A colorful stretch of wildflowers along Highway 515 near Highland Parkway has recently become a popular roadside photo op. Anyone who passes by the flowers during daylight will likely see cars pulled over with people snapping photos amongst the vivid display.
However, that is creating a safety hazard, noted East Ellijay Police Chief Larry Callahan.
“We’ve had instances where multiple families, at the same time, have parked on the road and walked into the flowers for pictures. Our biggest concern is someone getting run over,” Callahan said.
There have also been cars left in the median as people cross the busy highway, sometimes with children, to get pictures with the flowers, Callahan said.
“All it takes is one person on a cell phone to make a mistake and we have a tragedy,” he added.
There is a law that says that part of the highway is only to be used for pulling over in the event of an emergency, Callahan noted. He said the police department hasn’t been ticketing folks for stopping on the roadside to get to the flowers, just asking them not to do so and advising them of the danger involved.
The roadside wildflowers are planted at different times of the year by Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)-hired contractors, confirmed Joel Schulman, of GDOT’s District Six office.
Cosmos, a warm season annual that dies off after the first frost, has been planted alongside Highway 515.
“Around the end of October, these flowers will be mowed down, and a perennial mix will be planted that will bloom in the spring,” Schulman said.
The plantings are funded through purchases of special wildflower vehicle tags. Monetary donations also help fund the wildflowers, Schulman noted.
The program dates back 1974 when Virginia Hand Callaway, then-chairwoman of the Garden Club of Georgia’s birds and wildflowers committee, led an effort to plant and protect wildflowers on state roadsides. According to GDOT, Callaway, former First Lady Rosalyn Carter and members of the state Garden Club took the idea to then-GDOT Commissioner Downing Musgrove, who endorsed the program.
The flowers are pretty, but they should be viewed while driving by or from somewhere other than on the side of the highway, Callahan advised.
Schulman said that GDOT also kindly asks people to avoid picking the flowers so they can be enjoyed by everyone.