5 drivers have crashed through a subdivision gate. Neighbors say city safety features aren’t enough

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — One group of neighbors wants their city to do more to protect their subdivision after another driver crashed through their gate on Thanksgiving.

The neighborhood is near the intersection of Glenridge Drive and Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs.

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Neighbors told Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach that the issue is where the Glenridge Connector ends. They said drivers get to the intersection at Peachtree Dunwoody and think the road continues at the green light.

But once they get over the hill, they realize it doesn’t.

“The repairs aren’t even finished yet and another car blasted through the gates,” Donald Thelen said.

The latest crash happened on Thanksgiving afternoon. A driver crashed through the entrance to the Glenridge Creek Community. Thankfully, the driver didn’t hit anything or anyone.

Video from June 2022 shows when a DUI driver crashed into the neighborhood and hit mailboxes, a tree and totaling a new Range Rover.

Then in January, another driver did the same thing and smashed right through a brick wall and the front door of another townhome.

“And the car was inside the house,” Thelen said.

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Neighbors say new signs and restriping of the road are not working.

“See how that guy’s coming straight down that lane? Had there been delineators or median there, he would not have that opportunity to come straight down that lane again,” another neighbor told Gehlbach.

Thelen said he and his neighbors have come up with ideas of blocking the lane and anything to make it more obvious that the road ends.

“It’s a complete safety hazard that we’ve told the city about time after time and nothing’s been done.”

But the city did add a large “No Outlet” sign and new reflectors on poles and around traffic signals last year. In a written statement, a Sandy Springs spokesperson said:

“These improvements indicate the City’s commitment to coordinate with neighborhoods and residents” and that the city and police department “are committed to taking every step possible to create a safe and accessible transportation network for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.”

Police said the driver, a 20-year-old woman, who crashed on Thanksgiving faces several charges, including DUI.

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Neighbors in Sandy Springs want to protect their neighborhood from reckless driving Neighbors in a Sandy Springs community want even more done to protect their subdivision, after another driver crashed through the gate.

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