Sullivan Road & Ellenwood Road Renamed
Chris Bradford
Bradford Realty Group
770-961-5520
http://www.bradfordrealtygroup.com

It should have happed 20 years ago, but late is better than never.

The Forest Parkway leads from Interstate 75 east to Highway 42. East of Highway 42 it changes names to Ellenwood Road crosses I-675 and then changes names again to Panola Road.

Going west, after crossing Interstate 75, the forest Parkway changes names to Sullivan Road, then Phoenix Boulevard, then Godby Road.

Ok, it is true that of all of these roads, the Forest Parkway is almost the newest. I believe Phoenix Boulevard is only one put in after the Forest Parkway. It is also true that not all of these roads were originally straight paths from one to the other. Road realignments and interchange enhancements have made them so over the years.

All of that aside, it gets pretty confusing trying to tell someone how to get from Godby Road to Panola Road when you try to explain that you go down all of these roads without ever making a single turn.

Clayton County is now taking steps to partially correct this problem. The names of Sullivan Road and Ellenwood Road are now being changed to Forest Parkway. The elimination of these two road names will result in one road which leads from I-285 in College Park, across Georgia Highway 85, Old Dixie Highway, Georgia Highway 54, U.S. Highway 42 and I-675. It will lead from College Park, through Forest Park, Lake City and Ellenwood.

All of this will make it much easier telling people how to get around and make MapQuest directions a few lines shorter.

Now, if we could get Fulton County and Henry County in line and change the names of Godby Road, Phoenix Boulevard and Panola Road we could solve a little more confusion. I could see where they would not want a street named after Forest Park running through their communities. If that is the case, change the name of them all to a new ambiguous name.

I have no idea who the Sullivan's were. If any of their family is still surviving, I know they must regret the name change. That can take some condolence in the fact that an old section of Sullivan Road remains, and as far as we know will retain its name.

Although I wholeheartedly agree with the name changes, I most regret the loss of Ellenwood Road.

Ellenwood, to my knowledge, was never a city. It was just a small railroad community centered around a cotton gin. A gin which my father, as a child, used to travel to with his family. A gin which gave away free pencils and notepads to the children and used to let the children help unload the cotton.

The railroad is still there, as are several old buildings in what was once the downtown area. But the loss of the road name is one more nail in the coffin of obscurity.