Did you know that the businesses around Perimeter Mall pay for the officers?
When the Central (DeKalb) Perimeter Community Improvement
District was formed 13 years ago, the first item on its agenda was to partner
with off-duty police officers to prevent gridlock at key intersections along
some of the district's busiest corridors.
Since that time, the DeKalb and Fulton Perimeter CIDs
have spent $6.6 million to hire the off-duty officers from DeKalb and Fulton
Counties and the cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. In addition to rush hours, the officers also
are used during holidays to accommodate the increase in car and pedestrian
traffic in Perimeter, which has become a retail hub in the metro Atlanta
region.
In recognition of their service to Perimeter, Perimeter
Community Improvement Districts President and CEO Yvonne Williams recently
presented the first "Traffic Hero" awards "for exemplary service
to keep Perimeter moving" to 10-year veterans of PCIDs' traffic detail
program Sgt. Donald B. Barden, Lt. James W. Berg and MPO Tracy Redding. Each officer received the PCID's eagle award
and a gift certificate.
"We are proud of our partnership with these
dedicated law enforcement officers and are pleased with their continued
commitment to the wellbeing of Perimeter's commuters," said Williams.
"Thanks to the work of these officers, commuters can
get around the Perimeter area more easily at peak driving times," Williams
said. Each weekday, approximately 20
officers are placed throughout the Perimeter district to help prevent
congestion at key locations such as Ashford Dunwoody Road and Hammond Drive,
Peachtree Dunwoody Road and Hammond Drive and Abernathy Road at Glenlake
Parkway.
"The officers make a noticeable difference in
preventing the blockage of intersections during Perimeter's busiest
hours," said Williams. "In
addition to allowing traffic to flow early against signals when possible,
meaning less time spent waiting for a light, the officers are also available to
assist in the event of an accident. As
they are already in the area, they are able to immediately respond and address
any problems as they occur," Williams said.
"Our main focus has always been to keep traffic
moving," said Barden at the awards presentation at a recent meeting of the
Central (DeKalb) PCID Board. "We
have gone through a lot of changes," he noted. "We started out with a few officers and
have seen the program expand to serve the growth in this area."
