Medlock Bridge resident Ernest Moosa is concerned about the City's ability to maintain additional Greenways, as the current trail near Johns Creek High School has been in disrepair for nearly a year, leaving students and residents in the dark, which is a particular concern with the upcoming football games as many teens walk home.

 

Mr. Moosa, who runs frequently in Johns Creek, notified the City utilizing the Johns Creek Fix-It app in March 2015.  “I received a prompt response that it would be looked into”, Moosa said.  “But a few weeks later I received a notification that the report was being closed.  I asked why close it, if the lights have not been repaired.  I was informed that the City was filing an insurance claim.  Months passed and I saw no action”.

Mr. Moosa said that he has used the Johns Creek Fix-It app on two other occasions.  Once for graffiti on the bridge on the same section of trail, and once for a Greenway sign in the Perimeter Church parking lot that was installed backward.  “ The City did a great job getting rid of the graffiti quickly”, he said. 

 

“I’ve logged thousands of miles on the Big Creek Greenway, the Suwanee Greenway, and the Silver Comet”, he says, "I often see crews travel those greenways daily, checking to make sure that there were no issues.  I was surprised that we apparently do not have crews check these paths at least weekly for issues, such as downed limbs or broken lights.  All the lights were not broken at once.  Had we taken some sort of action when it was just a few lights, we would not now have to replace all of them.” 

 

“To say it is total darkness on that section of Greenway between Pike’s and Johns Creek High School would be an understatement”, Moosa confirms.  “It might be light enough at the ends, but there will be no light in the center section, so bring your own flashlight if you are going to walk at dusk.”

 

While attending a City Council Work Session Meeting in late June, Mr. Moosa inquired of Assistant City Manager Justin Kirouac of the status.  "Unfortunately, that update was that the insurance claim had been rejected.”

After five more weeks, Mr. Moosa then wrote an inquiry to Asst. City Manager Kim Greer.  The prompt response was as follows:

"The estimated cost for the full replacement is $36,000.  We are considering this request as part of the FY2016 Budget but to be fair, we are considering many requests for additional capital expenditure, and not all can be funded within the anticipated revenue."

“If we are going to have expanded parks and greenways, then we need to maintain them”, Moosa stated. “There is a bench along the Greenway between 141 and Perimeter Church that has been broken for several months.

Do city workers see this and just keep going”, he asked?   “This is Johns Creek, and it’s hard to make a good impression with guests when they see these items in such disrepair”, he says.

-The third bench is missing, weeds add character?-

Please read the Prelude: Potential Greenways Cut into Private Properties
and our popular post: Yawn...Another Park Study