The City Council on Tuesday night approved a Planned Unit Development for a new subdivision at the Hixson Pike S Curves.
The approval came after nearby resident Dr. Jeffery Gefter said he was concerned that a new road to the subdivision would lead to new serious accidents at that location.
He said his daughter was injured at the S Curves in 2000, then he said through 2007 there were wrecks that claimed the lives of eight people, including many young people. He said the city then took steps to lessen the dangers by adding speed cameras, doing some regrading and putting in a light at Carter Road. He said there have been no fatalities since then.
Dr. Gefter said a study by an Atlanta firm said the new road would boost the risk of accidents by 35-36 percent at the S Curves.
Blythe Bailey, city transportation administrator, said a new city traffic engineering will examine the Atlanta firm's report. He said public safety is the department's highest priority.
Developer Ethan Collier said the traffic safety issues will be fully addressed later in the process. The next step would be taking a subdivision plat to the Planning Commission.
He said the initial plan by a developer who later died was to have 31 lots. He said that has been dropped to 21 lots. He said there will be large lots with houses built close to roads to minimize land disturbance.
Mr. Collier said the initial plan was to disturb 9.87 acres at the 11-acre site. The new plan is to disturb 6.55 acres.
A resident who travels the road said later in the meeting that only one of the speed cameras at the S Curves is still operating. He said the power has been pulled from the others.