvement
  • T-0010 - Johnson Ferry Road at Sandy Springs Circle intersection improvement
  • T-0011 - Johnson Ferry Road and Glenridge Drive improvements from Abernathy to Hammond (earmark)
  • T-0012 - Roswell Road streetscape/sidewalk
    Sidewalk
    A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

    s from Johnson Ferry to Abernathy Road
  • T-0013 - Roswell Road Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) from Abernathy Road to Forsyth County Line
  • T-0016 - Dunwoody Club Drive at Spalding Drive intersection improvement
  • T-0021 - Peachtree Dunwoody Road at Lake Hearn Drive intersection Improvement
  • T-0023 - I-285 tunnel Sandy Springs Circle underpass
  • T-0024 - Hammond widening from Roswell Road to Barfield
  • T-0025 - Dunwoody Place widening from Roswell Road to Northridge
  • T-0026 - Peachtree Dunwoody and Spalding Drive Intersection Improvements
  • T-0027 - Jett Road Bridge upgrade
  • T-0028 - Hammond Interchange at Georgia 400
  • T-0030 - Livable Communities Initiative (LCI)
  • T-0031 - Roswell Road Bridge over I-285 operational and safety improvements
  • T-0032 - PCID sidewalk and intersection improvement projects
  • T-0034 - Morgan Falls Road improvements

Mass transportation

The major provider of mass transit is MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...

, which operates a heavy rail rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 line and several bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

 lines through Sandy Springs. The city is served by the Medical Center
Medical Center (MARTA station)
Medical Center is an at-grade metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Pill Hill neighborhood of Perimeter Center, the location of Northside Hospital , St...

, Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs (MARTA station)
Sandy Springs is an underground metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Perimeter Center area, including high-rise office parks near Georgia 400 and Abernathy Road, north of Perimeter Mall and within the recently-incorporated...

 and North Springs
North Springs (MARTA station)
North Springs is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system and the northern terminus for the Red Line...

 station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

s. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...

 also operates express buses from the North Springs station (which has its own ramps to and from 400) to other counties.

Diplomatic missions

The city has two consulate generals. The Consulate-General of Colombia in Atlanta
Diplomatic missions of Colombia
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Colombia, excluding honorary consulates.-Europe:** Vienna ** Brussels ** Paris ** Berlin ** Frankfurt ** Vatican City...

 is located in Suite 405 at 5901 B Peachtree Dunwoody Road. The Consulate-General of Nigeria in Atlanta
Diplomatic missions of Nigeria
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Nigeria. Nigeria, the most populous African country, has a moderately large network of diplomatic missions...

is located at 8060 Roswell Road.

External links

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