What Will McGinnis Ferry Road Traffic Light Look Like?

Gwinnett County officials already have the wheels turning toward a new traffic light at a busy Suwanee intersection. Now, Suwanee officials are considering how to display the new light.

Suwanee officials are considering spending up to $25,000 for added display features for the light at McGinnis Ferry Road and Scales Road. The improved display would include mast arms and underground utilities. The default display would be to simply hang the light by wires.

The extra funds would mean a display similar to the light at some other busy intersections around town, including at Buford Highway-Lawrenceville Suwanee Road.

Gwinnett officials, who maintain the road, agreed to install the light after a recent traffic study. The study was undertaken after considerable public feedback about the intersection to both Gwinnett and Suwanee officials.

The intersection sits at the crest of a hill, and so it has limited visibility, particularly at night. Also, this stretch of McGinnis Ferry Road is very busy, as it is near the I-85 overpass that opened in 2011.

Public feedback about the intersection, particulary from nearby residents, boiled over late in 2012 after a head-on collision killed two people and seriously injured another. One commenter referred to McGinnis Ferry Road as a "deathtrap."

In that accident, .

The Stricklands were residents nearby. The official police investigation did not reach a conclusion as to the cause of the accident; the medical examiner's report ruled out alcohol and drugs of abuse as possible causes.

-- What do you think Suwanee should do about the traffic signal at this intersection? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

See also:

• McGinnis Ferry-Scales Intersection To Get Traffic Light

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