Latest Updates and Improvements at Jones Bridge Park

City and county officials met again with concerned citizens to discuss the progress of ongoing issues at Jones Bridge Park

In its online Best Parks guide, Explore Gwinnett lists Jones Bridge Park as the “best place to paddle.”

“Next time you have the urge to paddle, get your hull on the Chattahoochee via Jones Bridge Park in Peachtree Corners. Surrounded by trees and accented by shoals, this shady patch of river is a beautiful place to canoe, kayak, or set up a picnic. In addition to river access, the 30-acre park is also equipped with restrooms, pavilions, three soccer fields and a sand volleyball court. It is also a popular location for fishing and for admiring ducks and geese,” according to the organization’s website.

Nearby residents consider the popularity of the park a blessing and a curse with weekends and holidays crawling with unmanageable crowds. They point out that many visitors disregard posted rules for parking and littering. They’re also upset that, in their estimation, most of the overcrowding is due to people outside the area and the county encroaching on amenities funded by their tax dollars.

“I’m here today because just over the last four or five years, I’ve seen the gradual decline in the park itself,” said one concerned resident. “I mean, you go, it’s overcrowded. You got cars parked on curbs, and it’s just not a pleasant experience of what it was intended to be.”

Just about every one of the two dozen or so residents in attendance at a community meeting on January 8 at Pinckneyville Community Center agreed. The gathering was a follow up to two earlier meetings — one in summer and another in fall 2024 to address residents’ concerns about traffic, noise, unauthorized access, crime, upkeep and new projects at the park.

Park maintenance, future plans

The day before the meeting, Gwinnett County approved its budget for 2025. A key change was moving the Parks and Recreation Department to a stand-alone line item. It was previously part of the Department of Community Services.

With an allocation of $67,563,433 of the county’s $2.67 billion budget, the commission said there will be a focus on maintenance and repairs for parks and recreation through additional ground crews, vehicles and equipment to enhance residents’ experience at the county’s 47 open parks and facilities.

Delighted to share the news with the audience, Parks and Recreation Deputy Division Director Sarah Barlow offered a few key updates since the last meeting in October.

“I had the opportunity to meet with Seth Yurman, the assistant city manager with Peachtree Corners,” she said. “There are a couple of cameras that are potentially going to be donated, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. This is government. So we do need an inter-government agreement.  …  And it turns out that we need internet in the park to run those cameras.”

Currently, there is no Wi-Fi set up in the park.

“That is not infrastructure we have in place at this exact moment in time, so we are working on [that],” Barlow said. “It is still very much in development, but we do not have those two crucial pieces in place just yet.”

Multiple park projects

On a more positive note, she announced that the stream restoration project is completed. Some attendees were confused at the news as there are still large pipes on site.

“The sewer project is still being worked on,” explained Barlow. “The park does still look rough. It’s two projects going on with our water resources.”

She added that once everything has a chance to grow in and fill out, it will be a thing of beauty. It’s estimated, however, that the sewer project may go on for another year.

In addition to the sewer project and plans to add security cameras, Barlow shared that the plan to cut power to the pavilions during hours that the park is closed is also moving forward.

And she added that “Once everything kind of gets settled in and we get to be okay for finance to start spending, we will be green lighting the tree project at the edge of the soccer fields.”

“We’ll get those trees purchased and planted when the weather isn’t freezing like we have now,” she said.

Traffic-calming and parking measures

Additionally, Sylvia Goalen, traffic safety division director for Gwinnett Department of Transportation, gave an update on speed calming and parking at Jones Bridge Park.

“We were able to implement additional speed humps going into the park,” she said. “Once the construction that parks shared with you is completed, we’re going to continue the speed humps inside the park to ensure that traffic stays within the speed limit of those areas.”

She added that Gwinnett DOT collaborated with the school district about placing parking deterrents on the street leading to the park.

“It’s technically Gwinnett County and Board of Education property where we decided to do the no parking,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that it didn’t impact the school.”

Gwinnett DOT is also looking to redo the pedestrian bridge on East Jones Bridge, with groundbreaking set for this spring.

“That will not impact any traffic — everything should be done fairly quickly,” Goalen said.

Crime, safety and communication

Major J.D. Griffin, west precinct commander for Gwinnett County Police, emphasized the department’s mission to improve community quality of life, but he noted that no one has contacted him about specific concerns despite multiple meetings.

“I hope that means that things are going well, but if not, make sure you if have any specific concerns or anything going on that you feel is not getting addressed that you reach out,” he said.

Major Griffin noted that from October 15 (the date of the last meeting) to January 7, there were 105 area checks, one arrest for drug possession and a few citations for people in the park after hours.

Christina Wagner, a nearby resident, pointed out that there were three-and-a-half-hours of fireworks going on in Jones Bridge Park on New Year’s Eve, despite park rules against it.

“I’m not sure if the flock cameras are working … because it obviously didn’t catch these people and [police didn’t] bother to drive through,” she said.

Major Griffin asked if she placed a call to the county police. She hadn’t.

“I just waited. I just wanted to clock and see how long the fireworks would go off without anyone doing anything,” she said.

Major Griffin emphasized that the cameras are license plate readers. They are in place to log activity in the event that there’s a complaint and/or an incident and are not effective in capturing such activities.

That led to the discussion of the need for better crime deterrent technology in the park.

Peachtree Corners Chief City Marshal Edward Restrepo weighed in.

“We’ve all thrown out some technology ideas over the last several months — just basically trying to see what’s palatable for everyone involved,” he said. “From the city standpoint, we’re willing to add whatever technology we feel will help supplement the flock cameras.”

Once the weather gets warmer, the plans for increased law enforcement presence will show if they’re effective.

Future meetings

Peachtree Corners Vice Mayor, Weare Gratwick, suggested the next meeting take place prior to Memorial Day to see how the process is going and to discuss any additional concerns before the unofficial start of summer.

Everyone agreed, but Major Griffin asked to go one better. He suggested that there be a quarterly meeting to address community concerns and updates on park issues. Others asked that the time be more convenient for people who work during the day.

With that, the group agreed on the third Thursday of each quarter at 6:30 p.m. as the meeting start time.

The next scheduled meeting will be on May 15, with Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation in attendance.