Thank you for your comment. The city is currently working on a design to add improvements to the intersection to improve the functionality on Womack.

This intersection is as bad as the intersection of Mt Vernon and Vermack (which is under improvement). It needs a left turn lane on Womack. Hope this will take place some day.

Agreed- this is a constant problem for those who want to turn left (and those behind them who don't). The people behind get impatient because they have to wait and the light isn't very long. Then they fly around the car, honk, and generally act annoyed. This is not good for humankind because it is leading to angry and frustrated drivers.

I can understand why the drivers behind are unhappy -- in some case there was one car trying to turn left but this car did not move forward or stay in the middle so no car behind can get around. Unfortunately many drivers do not concern about cars behind them.

Staying in the middle is neither recommended nor safe.

This issue was recategorized from Signal and Intersection Problem to Projects (INTERNAL/PRIVATE).

In 2019 the city will be designing the improvements for this intersection.

I hope the new design will allow cars to turn right at red. If so, it will reduce long lines in the morning on the Womack because many cars turn right in the morning.

As convenient as it seems, IMO poor visibility would prevent this option. Waiting for the light to change takes less time than waiting for the wrecker to arrive to clear the intersection after the collision that occurred when someone turned right on red in front of someone they did not see.

In order to have a left turn lane, the Womack road will be wider. If this improve the visibility, then a right turn at red is possible.
I care about the safety but cannot agree on some of your points (such as driving to the middle of an intersection is not recommended nor safe).

Here's the best explanation I have found, and I've heard it from law enforcement officers and driver's education instructors, too. This particular quote is from The Colorado driver handbook: “If you are turning left, you should wait at the stop line or crosswalk until there is a gap in traffic large enough to allow you to pull into the intersection and complete your turn. Pulling into the intersection to wait to turn left blocks the intersection for emergency vehicles, limits visibility for oncoming traffic and puts you in a position to get in an accident if the light changes and oncoming traffic runs the red light while you are making your turn. Never turn the front wheels towards the left while you are waiting to turn. If you happen to get rear ended, you would be pushed into oncoming traffic”.

Apparently I did not learn driving in Colorado :)
I have lived in two other states for many years and Georgia is the only state where many drivers stay at the stop line. I agree that pulling too much into the intersection will affect the visibility of the oncoming traffic. Turning left can be dangerous sometimes but waiting at the stop line does not make left turn safer because it takes longer to turn left from the stop line and the drivers from other directions do not see you (so they have more chance to hit you).

Back to this intersection, I don't think pulling a little into the intersection will cause any danger but it allows cars behind to pass. I truly appreciate drivers doing that.

The quote I used is a reiteration of the concepts I've heard from both law enforcement personnel and driver's education instructors. Our primary responsibility on the road is safety. Expediency works well, too, but the compromise can have an unacceptable cost.

Actually, it takes less time to get through an intersection from the line if you anticipate the oncoming traffic than it does from the middle of the intersection. Counter-intuitive? Try it both ways with a stopwatch several times, like I did; I think you'll be surprised. It has to do with the speed at which you traverse the intersection reducing the time it actually takes to get through it.

I thought I could go to bed :)
But it is definitely not true that turning from the line takes less time than turning from the middle of the intersection -- the distance is much longer. Unless you accelerate from the line and turn quickly, which is dangerous.

Check out this intersection in Sandy Springs — specifically the east/west streets where Spaulding turns. These are two lane roads like Womack. They have set up ‘No Left Turn’
Lights that come on for periods during the morning and evening rush hours.
This looks like a great “fix” for westbound Womack until a left turn lane is added. Forcing cars to go straight or right would not put too much strain on them since they can do a U-turn a short distance ahead.

Oops. Make that the “north/south lanes....

Thank you for your comment. We have in the past considered banning left turns and forcing drivers to make a u-turn further down the road, but school buses do not have the turning radius necessary to make the u-turn at the next opening, and there are a significant number of school buses on this road. We are continuing to work on plans to improve the overall intersection.

Thank you for using SeeClickFix!

The city council will be voting on a contract to design improvements at this intersection at its August 12th meeting.

The city council has approved a contract to design turn lane improvements at this intersection. Design work has begun and a public information meeting will be held in early 2020.

Project is under construction.

Work has been completed in coordination with this issue. Thank you for using SeeClickFix!