The city of Alpharetta issued a press release today inviting residents to come see their new plans for the Northpoint LCI center. Below is the release:

Open House Announced For Encore Parkway Improvements

Released on: Monday, April 11, 2011 10:00 AM

Major improvements are underway for Encore Parkway from Westside Parkway to North Point Parkway. Plans include widening Encore Parkway to include a newly designed bridge as it passes over Georgia 400 and shoulders that will house 6-foot buffer planter strips and an 8-footwide sidewalk/bike lane. To connect the newly constructed sidewalks and bike lanes on Encore Parkway to the Big Creek Greenway trail system, sidewalks and shared lanes will be established along the eastern side of North Point Parkway. The project will also incorporate enhancements such as trees, landscaping, lighting and furniture.

The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to unveil the visual elements of the proposed project at a Public Information Open House & Detour Meeting to be held between 5:00pm and 7:00pm on April 26th at the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (located at 11605 Haynes Bridge Road, Suite 100, Alpharetta, GA). Residents are encouraged to stop by as the presentation is informal and will provide more details on the project and planned detour routes.

What the city fails to mention is that the projects discussed in the press release are a quid pro quo for the city’s adaptation of the Northpoint Area Livable Centers Initiative which includes the MetLife high density mixed use development. Back in 2008 the Mayor of Alpharetta, Arthur Letchas, and the City Council knowingly chose to accept the urbanization of our city in exchange for 4 million dollars worth of improvements in the Northpoint area. Now that the city has approved the MetLife project they can show us the precious new projects that they got in exchange for urbanization.

So if you live in Alpharetta and want to see why our City Council continues to approve high density mixed use projects please stop by and decide for yourself if the urbanization was worth it. While you are there you might also want to ask Department of Transportation board member Brandon Beach how spending that 4 million dollars is going to help relieve congestion for you and your family.