St. Jude’s traffic review points to a Spalding Drive turn lane

St. Jude’s proposed campus overhaul would keep its student and church seating limits unchanged. But changes to how drivers enter and leave bring a concrete road question: a traffic consultant and Sandy Springs’ transportation engineer both say a right-turn lane is warranted at the Spalding Drive entrance.⁠[1][2]

City Council is scheduled to hear the request Nov. 17 for St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church and School at 7171 Glenridge Drive. Conditional-use case U-26-5 would amend the campus’s existing permit. Draft conditions retain limits of 525 private-school students, 50 day-care children and 700 fixed seats in the church’s largest assembly area.⁠[1]

We previously reported the project’s conditional Planning Commission backing. The council staff report confirms that commissioners recommended approval with conditions on Oct. 21; staff also recommends conditional approval. Neither recommendation is final council approval.⁠[1]

A July 30 Kimley-Horn traffic memorandum describes a proposal to reduce four driveways to three: two on Glenridge Drive and one on Spalding. The Spalding driveway would accommodate both entering and exiting traffic, replacing separate entrance-only and exit-only access points there.⁠[2]

The consultant found that a Spalding right-turn lane met the city’s daily and peak-hour criteria, but cautioned that cost and the roadway’s character might make construction impractical. It recommended further coordination with the city. It did not recommend a left-turn lane, citing mixed results under the city’s criteria, roadway impacts and right-of-way constraints.⁠[2]

City review comments in the council packet call for analysis based on observed traffic patterns rather than assumptions about school drop-offs, along with weekend traffic counts. The transportation engineer separately directs the applicant to show a right-turn lane at the Spalding entrance.⁠[1]

Those findings are not a final road design. The draft ordinance leaves the number, location and alignment of Spalding driveways subject to the city engineer’s approval. It also allows a Glenridge turning lane to be required during Phase 2 if the engineer determines one is needed. The site plan remains conceptual and must meet the Development Code.⁠[1]

The broader campus plan includes a parish life center, church renovation and expansion, preschool relocation, a gymnatorium and a replacement middle-school building. The applicants anticipate the first two phases in 2027 or 2028 if approved; later phases have no definite timetable.⁠[1]

The Nov. 17 regular council meeting follows the work session in the Studio Theatre at Sandy Springs City Hall, 1 Galambos Way.⁠[1]