Work has been completed on Murphey Candler Park’s Horseshoe Road in Brookhaven, but some residents are expressing concern about the upkeep of the gravel parking spots.
According to the city’s weekly newsletter, construction is completed on Horseshoe Road and the road is now open. The now paved road is one-way and gravel parking spaces have been added along the road, according to the newsletter.
Parks and Recreation Director Brian Bolden announced that the Horseshoe Road, called the loop road by some residents, was open to parking at a Brookhaven City Council work session on July 26.
“We’re looking to activate that area,” he said. “I’ve been working with Burke [Brennan] and his team to put out some press releases about the road being open, and reminding people that they can go through the parks and recreation department to rent some of our beautiful shelters right there along the Horseshoe Road.”
The council approved a construction contract to add parking to the road at a March meeting, a decision that caused some residents to leave the council meeting in anger. The plan to add parking to the road comes from the city’s $40 million park bond, which passed with 60% of the vote in 2018. Over the last few years, some residents have expressed concerns about safety and started a petition to keep parking off the road.
Juliet Cohen, secretary of the Murphey Candler Neighborhood Association, said she began to notice loose gravel after rain just after the road opened to parking.
“The biggest issue that we’ve noticed since the loop road has been open is that the gravel parking spots are eroding,” Cohen said. “ We’ve had some rain, and the gravel parking spots have weathered the rain events even in the first week or two.”
On the Murphey Candler Neighborhood News Facebook page, Cohen posted a video of gravel debris along the road after rain.
“The gravel parking spots along the newly paved loop road did not last the first rains,” reads Cohen’s Facebook post, which is located on the private Facebook page. “The gravel and underlying soils already rutted out flowing onto the road toward the lake. No surprise here, just a mess.”
The post has 14 likes and eight comments as of Aug. 8, all voicing concern about the design of the road. However, elsewhere on the page under a separate post about the new parking spaces, a couple of comments voiced support for the new parking spaces.
City spokesperson Burke Brennan said that as of Aug. 5, the city had not received any complaints about the gravel parking spaces.
“We will look into the status of the parking spaces and take corrective action if needed,” he said in an email.