Sandy Springs neighbors want to camouflage tornado sirens

Some Sandy Springs homeowners are sounding the alarm over toado sirens in their neighborhood.

People living in the Riverview-Palisades neighborhood off Northside Drive have complained to city leaders about the sirens' appearance.

"It's very noticeable and very obtrusive," neighbor Marcia Weinhoff said the siren in front of her home at Northside Drive and Mount Veon Highway.

"I think it would be best to be moved somewhere, a little less noticeable spot where it can still serve the purpose," Weinhoff said.

Weinhoff, who used to sit on the neighborhood association said neighbors felt blindsided by the sudden installation of the sirens.

"Typically when cell phone companies and private enterprise are going to erect something, we get notice and there are neighborhood meetings or what not," Weinhoff said. "None of us knew anything about it."

City spokeswoman Sharon Kraun told Petchenik Sandy Springs sought guidance from experts about where to locate the sirens, which were paid for using federal and state grant money.

"They have a very sophisticated set of criteria they look at," Kraun said. "The intent of them is for safety, another layer of safety, that we could ensure that when we use them, we could provide as broad of coverage as possible."

Kraun conceded that a few of the sirens are "bright and shiny" and stand out in some of the neighborhoods. She said the city was studying ways to camouflage them.

"Whether it is trees, shrubbery, any other kind of screening on a case-by-case basis," Kraun said.